Shoot 'Em Up

What a shooty week we have had. Mr WK has been off work all week, enjoying his last week of paid vacation this year. We either went shooting or did a shooting related activity almost every day. Last Saturday was the only non-shooting day but all the rest were shooting related in some way.

• Sunday we shot our black rifles at the outdoor range.
• Monday we went to the outdoor range to shoot our black rifles but all the stations were full and there were other folks waiting to shoot. So we headed to a gun store we'd never been to, Quantico Arms & Tactical Supply in Junction City, KS. As they are on the road leading to Ft Riley they are very military oriented which is just what we wanted. Now we have a "cop" store in the Kansas City area and a "military" store in the other direction, depending on the type of equipment we want. We tend to lean in the military direction. I guess that's the influence of the active military guys in our IDPA group.
  
• Tuesday evening we drove to St Joe, MO and shot IDPA with that group.
• Wednesday we drove to Kansas City and stopped at Cabela's and The Bullet Hole for supplies.
• Thursday we shot black rifles all afternoon at the outdoor range then drove to the indoor range and shot our black pistols all evening with some IDPA buddies. We shot our own guns and each others guns. When we left, the only ammo any of us had left was our TAP ammo.
  
• Friday morning, Mr WK cleaned everything we've been shooting all week while I cleaned house and did laundry. We also cycled some brass through the polisher in preparation for some reloading on Sunday.
  
• Saturday morning Mr WK reloaded some .40 cal and we shot our black rifles all afternoon at the outdoor range with our active military IDPA buddy.

Sunday we're going to do some reloading.

Monday afternoon, I'm meeting my SIL and a teacher buddy of hers that shoots and we're going shooting. Again! I looked but I can't believe I didn't blog about this.

In mid-October my SIL, the one for whom I knit socks and knit the Paws to Remember Scarf, went shooting. My SIL has always maintained (in the 30+ years that I've known her) that she didn't like guns. She wasn't anti-gun, they just weren't for her. Since Mr WK and I started shooting again (in July 2008) and shooting a lot and shooting IDPA and taking classes she's been more interested. A lot more interested. So much so, that for Christmas last year her husband (who is thrilled) got her spot in a new shooters class. She took the class in late January and she had fun but it wore her out. I'd offered a few times to meet her any time, with or without her husband or Mr WK and go shooting.

In mid October, she sends me an e-mail wanting to know if I wanted to meet her and some friends for lunch (the lady for whom I'm currently knitting the red lace scarf and the one for whom I knit the Fern Lace Wrap) then the two of us would go shooting. I fired back an affirmative and it was set. I took my two 9mm Glocks, (G26 & G19), the .357 Taurus 617, my Sig P238 .380 and the Browning Buckmark Camper .22LR with the gold trigger along with ammos. She brought her .38 cowboy revolver as her husband is into cowboy action shooting and she wanted a cowboy gun. Prior to this year, she'd never shot it although she's had it for three or four years.

I also brought both sets of our indoor range hearing protectors (Peltor Ultimate 10). She's said in the past, after the class last January and the couple of times she went with her husband to the range, that she jumps every time someone shoots. We were at the range in the little room where you gear up or down, depending on whether you're going out on the range or back into the shop. You can watch the other shooters from there and you don't need your hearing protectors on in there as it's somewhat soundproofed from the actual range until someone opens the door to the range. Anyway, with *her* hearing protectors on in there and the range door closed she was still flinching at every bang. Not. Good. At. All.

I had her put on the spare ones I'd brought and she quit flinching at the noise. A while later out on the range when someone fired off several rounds from a 12 gauge only three lanes away, she heard it but didn't jump or flinch. A bit later when someone else fired off several shots from a .44 mag a few lanes down, she heard the booms but didn't jump or flinch.

OK! Half the battle already won. We're here. She's not flinching at the noise.

I started her out with the .22LR. I loaded the magazine, put it in the gun, released the slide and set it down on the firing bench. I watched her through several magazines and she has excellent range manners and follows all the rules of good gun safety. OK another hurdle cleared.

Other than the .22LR and the .380 the only other ammo we shot were our hand loads. Over the couple of hours we were there I offered her my G19, the Taurus .357 (with soft .38 hand loads) and the .380. She put about 4 rounds through the 19, all 7 .38's through the .357 and all 6 rounds though the .380. She never picked up any them up again although she did remark that she liked the .380. She always went back to the .22LR. For a new shooter, it's all about the recoil and that's OK.

We shared a lane and took turns shooting. She would empty the 10 round .22 magazine then I would put 5 rounds down range with my G19. While she shot, I'd load the empty .22LR mag and put 5 in my Glock mag. After a little while, there was an opportunity for me to step away from the firing bench and hand her a full .22 magazine. She'd been watching me each time I put a fresh mag into the .22. I watched as she took the magazine, inserted it and at her questioning look, pointed at the slide release. After that I just made sure there was a fresh mag on the firing bench. A few times, I asked if she wanted to work the slide to pick up the first round and she did but she never did it on her own and after the second time I didn't ask anymore. A little later, I showed her how to drop the empty magazine out and she began doing that when she was done. She'd been shooting to slide lock so there wasn't an issue with the gun on the firing bench with the slide closed. When I would step up to shoot, I'd drop her mag out and then when I was done take her mag and mine to refill them while she shot the one I'd loaded the last time. When she began dropping her own mags, I'd just pick her empty one up with mine when I was done.

