Chalk Dispenser V3.0 has arrived

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I have version 3.0 of the chalk dispenser system sitting in my living room now.

IMG_5022Web2010IMG_5024Web2010

The small boxes marked “RED CHALK” conveniently fit into the 3” opening on the top. They sent us some empty boxes to put the Boomerite in. The Boomerite will go in first and be exposed to gun fire through the 1.5” hole in the front.

This version also has 1/4” armor plate on the face. This should withstand the bullet impacts much better.

Ry plans to be back in Idaho on Saturday and we will visit the Boomershoot site to do our tests. The weather forecast on Saturday is for a low of -1 F and a high of 15 F. We had a blizzard last night and today and it put down several inches of snow. This may complicate things some. I’m not sure we will be able to drive all the way out to the Taj Mahal to mix the Boomerite. I may have to walk or snowshoe in, mix it up, and carry it back while Ry preps the target at the shooting berm.

Cleveland Ohio slapped down

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Nice:

The Supreme Court of Ohio Wednesday rejected Cleveland’s attempt to retain its own gun control laws.

In a 5-2 majority opinion, the Justices upheld a 2006 state law that says only federal or state regulations can limit an Ohioan’s individual right to bear arms.

The Jim Crow like anti-gun owner laws continue to fall.

Quote of the day—Violence Policy Center

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Drive-by shootings are just one symptom of the increasing lethality of firearms available to the general public. State and federal policies should focus on limiting the caliber and capacity of firearms marketed to the general public.

Violence Policy Center
July 2010
Drive-By America
[It’s statements like these that cause me to just shake my head. From the premise to the conclusion it simply doesn’t make sense to me. It’s like they know all the words but can’t form a logical thought with them. For example:

  • What is the justification for the claim “of the increasing lethality of firearms available to the general public”? Shotguns and their ancestor the blunderbuss are probably the most lethal weapon available for individual use and they have been around for hundreds of years.
  • How are drive-by shootings a symptom of increased lethality? I’m not sure I can even imagine a dataset that would make sense of that statement.
  • Even if they were constitutional how would laws limiting the caliber and capacity of firearms marketed to the general public affect drive-by shootings? One person in the back seat of a car with two double-barreled shotguns loaded with buckshot could put 35+ pieces of high speed lead into the air in a remarkably short period of time. In countries that have repressive gun laws double barreled shotguns have always been the last to be banned. I can’t imagine this country would have a significant difference in the order in which such attempts would be made.

It reminds me of a conversation I once tired to follow. Things just weren’t making sense to me and I stopped them and pointed out that the most recent statement was completely at odds with previous statements which weren’t exactly clear to me either. I was told, “Oh Joe, it doesn’t have to make sense. We are just talking.” That was when I decided find a comfortable chair in a corner and take a nap until it was time to go home.

If the VPC weren’t trying to influence government policy they too could be ignored. As it is they need to be ridiculed and driven into political extinction.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Selwyn Duke

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Nothing that could reconcile the flat-out Marxist-Leninist Obama was in his college days with the man he supposedly is today.  There’s no one who says, “Yeah, he was a radical guy in his youth, and I just couldn’t believe how he became disenchanted with his old ideas.”  There are no stories about a great epiphany, an overseas trip that opened his eyes, or a personal tragedy that inspired growth.  There’s nothing to explain how a radical Marxist became a reasonable politician.  And if there is such an explanation, it’s the most elusive of missing links.

So could “it” happen here?  And is it really nutty to ask if, just maybe, it already has?

Selwyn Duke
December 28, 2010
The Missing Link in the Evolution of Barack Obama
[Via email from Ry.

Yes. “It” could happen here. It is happening here. Our governments are collapsing. I believe there are going to be a lot of people dying in the next decade or so. And all the while the Federal government will be grabbing more and more power and make the situation worse and worse.

I’m investing in land, explosives, brass, and copper-jacketed lead. What are you investing in?—Joe]

Quote of the day—H. L. Mencken

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I believe that liberty is the only genuinely valuable thing that men have invented, at least in the field of government, in a thousand years. I believe that it is better to be free than to be not free, even when the former is dangerous and the latter safe. I believe that the finest qualities of man can flourish only in free air – that progress made under the shadow of the policeman’s club is false progress, and of no permanent value. I believe that any man who takes the liberty of another into his keeping is bound to become a tyrant, and that any man who yields up his liberty, in however slight the measure, is bound to become a slave.

H. L. Mencken
[I find it interesting that liberty was such a novel invention, such a fantastic success, and yet under such an unrelenting attack. It is as if people refuse to believe data. They prefer to believe in their imaginary world of the benevolent mother/nanny government despite all the data to the contrary. I can only conclude that rational thought is but a thin veneer over the true essence of human nature.—Joe]

The making of Chalk Dispenser V 3.0

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Our favorite chalk dispenser designers and builders have shipped version 3.0 to our bunker in North Central Idaho. It hasn’t arrived yet but they created a video of its construction:

Assuming the weather cooperates I should be able to test it sometime late this week.

