To me, among all the benefits of being a "Free American", perhaps the best is that right to Keep and Bear Arms. I have spent most of my life enjoying this, that or several types of weaponry. From that bolt action single shot .22 that gave me the pleasure of putting some good meat on the family table when I was just entering my teen years, to the .410 bolt action shotgun that helped me to get my season limit on Pheasants and rabbits. In the military, I found that shooting well came pretty easy for me, and always enjoyed and looked forward to going to the range.
These days, I have several weapons of different purpose, and shape. While none are "collectors", all are good in their own way Having a good, long, range right outside the door is a real plus. I can step outside and shoot, practice this, or that, style, stance, or caliber.
At my age, (76 laps around the Sun), I am probably not as steady as I was, but I am still impressing myself with my pretty tight groups, and ability to even find the target. Shooting at a 6 inch circle, from distance, is not as easy as one might think.
As I knelt and aimed, shooting the round above, I got one hell of an ant bite, causing me to toss a wild round at the 6 inch Shoot NC target. The next 12 rounds fell in a 2 inch group. Not bad for an old dude. I credit my ability to being able to shoot every day. Were I to try this once a year, the results would be much different.
Today, I used an old "Buffalo Hunter's Trick", and built myself a "Trigger Stick". It has been cut of a piece of the bamboo that I harvest and cure, and has been sanded and varnished. This evening, or in the morning, I will try that and see if I can keep a pretty tight group.
If I like it, I will add a minimal "sling", enabling me to carry it as I walk. The vertical foregrip on my AR-15 fits into the open end of the Bamboo shaft, and gives me a really steady stance.
I shoot daily, from any of several of my firearms, because being able to to put the lead where it needs to be is more important than just "having" a firearm. I have proven, to myself, that this proficiency is necessary to being a "good shot".
Shooting is fun, it is educational, and it is vital to being "self-protected". 64 years after having training at William's Gunsight, "On the Range", I still love that trip to the range, especially so now, with the range being right outside my door.
On a cool and windy day in December, I just shot this 30 round group with my AR-15 from Bear Creek archery, resting the barrel on a saw horse, and letting fly from 100 Yds, I kept everything inside 6 inches. This is acceptable to me:
To welcome 2017 at my place, I went to my "safe place", aka my shooting range, and unloaded a 30 round magazine of 5.56 MM. When I shoot, with each shot, I picture that 6 inch circle as being the head of anyone who would try to bring harm to me or mine. Being in the right frame of mind can work wonders on ones accuracy:
And it is very good. This man did not have to run, did not have to expose himself and his family to the dirt and slime that is the Democrat and Clinton machine. His wealth is his, and he could have stayed "an insider", and just kept taking. Instead, he has chosen to try to give back, to try to lead us as we turn this mess around.
This is the transcript of his speech, made in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania:
"Our movement is about replacing a failed and corrupt political
establishment with a new government controlled by you, the American
People. There is nothing the political establishment will not do, and
no lie they will not tell, to hold on to their prestige and power at
your expense.
The Washington establishment, and the financial and media
corporations that fund it, exists for only one reason: to protect and
enrich itself.
The establishment has trillions of dollars at stake in this election.
As an example, just one single trade deal they’d like to pass, involves
trillions of dollars controlled by many countries, corporations and
lobbyists.
For those who control the levers of power in Washington, and for the
global special interests they partner with, our campaign represents an
existential threat.
This is not simply another 4-year election. This is a crossroads in
the history of our civilization that will determine whether or not We
The People reclaim control over our government.
The political establishment that is trying everything to stop us, is
the same group responsible for our disastrous trade deals, massive
illegal immigration, and economic and foreign policies that have bled
this country dry. The political establishment has brought about the
destruction of our factories and our jobs, as they flee to Mexico, China
and other countries throughout the world. Our just-announced jobs
numbers are anemic, and our gross domestic product, or GDP, is barely
above one percent. Workers in the United States, were making less than
they were almost 20 years ago – and yet they are working harder.
It’s a global power structure that is responsible for the economic
decisions that have robbed our working class, stripped our country of
its wealth, and put that money into the pockets of a handful of large
corporations and political entities.
Just look at what this corrupt establishment has done to our cities
like Detroit and Flint, Michigan – and rural towns in Pennsylvania,
Ohio, North Carolina and across our country. They have stripped these
towns bare, and raided the wealth for themselves and taken away their
jobs.
The Clinton Machine is at the center of this power structure. We’ve
seen this firsthand in the WikiLeaks documents in which Hillary Clinton
meets in secret with international banks to plot the destruction of U.S.
sovereignty in order to enrich these global financial powers.
And, likewise, the emails show that the Clinton Machine is so closely
and irrevocably tied to media organizations that she is given the
questions and answers in advance of her debates. Clinton is also given
approval and veto power over quotes written about her in the New York
Times. And the emails show the reporters collaborate and conspire
directly with the Clinton Campaign on helping her win the election.