One of her few complaints about the class was that her hands and fingers got tired and sore reloading the magazine. Mine do too, which is why I have an UpLula and I'm so glad that my Glocks come with a reloader. Anyway, as I was after a near a 100% positive experience as I could manage she didn't need to be reminded of that. If she was enjoying shootin' I didn't mind reloading her empty mags.

She did well and even had a couple of small groups (1½") at 7 or so yards. I made she she had that target to take home and show off.

When I saw that *SHE* was beginning to tire, we stopped. Immediately. I packed up the guns and ammo and we went out to settle up. I felt that she'd had a good time and truly enjoyed shooting that day. But I knew the proof would be if she ever asked to go again and how long before she asked to go again. Well, she e-mailed me last Monday (11/2), just shy of two weeks since we went and we're going again on Monday, the ninth. Hot Dog!

As I mentioned earlier we're going with a friend of hers that shoots. I'm bringing some guns for the friend to try and I'm going to shoot her Sigs. As for my SIL, I'm bringing the .22 again and the same hearing protectors. I'm also bringing a soft case for the .22 and if I can manage it, I want to leave it with her.

It took us nine months from her class in late January of this year to get us here. If she wants to stick with a .22 for now, I'm not gonna push her or talk her into something larger caliber-wise. When she's ready, she'll ask for bigger or different. If she never does, a .22 is better than no gun at all.

I'm really looking forward to Monday's shoot.

reading: Set Sail For Murder by Carolyn Hart (a Henrie O mystery)
and
Guilty: Liberal "Victims" and Their Assault on America by Ann Coulter
and
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Parting Shot: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." ~ Preamble to the United States Constitution

Why Ask Why?

Why don't they make decent clothespins anymore?

Why don't they sell the non-snap type clothespins anymore? Maybe I can find some at the craft store. (sigh)

Why don't they sell clothespins bags in the same area as the clothespins?

Did you know they make "green" bamboo clothespins that cost twice as much as the pressed wood pulp clothespins? No, I didn't buy any. They probably wouldn't last any longer than the other ones.

Why are the radio stations playing Christmas music already? There's one station here that's already playing ALL Christmas music. They started on Nov 1. CRAZY!!!!! It's bad enough Christmas trees and other Christmas decorations were up and for sale even before Halloween.

I generally don't like pink guns, but this fall, with all the leaf litter about the same color as my brass, some hot pink "brass" would be jolly.

Scarfing It Up

I took some photos late Saturday afternoon of the Red Lace Scarf. As blurry as it is this is the best one — it shows the center panel pretty well and the two side panels. I'm pretty pleased with the way it's turning out. I just need to make some time to knit on it. This photo shows five 16 rows pattern repeats.

Five lifelines. That's how many I used on the Paws To Remember Scarf. The next one I put in will be the one on the bottom that I'll pull out. I found that picking the stitches up from a ¼" ribbon worked easier for me than yarn. The waste yarn always wanted to cling to the knitting yarn whereas the ribbon slides through easier and gives me a flat surface to pick the stitches up from. I picked up tow white and two black spools of this on sale last year sometime. When I did the Paws to Remember Scarf, I cut the lifelines long so they would be usable for more projects. As this scarf is not as wide, I have even more white ribbon overhang.

I do like the way the scarf is looking. There's enough there now that you can definitely SEE all three patterns. Once I get some more pattern repeats complete and some scarf with no lifelines it'll be even easier. The photo was taken when the scarf was at 80 rows which is the first time since the beginning that all three panels were on the same row number. In other words, the center panel is 16 rows and the two side panels are ten rows. Once I got past the first ten rows, the side panels started over but the center panel went on to row 16.

I also took several photos of the Christmas Hey! Hey! It's the Monkees Socks but the light angle was too low and it washed out most of the color and created weird shadows. I'll get there.

The Dr Who Scarf is racing along. It was 108" long late Friday afternoon, about 50 rows ago. I'm now on row 682 of 1,042 not including the tassels — which makes it 65% complete. I need to figure out how to take a photo of it so far. I think I'll take it in chunks and then string the photos together in a row.

The front lawn looks sooo much better this this year being more grass now and not weeds thanks to my efforts this past spring. I didn't do anything this fall but I am going to do the same thing this next spring to a different spot in the yard.

blogging to: a quiet house

reading: Bad Blood by Linda Fairstein (an Alexandra Cooper mystery)

Guilty: Liberal "Victims" and Their Assault on America by Ann Coulter

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Parting Shot: "While the form of treachery varies slightly from case to case, liberals always manage to take the position that most undermines American security." ~ Ann Coulter

I Should Be Doing Dishes

Yeah, that is the downside of doing them myself. I can't load the dishwasher and punch a button and then go and do something more interesting or restful until they're done or I need the dishes. Surprisingly, I've found that hanging the laundry out on the line, is actually more restful than the dryer. If I don't want to take the clothes in when they're probably dry because I'm in the middle of something else, they won't get wrinkled hanging on the line for an hour (or three) longer. And they smell GREAT!!

