Pistol League Results 6/8/06

This week’s drill it was a mixed bad accuracy/distance and time with a min of 2 reloads. The course consisted of 3 steal plates at 20 yards spread out over 60 feet from left to right, 3 steal poppers and 3 bad guy silhouettes at 30 yards.

The course of fire was to clear all steal targets in any order, engage each bad guy twice and then move to a forward position and engage each bad guy twice again, total of 4 shots on paper for each silhouette. Minimum shots to clear the course 18, total points possible 30.

The results:
Worst time, 54.83 seconds
Best time, 23.12 seconds
Worst score, 23
Best score, 27
Best draw and hit,1.73 seconds
Worst number of shots, 23
Best number of shots 19
Best reload, 5.38 seconds
Worst reload, 9.89 seconds

Observations: my reloads still suck, I need to dry drill at home nightly; all but one of my draws were under 2.00 but my hits were less than 75%, partially this is the result of trying to hit a 8in plate, more dry drilling is needed. Despite my best intentions I didn’t drill at home last week. I need to loc-tight the tension screw on my &%$#! rear sight, for some reason after 150 to 200 rounds it wants to work loose. I caught my self closing my left eye twice to improve accuracy AND I was inconsistent with grip technique.

Product note: I am trying new 8 round Chip McCormick Power Mags, five of them in the rotation. Last week I didn’t comment on the slide not locking open in an out of battery situation. This week two mags consistently failed to hold the slide back for emergency reloads. A slight adjustment with the Leather Man was needed to make them function.

This highlights a important tip for CCW and home defense applications, ALWAYS drill with any mag that you even think you might use in a real life situation. A gun owner needs to know exactly how his equipment will function each and every time. I ran a min of 1 box of ammo (50 rounds) thru each mag before I determined that they needed adjustment (not every mag is fired till empty each time its used). Test and retest your equipment, if you need your gun, you don’t need surprises.

The Garden

As of last night the garden is planted except for the second planting of green beans. I’ll do those next week sometime.

This year we have:

Perennials:
Strawberries
Rhubarb
Asparagus
The Raspberries got tore out this year, I’m going to try an new patch behind the garage if we keep living here.

Herbs:
Dill, it won’t go away
Chives
Basil
Parsley
Mint, if it comes up
Oregano, It lived over the winter and came back with a vengeance, I’m so proud.

Greens:
Mixed salad greens: up and yummy
Spinach
Mustard: up and very good

Plants:
Beets: Detroit Reds and some other one the wife wanted to try.
Green Beans
Broccoli
Tomatoes, romas, early girls, and cherries
Peppers, green, jalapeno, banana, supper chili
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Acorn Squash
Spaghetti Squash
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Cabbage
Cantaloupe
Okra, I’m determined to prove it will grow over 5000 ft above sea level, dang it. This will be the year, you’ll see.

With this chore done I’m all clear to take off for the weekend. So at 4:30 am tomorrow I’ll be going to Colorado.

Free Hawaii

Senate to consider letting Hawaiians pursue sovereignty.

The article is interesting for the points it raises.
1. The State of Hawaii was once a sovereign nation
2. They were forced by military conquest to become a territory
3. They then more or less voluntarily joined the USA
4. Some of them want out of the USA

I think we should let them go. I’ve got nothing against our 50th state, but they shouldn’t be forced to stay if they don’t want. Along that same line of thinking, we should free all the states that were more or less compelled to join or rejoin the USA.

WTW – It’s a Nice Day for a White (Trash) Wedding

For whatever reason brides choose June as the preferred month to get married. Maybe that’s because its summer and the weather is nice. Maybe it’s because spring break was 2 to 3 months ago and they know for sure their monthly visitor isn’t coming back soon.

Maybe it’s because the dog has had his summer bath and flee dip. Maybe it’s because the groom has had his bath and flee dip.

Whatever the reason most brides like June weddings. The wedding is every girl’s special day. Some times brides get nervous or jittery. Here’s a bride with the best man having a smoke after calming her nerves.

So ladies remember that no matter where you bought your wedding supplies….

Or how you got your man to show up...

Or how fancy a ride you have leaving the Justice of the Peace...

Be sure to remember to get your doings in the paper...

Summer Time Cooking

If it can be cooked, it can be cooked on a grill.

Turkey, grill it, it comes out golden brown and juicer than out of the oven and the house don’t get hot.

Potato’s, scrub em clean, slice them with the skins on, and some onions. Get yourself two sheets of heavy duty tin foil spray the tin foil with Pam. Lay the potatoes and onions on one sheet and put lots of pepper and butter on them. Take the second sheet and cover the potatoes, now seal the two sheets together in a air tight tinfoil packet. Cook them up to 25 mins on each side, normally their eatable after 15 min a side, use your own judgment.

Tonight were having the first harvest out of the garden, mustard greens. To cook these the right way:

Cast iron pot with lid
Bacon
½ to 1 cup water depending on how many greens you have
2 TSP vinegar, white or apple cider
2 TSP sugar
fresh ground pepper

Fry the bacon in the pot, wash the greens and remove steams. Take the bacon out of the pot add the water bring to boil adding the vinegar sugar and pepper, then add the greens, turn the heat down to the lowest setting and simmer covered for at least an hour. Salt and pepper to taste on the table.

What say you?

June 6, 1944

Several years ago I was in northwest France. I went to a cemetery that over looks the English channel. In it are thousands of white crosses perfectly aligned with each other. These are the graves of some of the men died 62 years ago today.

If you walk west to the bluffs over looking the ocean you can still see the remains of German defenses and of the massive cement piers the Allies created to land equipment into France. The bunkers are there, the pilings are still there and our boys are still there: but the Nazi’s are gone.

I realize that lots of those graves belong to kids that were my age. Kids, many of them didn’t need to shave everyday. Boys that joined up to serve their country; that died before they finished high school, that never lost their virginity, kissed a girl, owned a car, watched TV or knew how the war ended.

If a young man was 18 in 1944 he would be 80 years old today. There are darn few of them left. I knew several WWII vets as a boy, most are gone now. I know of one who’s still around.

Gene was a spotter for an artillery crew in 1944. He didn’t land on D-day he came ashore on D+2. He won a silver star for saving a platoon a few days latter, when both he and they were under fire from a MG position that was supposed to be softened by artillery fire. They were driving across a ridge when his jeep came under fire. The driver panicked and got it stuck in the open. The spotting crew dove for cover behind a hedge. That was when Gene saw this platoon coming up the draw right in front of the MG bunker. They were getting cut to ribbons in an crossfire. The jeep had a MG mounted to the roll bar and Gene jumped up on it and let loose on the Germans suppressing the bunker and saving those men, the whole time standing skylined on the back of that jeep with Nazi bullet’s flying past him.

I was 25 the day I went to his house to fish and he told me that story. He was younger than that when it happened. He even let me hold the star and showed me the original commendation that he received. We haven’t spoke since I moved to Wyoming. I think its past time for a call and a thank you.