Packing for the Lucky Gunner Blogger Shoot

On By Tom LindsayIn Uncategorized

The good folks at LuckyGunner.com have arranged quite an event this weekend, and I’ve been invited. A bunch of us gun bloggers will be traveling to Knoxville, TN and shooting all kinds of full auto hardware, and I will be getting a day of training from RangeMaster.

Apparently there will be very large bore stuff involved, too, since the equipment list they sent me includes a recommendation of ear plugs and ear muffs, “because tanks are loud.” Indeed.

With the Memorial Day weekend coming the family decided they would like a weekend by the pool, which makes sense, since I would have to pay for gas and motel any way. It will be a nice time for all, I’m sure.

I also arranged through a co-worker to bring an AR as a companion to Sergei my SKS. Then he described to me some FTE’s he gets once it heats up. Sounds like a nice diagnosing job for the experts, and this weekend I may be in the best place in the country to find one.

So, apart from getting the gun cart finished, I need to make sure all my gear is clean and packed. This will be fun, for sure. Look for frequent updates this weekend via this blog, and via Twitter.

Gun Cart on the Cheap

On By Tom LindsayIn Gun Cart

Ah, when things were simple. Time was, I only had one pistol, and I could pull right up to the gate at the range, unload one bag with my gun, ammo, holster, and saunter my young knees over to the bench. Then, after shooting, reverse the procedure.

Now, things have gotten worse. I have more pistols, rifles, and a shotgun, and the walk from the parking area to my favorite range’s shooting area is 50 yards at best. Or, if I’m taking the whole brood to the WMA (cheaper, you know) that’s a 100 yard trek with lawn chairs and ammo boxes and zombie targets and clay pigeons.

I never paid much attention to the shooters at matches who pushed or pulled carts, preferring to convince myself that I was still young enough to schlepp all that gear. Besides, why spend money on something like that?

Then one day I was at the local thrift store dropping off a couch, and I stuck my head in to see if they had any good $3 Hawaiian shirts, and there it was, right up front. An all-terrain baby stroller, with a $6 price tag. My mechanical mind had it stripped and rebuilt into a gun cart in seconds. In minutes, it was in the back of my truck.

And without further fanfare, here it is:

Here it is loaded:

I removed all the baby-carrying apparatus, but left the bottom diaper sled. This fits my shooting bag, pistol bag, and an ammo box, perfectly. Across the top, I mounted a simple 1 x 2 held in place by 1/4″ x 6″ carriage bolts, and covered with foam pipe insulation. This holds the long guns, plus my holster and a camping chair.

Up front, the barrels of the long guns rest in a steel mortar pan, bolted to the foot rest, and lined with more pipe insulation. The long guns are held in place by bungee cords. This pan screams to be covered with gun stickers.

Simple, elegant, cheap. $16 total.

After completion I loaded it up and pushed it through my yard to test it. Nothing tipped over, nothing came loose. If it does, I can modify it in the future just as cheaply.

Where the Magic Happens

On By Tom LindsayIn Uncategorized1 Comment

DoubleAught over at the RomeoTangoBravo blog opened the doors to his inner sanctum Saturday and showed us where he works his blogging magic. He asked me to do the same, so here it is.

My office a like a mullet haircut – business in the front and party in the back. Working from the door to my office you see my Wall of Public Fame – diploma, certifications, memberships, photos of my clients, mission statements, sales strategy. I even have a framed final exam from an organic chemistry class in college that I aced.

Then comes my desk, with the usual – computer, phone, clock, pens, calculator, lava lamps.

Working farther in, I have a Glock calendar and a photo of me with the Gunny, R. Lee Ermey. I also have the only shooting match trophy I’ve ever received, a wooden 1911 pistol with a shooting figure on it. Next to it is a still from the FX series Justified, that shows Raylan Givens in his office, with a wooden pistol trophy on the wall behind him. Coincidence? I think not.

Behind me is a dry erase board and a credenza with files. And a putter and putting cup. And zombie posters behind the door. Just in case.

Okay, so business and party sometimes get mixed together.

So there we have it. My inspirational hive. Enter at your own risk.

Rule 1: Always Shoot Zombies Through the Head

On By Tom LindsayIn Uncategorized5 Comments

That is my number one Movie Rule of Thumb. (See the sidebar for a link to all of them.)

We make movies about it. We write books about it. We make TV shows about it. Even the CDC gets involved in it.

But it turns out there is a group of action shooting competitors in North Carolina and Virginia who have been practicing for it. Check out the Zombie Shooters Association of America at http://zombieshootersassociation.com/.

This group runs pistol matches and multi-gun matches against three types of targets: Zombies, Infected (bitten but not undead), and Meals (uninfected). The concept is so perfect that when I described the targets to my 14 year old son, he was able to tell me, pretty close, the rules of the game, never having seen the web site or the videos.

From the website:

1) Zombies are standard targets and need 1 head shot to kill.

2) Infected targets are also standard and need minimum of 3 body hits, at least 2 must be “Good” (“C” or better, or “Down 1″ or better) to score a kill.

3) STILL WALKIN’ (SW) is a failure on Zombie and incurs 5 second penalty.

4) CREATED A WALKER (CAW) is failure on an Infected and incurs 10 second penalty.

5) WRECKED A MEAL (WAM) is hit on living target (white) and incurs a 10 second penalty no matter how many times it is hit, each WAM target can earn penalty if hit.

There are also innovative procedural penalties such as sticking any part of your body through a port (after all, you could get bitten and become Infected yourself).

Check out the website and follow them on Twitter and Facebook. And, if you’re in the northern NC / Southern VA area, take a look. Personally, I would love it if other clubs closer to home would take up the cause.

In any case, as with a real zombie outbreak, it’s probably only a matter of time before it spreads everywhere!