Monster Magnet - Spacelord

New Years.

Hit it.

Harleys

Its a cheap shot.  But that doesn't mean it isn't true.

ATF: The Year in Review

Light up kids.  We're gonna take you back and hit the highlights... but mostly the low lights... of 2013... and we'll tell you about all the suck you have to look forward to in 2014.

drink up.  You're gonna need it.

I also have a very special surprise for you tonight.  You're gonna like this.

A: Shiner Premium... and probably a lot of bourbon.

T: Still on those HAVOC's .  mmmmmm  Yummy.

F: Gonna go with the Savage 99 in 308.  For obvious reasons.  Why they aren't still making these... I will never know.  Can I get one in 458 win mag?  416 rigby?  Africa calls.  Also... a buddy called and asked what I thought about a Browning X Bolt in 280 remington.  I've never shot an x-bolt but I very much appreciated the performance and economy of the A-Bolt.    And as far as I'm concerned... the fact that the 280 Remington never took over the US hunting market is just proof that MPAI.

Here's the link to the show.  Y'all come.

How Do I know Which One is Yours?

Its the one that says Bad Mother Fucker on it.

Merry Christmas

I take a moment to give thanks for each and every one of you.... my commentors and readers.  Though I still marvel that you bother to come by... I am never the less honoured and humbled.

It is my sincerest wish that you are spending Christmas with those you love... and those who love you.

And I am thankful for the Greatest of all gifts.

God Bless.

Spokojnoj Nochi General

We lost Mikhail Kalashnikov today.  He passed at the age of 94.   I don't need to sing the praises of the AK-47 or the AK-74. You know who he was.  You know what he did.

The conflict between Russians and Americans has never made much sense to me to be honest... and I sincerely hope that John Moses Brown and General Kalashnikov get to share a beverage on the streets of gold.

So friends..  put the bourbon aside for one night.  And tonight...  raise a glass of vodka... to one of the finest firearms designers to ever walk this earth.  I'll leave you with some quotes from the General himself...

"I created a weapon to defend the motherland's borders. It's not my fault that it was sometimes used where it shouldn't have been. This is the fault of politicians"

"I wanted to invent an engine that could run for ever. I could have developed a new train, had I stayed in the railway. It would have looked like the AK-47 though."

"Life can make you do many things, even kiss a man with a runny nose."

"I shot with it a lot. I still do now. That is why I am hard of hearing."



Das Vidanya Mikhail.

ATF: Cultur War. Shots Fired.

Look...  be advised.  If you're sick of hearing about a certain group of bearded men and a certain interview and a certain shit storm that resulted...  this probably ain't the show for you.

This is war kids.   This is Black Flag Christianity.

And no.  I don't have a problem saying that while drinking and smoking and wearing a firearm.

If you think that is ironic... then you need a better education.

Now... speaking of that...

A:  Wild MF'n  Turkey.   Because 101.

T:  I am not smokin' at present...but I plan on lightin' up a Romeo y Julietta Havoc when we're done.  Because some God Fearin' Christian sent them to me.  Amen.

F: Why can't I get an AR chambered in 7mm-08?  Why hasn't this happened?  If it did happen wouldn't AR-10 mags work with it?  I want one dammit.  Someone make this happen.  Or I will.  Boy that'd be a helluva kickstarter campaign wouldn't it?

Anyway... if you can't tell I am kinda fired up tonight...  here's the damned link.

The Show.

Black Flag Christianity

***The following was written March 30, 2009 and posted as a note on Facebook. I suspect its contents will ring a little louder now than it did then.***

We write this day for one reason and one reason alone. We write to declare once and for all that the message of the Gospel must not be lost. We accept no compromise. We accept nothing less than the Truth.

Christianity is not an inclusive religion.

Christianity is not a unifying religion.

Christianity is divisive.. subversive.. and dangerous.

Christianity pits brother against brother.. and Father against Son.

Christianity is not a religion of Peace... at least not until the Victory.

We will no longer tolerate the pathetic trade off.. we will not sacrifice the Truth for mere peace within the church. We will not compromise. Black is black. White is white. This is the end.

Paul did not barter the Truth for peace.

Jesus did not barter the Truth for peace.

Neither shall we.

It is time for Christians to shake off their cowardice and insecurity. It is time for Christians to speak the truth regardless of the consequences.

The time is now.



Hoist the colors.




This is our flag.  If you are on our side I encourage you to post this flag on your blog.  Use it as your profile picture on facebook or twitter.  Its time to get off the fence.  Its time to pick a side in this culture war.

