Yes... It Was a Merry Christmas

Is this over the top?   I don't think this is over the top...



DrWho said she wanted a "Mommy Doom Buggie".  I decided that what she meant was... she wanted a Polaris RZR 570.

And what did I get?



Oh... only 6 different bottles of the rarest bourbons and whiskeys imaginable...  from Wild Turkey Diamond Anniversary to Sazerac Rye (2 bottles of that!).

I may have to fire the ATF Show back up for some reviews.

A Guantlet Thrown

Cheddarman.

You have thrise challenged me to a bet on the Bama vs Ohio State playoff game.   Out of christian mercy I have ignored this... but at last I have decided to grant you your wish.

If OSU wins.. I will purchase an Ohio State hat... and I will post a photo of myself with it here.

If Bama wins... you will purchase an Alabama hat... and you will email me a self photo wearing it and I will post it here.

What say you?

2014 VPFL Champion

It was a rough season.  It was tight all year with 7 teams fighting for 4 playoff spots.   Going into week 12 we were facing Jartstar's Chili Eaters and it looked he had them beat.  Monday night though they came roaring back and he ended up beating me 85 to 73.  In a league this tight... losses hurt a lot.  That loss dropped me all the way to 5th place... out of the playoffs entirely.

but I won out the rest of the way... and found myself facing WhiteBufalo's Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs.  They'd been in first or second the whole year.  It was a tough matchup but I scratched out a 54 to 50 win when Denver decided to go run heavy and Peyton Manning turned in a mere 10 points.

And that setup today's matchup with Jartstar and his dread Chili Eaters...  I believe the only team I had lost to twice in the regular season.

To make matters worse.. my RB2 matchup was horrible.  My normal RB2 Matthews was hurt... and his backup was... Chris Ivory... A New York Jet of all things.   So I went out to the waiver wire and grabbed a viking RB named Asiata... plugged him in... and low and behold... he scored 2TDs and got a 2 pt conversion.  I also picked up DeSean Jackson off waivers and he plugged in a served very nicely as a WR3 for me.

And now its almost done.   All of the Chili Eater starters are done.  And I still have two guys to play tonight... and I'm up around 30 points.

I didn't just beat my nemesis.  I totally destroyed him when it mattered most.

Now...

Now I have a cigar to smoke...  and a ring to design.

And to those who play this foolish game as well... I hope your season was as satisfying.



And oh look...  my bench outscored his starters.  

92F Kaboom: Final

So I just got off the phone with the fine men at Beretta.  The 92F will arrive today.  Its been repaired and tested and it is functioning like new.  They did this at no charge.  Did I mention this particular 92F was made in 1990?

The firearm is old enough to buy its own bourbon...  it only came with a 1 year warranty to start with... and I'm not even the original owner.  They repaired it for free. 

How badass is that?

So what all did they do?  Well... they reassembled it... fired a mag through it... inspected it... and called it good.

See...  apparently the 92F was actually designed to deal with overpressure.  How effective is that design?

Apparently in Falujah a soldier was firing his and it popped just like mine from over-pressure.  He was under fire... so he took cover...jerked the trigger back forward and everything just popped back into place. He reloaded... and went right back to fighting.

Now the gunsmith said that in those circumstances the springs inside wouldn't have been properly aligned so it wouldn't be ideal... but the weapon would function.

I don't know why... but the idea that a weapon and effectively go kaboom...  and you just force the trigger forward load a new mag... work the slide... and go right back to fighting... really impresses me.

I'm kind of embarrassed that I didn't already know this about this weapon considering how much I have carried its Taurus brother.   I guess I've never had a failure before so I had no reason to look into stuff like this.  The Taurus functions so perfectly under so many horrible conditions that failure just never occurred to me.

Anyway... we learned something.  If you have a beretta 92F and it damned near explodes in your hand...  just take off the slide and the grip... pull the trigger back forward and realign the springs... put it back together and you're good to go.

I think its high time we re-evaluate the 92F on our scale of badass weapons.   Yes... its a 9 and 9s suck... but this thing is a freakin' tank. 

At this point.. I can... without equivocation recommend you buy a 92F.  Or.. if you prefer... a 96... which is the 40 cal version. 

Its Time to Put the Old Girl Down

Today... there is a good chance I am gonna hurt your feelings.  I'm gonna tell you something that most are just to nice to say.  See familiarity is something that's very comforting to us...  and comfort breeds confidence which often breeds success.  At some point though we're clinging simply to that comfort.  We get lazy.  We get stuck in a rut and before you know it you've missed the present and the future is about to hit you with a hay-maker.

But its time we faced reality people.  Its time to put your 30-30 away.  Its time to put your 303 enfield away...  and yes...  its time to put your 30-06 away.

These are outdated curiosities.  They are not proper modern hunting cartridges.  There is literally nothing the 30-06 does that a 7mm mag doesn't do significantly better. 

I'm not saying you should throw out your old guns.  I'm not saying you should throw out your newer guns that are chambered in these.  I'm saying you shouldn't be buying additional weapons in these, when there are better options available.

Compare a 7mm mag to a 30-06.  Velocity wise you're looking at 200fps difference for common north american game sized bullets. At least in factory loads.  And the 300 win mag?  Well its not even close.  I mean its a whole different sport practically.  A 30-06 is pushing a 150 grain bullet around... oh... 2900 fps.  A 7mm mag pushes that same bullet about 3100 fps.   A 300 win mag throws a 165 grain bullet out at over 3200 fps.

Oh but it isn't fair says you!   Those are magnums! 

So what?  The 30-06 is a long action round.  Its practically the same size in terms of length as the 300 win mag.  Sit them side by side and you would think they are extremely similar.  But they aren't.  Because one was designed in 1906... and the other was designed in 1963.

But that isn't even the most damning comparison.  No... the absolute proof that the 30-06 is obsolete... is the 308.

30-06 performance... out a short action?

Why would you bother with a long action throw?  Why does the 30-06 do so little... with so much case capacity?

Well... because it was designed in 1906.  That's why.

Now... I know you're going to be upset... and you're going to come up with all kinds of reasons why your beloved 30-06 is still just as good as it ever was.  Hey the 30-30 killed dear for over 100 years!  and I know I know... most shots are taken from under 200 yards right?  Its ok.  Let it out.

Tell ya what...  Keep your 30-06... and enjoy shooting it.

Just don't buy more.

They don't have 30-06 in cowboy action shooting.  So I suppose you'll have to come up with some other excuse to live in the past.

92F Kaboom Part 2

Ok... What did we learn?

I just got off the phone with the Ammo Manufacturer.  This was Ultramax remanufactured ammunition.  I spoke with their customer service rep today.  He believes it was a case failure due to age.  It happens from time to time but they have never been able to recreate it.  He has offered to replace all of my ultramax ammo with newly made stuff. 

As for the Beretta...

Turns out the 92f has a bit of a safety feature designed in just for this kind of failure.  Several of the internals pop out and nothing breaks.  According to ammo guys... reassembly is all that is required.  They still told me to ship it to beretta and have them fix it, and told me to either have beretta bill them or if beretta refused they would reimburse me for the costs.

Can't complain.

I'm on hold with Beretta right now.  We'll see what they say.  So far I am impressed with Ultramax's service... and if what they say is true... I'm impressed with the 92f as well.