Stuff

On October 3, 2011July 26, 2012 By Tom LindsayIn Uncategorized

I write myself notes all the time about ideas for blog posts. From time to time I get them together and try to make sense of them.

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I found another shooter at work last week. He and I spent lunch at the range on Friday. He’s got a Glock 21SF like me, so we shared our experiences with them. I noticed his has the normal Glock magazine release, while mine has the ambidextrous SF release. To be honest I would prefer the normal release – I should have asked when I bought this one.

I was cleaning out my stuff Sunday and found an old G21 magazine, 10 rounds, that I’ve had 10 years or more. A guy I used to work with flipped repo’d cars as a hobby, and I was helping him detail a Corvette when we found it under the seat. I tried to trade it a couple times over the years, and I was disappointed that it didn’t work with my new gun when I got it.

Anyway, I gave it to my friend. I guess kept it all these years just for this time.

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I’m working on a post about my Rules of Engagement, and it’s sparked some interesting discussion around the house. What started out pretty straightforward turns out to be more complicated than I thought. The post will likely involve not only my rules, but the process behind them.

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Reviewing my traffic numbers, the most hits I get from Google are for my ammo reviews. Not that I’m writing for more traffic, but is that something I should be doing more of?

Thoughts?

Other People’s Money – revisited

On September 30, 2011 By Tom LindsayIn Uncategorized

As you may have read before, all my guns have been bought with other people’s money – bonuses, stock options, awards, and the like.

The company I work for has offered an end of year bonus, if we meet certain goals, which we are on target to achieve. If my performance matches last years, I will make enough in bonus to build a new AR-15. That’s my goal.

But I was thinking this through the other day, and I realize, as I’ve said before, that adding a new gun like an AR-15 means adding a new caliber of ammo for me to buy.

So, I’ve decided to amend this goal. I decided to take the bonus and make my first foray into the world of reloading. Then, if I have enough left over, I’ll build the AR. At worst, the AR will be my next project after that.

I’ve never been a great one for deferred gratification, but what’s working for me is the economic analysis. It’s sweet that I can shoot for half the price by reloading. And, if I buy the reloading equipment using other people’s money, it’s even sweeter.

Movie Rule of Thumb 4: Never Take Your Shoes Off At a Christmas Party, or When There Are Terrorists in the Building

On September 28, 2011 By Tom LindsayIn Movie Rules1 Comment

Source: Die Hard, my favorite Christmas movie.

WARNING: Harsh language!

Lesson: it’s never really okay to let your guard down. I covered this once before in my post about awareness. Always maintain a state of alertness, whether things seem normal or not.

Always be alert. Always be in Condition Yellow. Can we ever relax, then? Yes, but with caution and alertness.

In the movie Die Hard. New York police detective John McClain, played by Bruce Willis, goes to California to visit his wife for the holidays. He arrives at her office during the Christmas party. Someone he meets along the way gives him some advice on how to relax after a long trip – take off your shoes and scrunch your toes in the carpet. John does this in his wife’s office, and it seems to help. But just then, a group of terrorists take over the building. Now John has to fight a building full of terrorists in his bare feet. Mayhem ensues.

Now, if John McClain had kept his shoes in his hand, ready to put back on, things would be have gone differently. Not for the bad guys, but for certainly for John.

The Rule started out as “Never take your shoes off when there are terrorists in the building.” But this implies that we can know when there are terrorists in the building, or a mugger around the corner. So I added the innocent phrase “at a Christmas party.”

Yippee ki yay, Mister Falcon.

Upside, Downside

On September 27, 2011 By Tom LindsayIn Glock, GSSF

Part of the benefits of being a member of the GSSF and attending matches is the factory armorers are there. They will check out your Glocks and replace any parts that are worn. Now, even though I’m a trained and certified Armorer, I like to have my guns looked over at least once a year by the pros. An upside is that the factory guys are not very reluctant to change parts, so your Glocks always stay factory fresh.

So, after checking out all three Glocks, the only thing they did was replace the trigger bar on my G17. I had noticed some scratches on the top of the cross piece, and I guess he thought it was enough to warrant replacement. Better safe than sorry, I suppose.

Then, when time came to put the slide back together, I noticed he also replaced the rear cover plate. I think it was because he had misplaced the original. I was sad. This was an original piece from 1992. Now I am left with the frame, the slide, and the barrel.

Now, as a downside, this meant that part of my cleaning routine on Sunday was a 5 cent trigger job, just an abbreviated version of the 25 cent trigger job. All I had to do was polish the new trigger bar.

I dry fired a bunch since then and I can’t tell much difference. That’s an upside.