President Amabo and the Great Refridgeration Act of 2037

And so it came to pass that the many President Amabo and his party friends decided that there was a terrible problem with decentralized refrigeration.  Some families had to much... and others to little.  It would be much more efficient if there was one centralized refrigeration system.

And thus... the Affordable Refrigeration Act was passed into law.

President Amabo hired his good friend Ned, who just happened to run massive refrigerator company, to set up the system.  The system cost billions and took years to develop.

Now... It turns out that President Amabo didn't actually know much about refrigerator... and neither did his party friends.  To them it was like magic.  You open the door of the fridge and its cold in there.  How does it work?  Well you plug it in and turn it on.  It works.  That is the whole limit of their understanding.

What they did understand... was perception.  They were very keen to see that the very important project was perceived as successful.  So they poured over all the progress reports... and frequently called Ned to insist on changes to this or that based on perception.  This made Ned's job very difficult... because Ned wasn't building a Perception.  He was building a refrigerator.

3 months before the whole system was supposed to go online...  President Amabo was looking over the latest report and noticed that the system used something called a compressor.  Now Amabo had no idea what a compressor was... but he was certain if The People heard one was involved it would be bad.  The People would probably think they were going to squish all the food together.  And that's no good.

So Amabo called up Ned... and explained... This refrigerator cannot use a compressor.  Take out the compressor.





And now...

You know everything you need to know about Healthcare.gov... and why it doesn't work.

First of Many

I got the call about 11am...  my buddy Greg was already at the hunting camp.  Crap.  What rifle do I take?  What ammo do I take?  I had a bunch of crap to do...  I wasn't prepared for this.  I'd promised my son we'd start our Epic Hamburger Tour today...  so that had to come first.  And of course... it did.

When I got home DrWho was giving me that.. "you better go hunting" look... the Savage 99 was sitting there...  looking...  as reliable as ever.  Well... I figured I'd throw some 150 grain soft points through it.  If it was shooting... I'd go.

Sure enough... 3 shots made 1 hole at 100 yards.   Its an inch high.  God I love that rifle.

Its Bama so its not like I hade to gear up to much. I knew it would hit the mid thirties by the time I was out of the woods so I just grabbed a decent coat and threw on my boots.  The rest of the necessaries went in the bag.  DrWho met me at the door with some cokes, some jerky, and some habenero barbeque nuts.  She's a good wife.

The plan was to be in the woods and set up by 3.   There were two big food plots we wanted to sit on... and another buddy Webb had a climber and wanted to sit on a funnel between them.  My plot was the furthest so I drove the cart and dropped Webb off at a spot where he could walk the rest of the way in... and I drove on to my shooting house.

Its a sweet setup.  I drove into the woods quite a ways... then came to a fork.  To the left takes you to the food plot itself.  To the right takes you around a thick wooded area to a walking path that leads to the back of the shooting house that looks out over the food plot.  I parked the cart by the path.. silenced my phone.. loaded 2 rounds of 150 grain winchester soft points into the rotary magazine of the 99... and started walking.  I may have made it just a bit after 3... but not much.

This is what I was looking at.



It was 3pm... 64 degrees...  and really not a bad way to spend the afternoon.

So now is a good time to say that hunting in 2013 is very different than hunting was in 1993.  This was abundantly clear to me around 30 minutes later when I get a text from Greg over on the other food plot.  "Hey man.  Doe just walked out in the back of my plot.  They are moving early "

Ever the patient sort... I texted him back, "SHOOT HER!"

But..  he didn't.

For about the next 30 minutes I was really on my game.  I glassed... nothing.  After a while I relaxed.  It was probably gonna be a long day.  No reason to push.  I settled down in the seat... put on my electronic ears and played bejewelled on the blackberry for a while.  About 4 I got another text from Greg.  "keep your eyes open.  They'll start moving soon."

The shadows kept getting longer... reaching out across the food plot.  It was tarting to really cool off now. the temp's dropped almost 15 degrees.  I put the coat on.  At 4:30 another text comes in.  "They'll be easing into the food plot now.  watch the back left and the far right!"   yeah right.

This is the 4th time I've sat out here in the afternoon on this camp and apart from the deer Jeb shot... I ain't seen squat. I texted Greg back at 4:45 "Y'all are full of shit.  Ain't no damned deer on this camp." I was so frustrated I decided to get out of the box and take a piss.  God knows how much ruckus I made.  I didn't even try to be quiet.  I was irritated.