Quote of the day—TiredofOurGovernment

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Just ban all guns. Except police. If you have a gun get the death penalty. So either your a cop or a criminal. Guns are stupid. A real man will protect himself with his fist like we were born to do. A big fat Wussy will use a gun because he is a chicken-s&*t that has to kill someone to get his point across.

TiredofOurGovernment
December 22, 2010
Comment to Gun Control Now!!!
[It’s possible this is sarcasm. For the moment I am assuming it is not.

“TiredofOurGovernment” has no respect for fundamental rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Hence he or she is advocating for a new type of government more like that of a police state. One has to wonder if someone who wants such a government why they don’t just move to a country that has laws more like those they advocate. I keep concluding they don’t really understand what they are advocating. The death penalty for the exercise of the right to keep and bear arms has a high correlation with the death penalty for the exercise of other fundamental rights such as freedom of speech and religion.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Milton Friedman

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I am in favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it is possible.

Milton Friedman
[It improves the economy, improves the conditions of the individual, and increases freedom.—Joe]

Barb and Windows Phone 7+

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Earlier, when she found out daughters Kim and Xenia were getting a Windows Phone 7 for Christmas, she told me, “You better have not gotten me one of those. I’ll be afraid to use it because I might lose it.”

Here is the video when she opens it and then finds out I got her a little something extra to go with it:

VPC gets a lump of coal

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This warms my heart on a cold Christmas Eve. The VPC has raised $0, has 0 Donors, and 0 Promotors for their cause.


[If that page disappears here is a back-up snapshot.]

Quote of the day—Treborleeks

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Please lawmakers, take away all my rights. I will be safe, then and only then. Your kind and benevolent actions are the only way I make it through the day. Your laws are always just and your wisdom shines above all others.

Feed me, clothe me, shelter me, amen.

Treborleeks
March 11, 2009
Comment to Gun control now!!!
[Slaves need to be properly cared for. And of course slaves should never be allowed to own firearms. That is the conclusion I keep coming back to when I read and listen to the advocates of gun control and other “liberal” political philosophies.—Joe]

Senate rejects ATF nominee Andrew Traver?

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I’m not entirely sure what this means but it sounds like Andrew Traver won’t even be debated as a potential head of the ATF until we have our new Senate seated:

The Senate did not vote on whether to confirm Andrew Traver as the next leader of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives this Congress, sending his nomination back to the White House on Wednesday.

I think this means we will have a more gun friendly Senate to review Traver’s background with the Klan Joyce Foundation.

Update: John Richardson examines the issue in detail.

Boomerite and chalk targets

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Ry has his own video of this but I took video with my Windows Phone 7 and wanted to say a few things about the results of these tests separate from other tests on his video. First the video:

We have been doing tests of steel chalk dispensers with mixed results. The chalk goes up into the air nicely but the dispensers have not had a very long life. Ry decided to test adding the chalk directly to our seven inch square cardboard box targets. The chalk was positioned in one of three different ways:

  1. Behind the Boomerite
  2. On top of the Boomerite
  3. In front of the Boomerite

The second configuration was the most visually pleasing but for a normal target this means the top half of the target is inert as far as the shooter is concerned. They only have the bottom half of the target available for detonation. But what we could do is use this in a hybrid target. We use a steel plate with a hold in it like the existing “chalk dispenser” targets with one of these cardboard box targets a foot or so behind the steel plate. We would not have to confine ourselves to very small Boomerite charges to prevent damage to the steel and we could put a lot more chalk on top of the target. It would be a little more work to set up the targets, get the alignment just right, etc. But the steel construction part would be a lot easier and would guarantee the steel targets would be reusable.

Quote of the day—Paul Helmke

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More guns mean more gun violence, sometimes intentional or sometimes accidental.

Paul Helmke
President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
December 22, 2010
Palm Beach County plans to lift ban on guns in parks
[There are so many things to say about this I don’t really have the time to fully fisk this one sentence. But I’ll get you started and you can continue the work.

He says this as if “gun violence” were necessarily a bad thing. This is not true. For example if the “gun violence” stopped or prevented a violent rape then I consider that a good thing. Perhaps Mr. Helmke’s organization should be advertise themselves as being advocates of rapists and other violent felons. It would be more honest.

Let play the word substitution game by substituting one constitutionally protected noun for another:

  • More n**gers mean more n**ger violence, sometimes intentional or sometimes accidental.
  • More Jews means more Jewish control of the banks, sometimes lawfully or sometimes via their cabal.
  • More homosexuals means more sodomy, sometimes intentional or sometimes accidental.
  • More mixed race marriages means more black men having sex with white women, sometimes consensual or sometimes via rape.

