Minnesota portraits

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Use cover

While not ideal cover, the vault door is a pretty good start on not getting shot. The actual position is the balance between having a wide field of view, pushing the muzzle out to avoid trapping the muzzle blast next to the shooter, and reducing target indicators for the intruder.

XDM45 5.25″ (longslide) owned by the model.

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Best cure is prevention, but…

 

…if avoiding psychos doesn’t work, then shooting them would have to do.

Statistically, women are at greatest personal risk of murder or aggravated battery when they leave abusive relationships. So don’t compound bad judgment in picking mates by choosing to go unarmed and untrained. Most abusive mates don’t gravitate towards those who can defend themselves, though exceptions do occur. Going armed, especially in a situation where the enemy is inside the home, doesn’t guarantee safety. Going unarmed, however, all but guarantees victimization if the mate or ex-mate is inclined to violence.

I recommend Cornered Cat for more info.

 

Posted in holster, interesting people, pistol, self-defense, training, weapon | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Hunter

While doing photos for Michelle DiCianni’s Gun Digest article about Rock Island 45ACP pistol, we spooked an adult doe right by my house. While the doe lumbered away slowly, the model tracked her with her index finger and said: “I just have to remember to lead it a little”. Turned out she’s an avid deer hunter and knows rifles, though new to handguns. So we put a rifle into her hands.

MAD556

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Squirrel eating a flower

It got close enough for the 55mm lens I had mounted.

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Modern and historic

Keltec CMR30 with Primary Arms 4x prismatic scope.

Springfield 1903 rinfire trainer.

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Friends in arms

Modern

Classic.

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One advantage of working with competent models

I don’t own any XD or XDM pistols. This model brought her own pistol to the photo shoot, which gave me an opportunity to include it as a prop.

It’s also helpful that I don’t have to pay attention to safety and other handling details. It’s usually much easier to teach a person competent in some skill or craft how to model than to teach a model or an actor how to fake competency in a craft.

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A friend wants to become a gunsmith.

My friend Scott signed up for the Yavapai school of professional gunsmithing. The first challenge was the list of required materials for the first semester, which is beyond his current resources. Part of the list is the expected tools, the other is the unexpected, varied firearms. We are trying to figure out if anyone, organizations or individuals, would be able to sponsor his education or advise on other ways of making this happen. I would appreciate any advice or assistance extended to Scott.

Machine Shop Tools
 Roll away tool chest 18” Deep x 30” Wide x 34” Tall max.
 Dial Calipers
 0-1 Micrometer
 115 pc. Drill Set (The cheap imports won’t work)
 Center Drill Set
 Tap Set (Brownell’s gunsmithing set)
 Tap Wrench,
 60 degree thread pitch gage,
 60 degree center gage
 55 degree center gage
 6” flexible steel rule 16R
 Carbide Scribe
 Dial Test Indicator .0005
 Magnetic indicator base (mighty mag) w/1” indicator
 Indicol or equivalent
 Combination Square,
 Edge Finder
 Gunsmith Screwdriver Set (Brownell’s or Midway)
 Assorted 20 pc. end mill set
 Three 5/16 or 3/8 High Speed Square Tool Bits
 10-12” Bastard Cut File
 File Chalk,
 Ball Hex Wrenches,
 Nylon/Brass Punch,
 Pin Punch Set,
 Nylon Hammer,
 Small Ballpein Hammer (4-8oz.)
 Hacksaw w/24 or 32TPI blade
 12” Cresent wrench
 Tapping Fluid for Steel
 Tapping Fluid for Alum.
 Dykem Layout Fluid, (Blue)
 One padlock 1/4 dia
 Safety Glasses
 Notebooks, Pen/Pencils
Shotgun
 Browning A5 or Remington 11
 Win.12
 Ithaca 37
 Rem. 870 or 1100 series
 Mossberg 500 (aluminum receiver cannot blue but OK for shotgun class)
 Recoil Pad to fit your shotgun Brownells Approx. 20.00
Rifle
 Rem 700
 Win 70
 Savage 110, 112, 116 etc.
 Marlin 336 or 94 Win. (some 94’s will not hot blue)
 M1 Garand or M1A type rifle
 AR-15 type rifle (hard anodized cannot refinish at school)
 One Mauser 98 Bolt Action Rifle the metal should be complete.
Metal Refinishing
Four weapons made of steel (no stainless or
aluminum). Any number combination of rifles, shotguns or handguns.
 Your rifle from the rifle list will work if it is steel & needs refinishing.
 Your shotgun from shotgun class will work if it is steel & needs refinishing.
 Any blued steel pistol or revolver in need of refinishing.
 Rubber Boots
 Heavy Rubber Gloves
 Long Sleeved Shirt (Sweatshirt)
 Particulate Respirator (Suitable for grinding dust & wood dust)
 One bottle of slow rust bluing solution. Brownells
 One gal. WD40 with spray bottle
 One package each of 120, 240, 320, 600 grit wet and dry sand paper.
Note: It is not necessary to purchase all of the above guns for the above classes. They
may be borrowed from friend or family.
General needs
 A personal lap top or a tablet. The facility is wireless.
 3 feet of 1 ¼” mild steel round stock (hot or cold rolled)
 1 foot of ¼” x 4” cold rolled flat stock
 A couple, nasty old used screw drivers for regrinding.
 Also plan on about $100.00 for other misc. project materials.