I got back in the house... settled back down and checked the lux meter on my phone.  Its still 90 lux out there.  Plenty of light to shoot.  But the sun was definitely going down.  I didn't have a lot of time.  Defeat was sinking in I checked the meter again and it had dropped to the 40s.  I don't keep a rockstar scope on the 99... its just a little simmons 3-9X32.   I texted Greg....  "I don't know how much longer I can shoot with this scope.  Its getting dark."

Greg's sitting over there with a 50mm Zeiss scope on his weatherby 7mm-08.  He replied, "I can shoot till about 6:30."

"Yeah... you can also go to jail."

I was a little bitter.

I looked up from my phone... and there were two big doe standing in the back corner of the plot.  About 200 yards.  I could see them clearly with the naked eye... but with the scope?  Magnification was set at 6.  Was it enough?

I rested the rifle on the window of the shooting house.  The big doe picked up the movement and looked my way but she didn't move.  She was giving me a perfect broadside.  I put the cross-hairs just above and behind her shoulder.

I took the rifle down.  I texted greg.

"Big doe."

"Shoot her!"

Once more I put the rifle up.  She was still there looking at me.  The retical found the kill zone just like before.

Maybe just a hair higher.

I put my finger on the trigger.  I relaxed.  I tried to touch my nose with my trigger finger.

.223s go "crack".   .308s go "boom".

The 99 doesn't so much kick as push.  Its less like a snap and more like a shove.  I saw the deer drop though the scope.

I held the scope on the deer... but it was clear a follow up was not needed.  She was down.  Her back legs kicked once.  It was as clean a kill as you can hope for.  Custom says you wait 30 minutes before you leave the stand but it was pointless.  The 150 grain soft point had thrown her down like she'd been hit by a truck.

After approximately 90 seconds I went out to check her.  She was beautiful.  She'd been broadsiding me when I shot her.  Now she was on her side facing the back of the food plot.  There was a huge blood puddle under her... but no obvious entrance wound at all.  I felt around in her fur until I found it... right were I expected.  Just a touch high.

Greg and Webb helped get her back to the camp and we cleaned her right there in the purpose built cleaning shed.

Webb is a master... and Greg impressed me to.  Its the first time I've ever seen a Dewalt Reciprocating saw employed in butchery.  Never the less it was effective... and very tidy.

I don't know when I'm gonna get back out there.  I do have a big hunt planned in January.

Maybe I'll look into one of those fancy Zeiss rigs.   Or at least a Redfield...

China Lands on the Moon

Well... it appears we may finally get an answer once and for all.  China has landed on the moon and as I am typing... pictures are being beamed back to earth from their lander.

At some point...  we will get to see pictures of all those Apollo relics.  Right?

And if we do then i concede... that is massive evidence to support the claim that men actually walked on the moon.

But what if we don't?

What will you concede?

ATF Returns

Hey kids.

Sorry.  Been busy as all hell.

Show starts in a few minutes...  9 central.

here's the link

Wisdom from the Redneck Sage

no... that's not a moniker I self apply.  I'm talking about Outlaw X.

A couple days ago our buddy Vox put up a glorious eulogy to a friend he lost.  In the comments...  Outlaw X said something that I think pretty damned profound and ...  and maybe even timely for someone.

Everyone needs to hear this.  Some of us need to hear it now.


This gives me a chance to say something I have been wanting to say to people on this blog. From your early 40's to your mid 50"s expect the hammer to fall in your sight. I don't mean death but it could be anything. It is a purging of the soul and recorded in the mind and probably your last chance to change for your own good. I have watched it all through my life and have noticed this to be a seemly an imperative of God or fate. It always happens. There are many names for it, some call it a mid-life crises, it could be a health, financial, marriage or family issue. It is as if you make it there it becomes an inevitable fact of life..

I suggest people recognize this and understand why it happens and move on with the wisdom of what has happened rather than why it happened. When you loose friends, family members or any loss that really disturbs you remember there is a reason and just be patient, sober and think. And it will become clear to you in Gods own time. 

Evidence of Superior Civilization

I am often asked if things really are that different in the South...  as if it is just some giant group delusion or something.

To answer the question I've decided to simply post a picture.  And you can answer yourself.  Is this the kind of thing you see displayed on the wall menu of sandwich shops in your part of the country?



An yes this is real.  I took it myself at A Taste of Philly in Pensacola.  Do take the time to read the firearms sign completely.

ATF: Yes? Of course!

Ok enough of this off and on nonsense.  Its time to get this show back on the road.  So to speak.

I've got 3 different kinds of Shiner tonight... Shiner Bock...  Shiner Premium... and Shiner Cheer.  The last being their special christmas beer.  Which is odd... because it tastes like peaches.  I don't know what peaches have to do with christmas... but what ever.