Helmke should go find a more ethical job like selling cattle prods to police officers, representing a cigarette company, or selling sheets and pillow cases to Klansmen.—Joe]

Quote of the day—Lisa

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I miss Idaho dearly. I REALLY miss being in the middle of nowhere, as strange as that probably sounds to most people. I just feel so confined in the city–almost like I can’t breathe. I feel safe most of the time (I would feel safer if I could carry on campus… but that’s another story) but there’s always this lingering thought. I never had that growing up on the farm, or in Moscow for that matter.

Lisa
December 14, 2010
1st Semester of Grad School — Finished! (Almost)
[Lisa, is my niece and grew up on the same farm I did. I completely understand what she is saying. I work in a different city on a different campus but the same restrictions apply.

It’s been 35+ years since I lived on the farm and I still feel that way.—Joe]

(Mostly) First Shots

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I met Rose through Oleg (who met her through Mike and Laurel last Spring) who got her into modeling.  She’d told Oleg she wanted to learn more about shooting, so he got her and me talking.  It took a while, but we got to the range this Monday.  It was cold, with several inches of snow on the ground, but we managed to get in a couple hours of trigger time.


We went through the safety rules, loading and unloading, manipulating the controls on a Ruger Mark II and a Daewoo DP-51 9 mm, stance, grip, sight picture, trigger control, some thoughts on anticipation (flinching), and follow-through.


Rose explained that since she is a boxer, she knows all about flinching and that it would not be a problem.  When you’re looking at getting punched in the face, you learn self control or it’s over quickly.  Good.  Shooting is very much a mental exercise.  I said that flinching is a problem for everyone, even experienced competitive shooters, and that I’ve seen a new shooter hit the ground halfway to a 10 yard target because of anticipation.


Well, her first ten rounds from the 22 auto all hit the 12″ square target, with one right in the center, from about 10 yards.  Pretty good for someone who’d only fired a pistol once, more than ten years ago.  It doesn’t always happen that way.  Usually we don’t even look at the first target, concentrating more on stance, grip and muzzle control.


She was pretty happy afterward, having hit all the 14 ounce vegetable cans with the 9 mm pistol.  We finished up with an UltiMAK equipped M1 30 Carbine, so she got introduced to the laser transmission hologram (this one had an Old Bushnell Holosight that we’d used for many years of testing at UltiMAK). 


Those vegetable cans didn’t stand a chance.


It was a pretty brief run-through, and Rose was visibly shivering from the cold, but she done good.  Though it is good practice in general, one would be well advised to treat her, especially, with respect.


I failed to tell her that she could be doing about as well at two and a half times the distance, with some more coaching and practice.  25 yards is the minimum distance in the pistol bays at the Kenmore Shooting Range, where I took my instructor training.  They teach beginners there too, and do well with it by all accounts.

More chalk dispenser video

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Our favorite chalk dispenser designers and builders have done some more tests. Here is the video:

In behind the scenes email it appears we will get a Version 3 unit for test with Boomerite by New Years Day. I plan to cut the charge in half, down to 100 grams, and see if that gives us sufficient lift for the chalk.

I also plan to modify the first unit by removing the containment box in the back and just put a specially constructed (chalk inside the target) 7” target a few inches behind the metal plate with the hole in it. I think this will work just as well and will only be a slightly more work in the field and much simpler to construct.

Quote of the day—General Nuisance

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His dress as a 20’s Chicago Gangster is probably for a Halloween party so I suspect strongly the gun is a toy.  You can’t see the muzzle in this view, but if it is a toy the muzzle would be molded from an orange colored plastic.

You guys on the left should be flattered.  D’cruz is dressed like some of your president’s strongest supporters, gangsters and Chicago thugs.

General Nuisance
December 21, 2010
Comment in the thread NRA…What Were They Thinking?
[This reminds me of a comment many years ago by Alan Gottleib, “We have sometimes joked that because of the high number of criminals in his district Chuck Schumer was just voting to protect his constituents.”—Joe]

Boomershoot 2011 dinner

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I went to Orofino today to inspect the Riverside Room at the Best Western Lodge at River’s Edge for the Boomershoot 2011 dinner and auction for Soldiers Angels. It looked quite nice and I signed the contract.

They will also supply the food and although I haven’t signed the contract for that yet (Sandy left early for a family emergency) the plan is to have an 8 oz. Sirloin steak.

Quote of the day—IrishPirate

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I hope one day to tell “boogeyman” stories to my grandkids about how the Brady Campaign will come back and take their guns if they don’t adhere to the 3 (4) basic rules of gun safety.

IrishPirate
December 20, 2010
Brady’s going broke, telling same old lies
[Let’s make this a reality as soon as possible. It probably won’t be all that long before I have grandkids.—Joe]