 

Posted in advice requested, interesting people, rifle, shotgun | Tagged , , | 29 Comments

Laptop recommendation needed.

I am looking for a replacement laptop. Main requirements:

  • Fast processor and enough RAM to run Photoshop
  • Good, non-reflective screen
  • 15″ or 15.6″ screen size to fit my carry-on bag

Secondary requirements

  • Relatively large hard drive
  • Good battery life
  • Windows 7 rather than 8

I checked Dell web site, found something close for nearly $3K. Any other alternatives I should check, either for better configuration or for lower price?

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Crash space in Indianapolis?

Amie would like to go to the writers’ events at Gencon, I would be tagging along. We looked at hotels and found nothing even close to the location this late in the season. Would anyone living reasonably close to Gencon be willing to host us July 29 to August 1?

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Auctioning off a print for my friend Nicki

nicki_4217

My Nicki friend has a problem: criminal squatters (one of which is a convicted child molester) and an equally criminal judge (whose actions fit the definition of theft under color of the law) who gave them temporary control of her house. Though taking them on directly would have been both efficient and satisfying, she’s going through the courts instead. Her other friends set up a fund-raiser to cover her legal expenses. To help that process along, I am offering a poster print of your choice to the highest contributor between now and June 1, inclusive. Just donate to the cause and let me know when you have, and your choice of photo.

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When “Too Much Scope” Isn’t Too Much: new on AllOutdoor

Lucid 6-24x and other high-magnification scopes for varminting

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Utah friend needs legal/financial advice

A friend just got pre-approved for a home loan. The bank then reversed itself saying that they looked more closely and her credit wasn’t as good. So she dug deeper and found the following:

  • DATC, a tech school which she never attended, claimed that she owes them money and is delinquent in paying
  • Several places listed on the credit report have long since been paid but never updated the information

She can try to contact all of these companies and request statements certifying that nothing is owed to them…but she has only a week in which to get this info to her bank and the process may take longer.

Advice on how to handle this would be much appreciated. Introductions to people who might be able to assist her would be equally welcome.

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Portraits of friends

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TUOR Backup Rifle Sights: new on AllOutdoor

Articulated backup iron sights.

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Pocket speedsters

Guardian in 32NAA caliber.

Case-hardened special edition of the Mini Mag, in 22WMR. Hornady 45gr ammunition is designed specifically for short barrels, so it gets 1000fps from this gun vs. 850fps produced by 22LR, and with a heavier jacketed bullet (45gr instead of 40gr unjacketed lead).

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The smallest and the largest caliber of the line-up

The largest caliber North American Arms offers: 380ACP.

The smallest: 22 Short.

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Poor Jar Jar, I knew him well

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Film reviews

Our Mothers, Our Fathers (Generation War) — a German three-part movie about five friends living through 1939-1945.

Acting – 9/10, including strong performances by secondary characters
Visuals – 9/10, good sense of time and place
Props and authenticity – 8/10, just a couple of glitches
Pacing, editing, suspense – 10/10
Plot – 10/10, not very predictable at all

Overall: highly recommended.

The Sleeping Voice (La Voz Dormida) — a Spanish film about the aftermatch of their 1936-39 Civil War.

Plot – 10/10
Acting 10/10
Props and authenticity – 10/10
Pacing, editing, suspense – 10/10
Plot – 10/10
Visuals 10/10
Music – 9/10, helpful but not memorable in itself

Overall: very highly recommended.

 

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