With their control over our government at stake, with trillions of
dollars on the line, the Clinton Machine is determined to achieve the
destruction of our campaign, which has now become a movement the likes
of which our country has never seen before – and we won’t let them do
that.
The most powerful weapon deployed by the Clintons is the corporate
media. Let’s be clear on one thing: the corporate media in our country
is no longer involved in journalism. They are a political special
interest, no different than any lobbyist or other financial entity with
an agenda. And their agenda is to elect the Clintons at any cost, at any
price, no matter how many lives they destroy.
For them, it is a war – and for them, nothing is out of bounds.
This is a struggle for the survival of our nation. This election will
determine whether we are a free nation, or whether we have only the
illusion of Democracy but are in fact controlled by a small handful of
global special interests rigging the system.
This is not just conspiracy but reality, and you and I know it.
The establishment and their media enablers wield control over this
nation through means that are well known. Anyone who challenges their
control is deemed a sexist, a racist, a xenophobe and morally deformed.
They will attack you, they will slander you, they will seek to destroy
your career and reputation. And they will lie, lie and lie even more.
The Clintons are criminals. This is well-documented, and the
establishment that protects them has engaged in a massive cover-up of
widespread criminal activity at the State Department and Clinton
Foundation in order to keep the Clintons in power. Never in history have
we seen such a cover-up as this, one that includes the destruction of
33,000 emails, 13 phones, laptops, missing boxes of evidence, and on and
on.
People who are capable of such crimes against our nation are capable of anything.
[…] But I take all of these slings and arrows for you. I take them
for our movement, so that we can have our country back. Our great
civilization, here in America and across the civilized world, has come
upon a moment of reckoning.
We’ve seen it in the United Kingdom, where they voted to liberate
themselves from global government and global trade deals and global
immigration deals that have destroyed their sovereignty.
But the central base of world political power is here in America, and
it is our corrupt political establishment that is the greatest power
behind the efforts at radical globalization and the disenfranchisement
of working people.
Their financial resources are unlimited. Their political resources
are unlimited. Their media resources are unlimited. And, most
importantly, the depths of their immorality is unlimited.
Our political establishment has no soul. I knew these false attacks
would come. I knew this day would arrive. And I knew the American
people would rise above it and vote for the future they deserve.
The only thing that can stop the Corrupt Clinton Machine is you. The
only force strong enough to save this country is you. The only people
brave enough to vote out this corrupt establishment is you, the American
People.
They control the Department of Justice, and they even clandestinely
meet with the Attorney General of the United States – in the back of her
airplane, while on the runway – for 39 minutes – to most likely discuss
her reappointment in a Clinton Administration just prior to the
Attorney General making a decision over whether or not to prosecute
Hillary Clinton.
Likewise,
they have corrupted the Director of the FBI to the point at which
stories are already saying the great men and women who work for the FBI
are embarrassed and ashamed to what he’s done to one of our great
institutions. Hillary Clinton is guilty of all of the things that
Director Comey stated at his press conference and Congressional
hearings, and far more – and yet he let her off the hook, while others
lives are being destroyed for far less.
This is a conspiracy against you, the American people.
This is our moment of reckoning as a society and as a civilization.
I didn’t need to do this. I built a great company, and I had a
wonderful life. I could have enjoyed the benefits of years of successful
business for myself and my family, instead of going through this
absolute horror show of lies, deceptions and malicious attacks. I’m
doing it because this country has given me so much, and I feel strongly
it was my turn to give back.
Some people warned me this campaign would be a journey to hell. But
they are wrong, it will be a journey to heaven because we will help so
many people.
In my former life, I was an insider as much as anybody else – and I
know what’s like to be an insider. Now I am being punished for leaving
their special club and revealing to you their great scam. Because I used
to be part of the club, I’m the only one who can fix it. I’m doing this
for the people, and this movement is just right – and we will take back
this country for you and Make America Great Again.
The corrupt establishment knows that we are an existential threat to
their criminal enterprise. They know, that if we win, their power is
gone and returned to you. The clouds hanging over our government can be
lifted, and replaced with a bright future – but it all depends on
whether we let the New York Times decide our future, or whether we let
the American people decide our future.
If this Clinton Campaign of Destruction is allowed to work, then no
other highly successful person – which is what our country needs – will
ever again run for this office.
I will not lie to you. These false attacks hurt. To be lied about, to
be slandered, to be smeared so publicly and before your family, is
painful.
What the Clinton Machine is doing to me, and my family, is egregious beyond words. It is reprehensible beyond description.
But I also know, it’s not about me – it’s about all of you. It’s about all of us, together, as a country.
It’s about the Veterans who need medical care, the mothers who’ve
lost children to terrorism and crime, it’s about the inner cities and
the border towns who desperately need our help, it’s about the millions
of jobless Americans. This election is about the people being crushed by
Obamacare, and it’s about defeating ISIS and appointing Supreme Court
Justices who will defend our Constitution.