So today we learned some big news...  apparently at some point in the last few years our buddy Vox switched from Glock to Steyr.  Now I know what you're thinking but there's no reason to jumped to conclusions...  just because I've used  Steyr forever and sung praises for years doesn't mean Vox was influenced.  I mean in his part of the world Steyr is Glock's biggest competitor.  That's hard for american's to imagine because the weapons never caught on here... but honestly that says more about Americans than Steyr.

Anyway its happy news to know that Vox has been un-Glockified.  Now if we can just get Six to see the light...

A:  Shiner.  Lots of Shiner.  Obviously

T:  Makers Mark cigar.  Things are aged in honest to God bourbon barrels.  Fantastic.

F:  Pair of Steyr M40-A1s.   I know I know...  real gun people know that you can't shoot 2 pistols at the same time.  Its all Hollywood fiction.   Well...  I can.  and do.  Work at something long enough... and your mind figures it out.  That said in a defensive situation it wouldn't be my choice.  We carry two because its faster to draw a new on than reload.

Here's the link to the show.  Y'all come.  9 central.

ATF: No.

Sorry kids...  been in the woods all day... gonna be in the woods all day tomorrow.  I'm on a mission to help my boy get his first deer... and that probably means getting up at 0 Dark 30.  Its not that I don't love y'all.   Its just...   priorities dammit.

I will say this...  Jeb and I were both pissed about being rained out... so getting to blow that armadillo to hell and gone was seriously cathartic.

A:  New Castle Cabbie Black Ale.    Holy Shit.   Find some.

T:  Not until a damned deer dies.

F:  HR Handi-Rifle in .223.  Single shot.  Trigger is crisp but its to heavy.  Jeb's still the devil with it.  I'm taking my crossbow with me.  I won't shoot until Jeb get's his... but after that... well....

Rituals and Rights of Passage

Its a big day.   Today is the start of Alabama's youth hunting weekend... and my oldest son's first deer hunt.  We've got a fantastic spot.  Big food plot with so much deer sign it makes you wonder if we aren't feeding the deer population of half the county.  On wednesday we came to scout and when we drove up in the afternoon there were 7 deer and 14 turkeys in the plot.

I know there is debate over the viability of the .223 as a deer round... but I find those that disapprove have generally never used one for such... and the only stories they've heard came from their grand-dad in the 70s.

Bullets technology has changed.  Winchester Ballistic silvertips for example...  55 grains... 3200 fps.  An inch after impact they've expanded to half and inch in diameter.  So basicly you're blowing a .50 caliber hole through the heart and lungs.  The fact is... inside 150 yards.. a well placed .223 will drop a deer just fine.  And that's what Jeb will be shooting today.  Now... odds are we're gonna be on the does today... and the deer down here in lower Alabama aren't like the deer up in TN or KY...  they are little like West Virginia deer.  I mean the biggest deer down here that the old timers even know about being shot was 290 pounds.  Contrast this with Michigan deer that are known to be upwards of 400.  Plus we'll be shooting around 70 to 100 yards.

Now...

If Jeb gets one there are all kinds of rituals out there.  Prayer obviously...  and in the old days ya tasted the animal's blood.  Down here its tradition to use the blood like war paint on the shooter's face.

Ok kids...  let's hear your First Kill stories.


***UPDATE***

rained out.  It poured on us all day long... and of course...  20 minutes after we head back to camp it stops raining...  and the deer all come out.   I hate deer.   Man do I hate deer.   The wasn't totally lost...  Jeb did kill the hell out of an armadillo just for spite.  Good shot.  Blew it to hell and gone.

 Back at it tomorrow.

Unintentional Comedy

From the Chicago Fed report on Crypto Currencies... we find this gem of a quote...

"Although some of the enthusiasm for bitcoin is driven by a distrust of state-issued currency, it is hard to imagine a world where the main currency is based on an extremely complex code understood by only a few and controlled by even fewer, without accountability, arbitration, or recourse."

...

***looks around***


yep.

ATF: Nukes and Pussy Riot!

Well... damned if it ain't that time again.  In theory we're gonna have six back tonight... Thanks be to God Himself.  Man am I sick of pulling this cart by own self.

A:  Bourbon.  Dammit.   Lots of it.

T:  Romeo

F: Many.  Many.  Many.

Das Link

ATF:

Shut up... I'm in hurry.  we're running late.  Deal with it.

here's the link.

A:  Makers 46

T: Ghurka Spec Ops.  

F: Weatherby 257 weatherby magnum.  Because.  BOOM.