This election is also about the African-American and Hispanic
communities whose communities have been plunged into crime, poverty and
failing schools by the policies of Hillary Clinton. They’ve robbed these
citizens of their future, and I will give them their hope, jobs and
opportunities back. I will deliver.
This election is about every man, woman and child in our country who deserves to live in safety, prosperity and peace.
We will rise above the lies, the smears, and the ludicrous slanders from ludicrous reporters.
We will vote for the country we want.
We will vote for the future we want.
We will vote for the politics we want.
We will vote to put this corrupt government cartel out of business.
We will remove from our politics the special interests who have betrayed
our workers, our borders, our freedoms, and our sovereign rights as a
nation. We will end the politics of profit, we will end the rule of
special interests, we will put a stop to the raiding of our country –
and the disenfranchisement of our people.
Our Independence Day is at hand, and it arrives, finally, on November
8th. Join me in taking back our country, and creating a bright and
glorious new dawn for our people."
~ Donald Trump
Yep, Facebook caught me. A year and a half ago or so, I put up an image, (that I found on facebook), of a hot air balloon. Yes, boys and girls, an image of a hot air balloon, not nude gays in the streets of San Francisco, not topless old lady protestors with their boobs painted and swinging at their waistline. A hot air balloon image, taken while it was flying high over New Mexico. I suppose that someone saw it and reported it, rather than Facebook just randomly finding it, because I had not posted it for a very long time. It was just nestled away, relaxing snugly in my albums.
This is that horrendously offensive photo:
I suppose that there are those who cannot stand to look at something like this, and get the vapors when they see it. We truly do have some overly sensitive people running loose in this world. Bless their hearts.
I decided that since Facebook has decided that I am "bad", and put me in Facebook Jail for a day, that I should further punish myself in some way. I decided to make myself go outside, to my shooting range, and do a few shooting exercises. I did 4 total. I always start with 14 rounds in my .22 Carbine, and then keep reloading with 13 rounds each time. I did 3 sets at 75 yards, from a kneel with the barrel rested, and then 1 set Standing, and stiffening myself with the sling. Shooting at a target that is 6 inches in diameter, (about the size of a head), all were kill shots.
My .22 is a Henry Lever Action Carbine, made in the USA, and a really enjoyable plinker.
I also do quite a bit of shooting with my Bear Creek Arsenel, "Ursid II", AR-15 Carbine, chambered in .223 Wylde, able to shoot both, .223 Remington, and 5.56 MM NATO ammo.
These weapons give me a lot of enjoyment, while maintaining my shooting proficiency.
This punishment that I have handed myself, for putting up that terrible picture of that Hot Air Balloon, is excruciating, but I must endure it.
I own fire arms, several of them. They provide me with immediate, personal, security. They can help me provide food for myself, and they provide healthy entertainment. Merely owning a fire arm is not enough, you must be able to use it, accurately, for whatever use you plan for it. I know people that have had a weapon for over 20 years and have not used up the first box of 20 or 50 bullets. I shoot up hundreds of bullets each month. I am no "Dead Eye Dick", but I can hit where I point my weapon, as you can see in these target specimens Each is scripted to show what weapon, at what distance, and what method of shooting, ("6 in Shoot NC", is the size and type of target that I shoot at):
With a .38 revolver:
With a 5.56MM AR-15 rifle:
Yes, the bullseye is not hit, but this is a 6 inch round target, (the size of a head), and all 12 shots are inside a 3 inch diameter circle. All were in the "kill range".
With a .22 Henry Lever Action Carbine:
This group of shots was within a 2 inch circle, plenty good for the distance, and considering that it was done using a .22 carbine and not a higher powered rifle.
Not bad for an old fart with 76 laps around the Sun.
This post is to introduce my two companions. Heidi is a "Southern Bulldog", of some sort of mix. She strayed to me Feb 28th, 2015. She has become quite the lover, staying close to me, even sleeping indoors. She is well behaved, responds readily to my call, and minds her manners, while still watching for any problems that may arise.
Karma is a "Great Pyrenees Dog", with badger markings. She was born on Father's Day (June 16th), 2013. She has the traditional habits of the Livestock Guardian Dog. Gentle with the little ones, autonomous thinking, (she does not respond to obedience type commands), lives outdoors, and is ready to keep the wolves away.
Both of these girls are usually with me, riding in the back of our truck. If they are not welcome, I probably won't be there. They love to "do what I do", such as walk in the fields and woods, and especially to go out to the Army Ranger Camp here, near me, and help me to support the troops. We spend a lot of our time out there, and they love every minute of it.
They love to swim in the ponds, here at the farm, and hit them once or twice a day.
If you see me, you will probably see them, and if you are a "good person", feel free to approach and pet them. If however, you have an ulterior motive, they will probably sense that, and will react in kind. If they bite, they will hurt you. But, all in all, they are as nice as you are.
I love my girls, and can get very agitated if their well being is threatened, just as they do if mine is threatened.