Today, I finished my Christmas Hey! Hey! It's the Monkees socks. I even wove in all the ends. More on that later.

Now I can concentrate on finishing the Dr Who Scarf for my tall shooting friend. As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I'm having to fudge a bit on the rows. On the widest stripes I'm dropping four rows and on those stripes over twenty rows, I'm dropping two rows. The percentage completed lengthwise is getting closer to the percentage completed row-wise. I knew that this 7mm needle would be a bit long by about eight rows according to the gauge swatch. I think it's going to be a bit more but it's the closest and I'm fixing it as I go along. A size eight needle would have made it around two feet too short. As quickly as the knitting is going, I'm hoping to have the knitting done in about a week or so.

I haven't done a thing on the red lace scarf other than take it out of the basket and admire it. When I'm ready to sit on the sofa and knit and read I end up just reading because I've knit all day on something else.

As soon as this Dr Who Scarf is done, I'm going to cast on for another pair of socks for Mr WK. The wool-cotton Asparagus socks I finished in May 2006 are now too tight for him. I was hoping the wool would keep them from shrinking and they did last a couple of years longer than the cotton socks I knit him. Now he's down to three pair of socks. I'm going to hang onto the Asparagus socks as he can wear them, they're just not his first choice. Once I make up his winter car travel pack, he'll be down to two pair of wool socks. I'd better get cracking ... after I finish the dishes.

blogging to: a quiet house

reading: Tucker Peak by Archer Mayor (a Joe Gunther mystery)

Guilty: Liberal "Victims" and Their Assault on America by Ann Coulter

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Parting Shot: "Any dictator would admire the uniformity and obedience of the U.S. media." [exept for Fox] ~ Noam Chomsky

Balls and Brass

I've decided to spend my TV knitting time this week trying to finish the second Hey! Hey! It's the Monkees sock. I had only the foot and toe to do — 63 foot rounds and 23 ever decreasing toe rounds. I was knitting along Monday, on round ten of the eleven round pattern when I decided I messed up in the rows. No, you could not see it. So I ripped it all back and about three rows into the re-knit I realized I'd done the same thing. I figured, screw it. I can't see it and the socks are for me so I left it. I think even if the socks would have been for someone else, I would have left it. What did I do? Instead of three rows of stockinette stitch at the end / beginning of a round this one pattern repeat has four. So I'm not as far along as I might have been. I'm well past it now on round 16 or so.

With the TV watching and the housework during commercial breaks, I would forget where I was when I came back after a break. Today I had several minor issues, one that required me to tink back three rounds. It is a bit slow, but things are getting done. The foot is just under half complete. Not that I want Mr WK to be gone all day all the rest of the week, but if I have the next three days and no major frogs, I'll be pretty close to finishing it.

I want to take some progress photos of the two scarves and the socks but it's been mostly cloudy. If the sun is out by the time I get set up, it's cloudy again. It was sunny on Monday but, of course, I didn't think about taking photos.

It's nice taking a break from the Dr Who Scarf. I kinda want to get these socks done so I can wear them and concentrate on the Dr Who Scarf for my mindless TV and passenger car knitting. I do have another Dr Who Scarf to knit when this one is finished but it's one I suggested and the recipient is just over 5' tall instead of almost 6½' tall. Same amount of rows but smaller needles and somehow it will seem like less knitting. Actually, with smaller needles, it will need more stitches to be as wide so the shorter scarf will be MORE knitting. At least for the next one I will get something valuable to me in return, other than the joy of knitting.

The recipient is an NRA instructor and she's willing to trade the cost of some private lessons for the cost of the yarn for her scarf. In addition to the Cascade 220, I plan to give her some luxurious yarn choices. In the end, I am either paying for the yarn or the classes. But also in the end, I will have had the pleasure of knitting the scarf, she will have a scarf and I will have at least a couple hours of private shooting lessons. I think it will work out. But first, I will need to finish the one I have started.

I sorted and counted brass from this past weekend's rifle shooting. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE folks who don't reload and shoot brass cartridges. It's like finding money on the ground. For the non-shooters and non-reloaders, when you shoot, you often don't find all the brass you shot, especially when shooting outside, and particularly in mid-autumn when the firing line is covered in leaves!!! Once in a while, some kind soul(s) come(s) along, shoot(s) up a bunch of brass cartridges (of any caliber) and just leaves them scattered on the ground like gold pieces.

I don't mind battin' around some dead leaves to find the gold. Together, we shot over a hundred rounds over both days but ended up with around 375 pieces of rifle brass. We also found almost 50 pieces of .40 caliber brass in the grass that someone had shot about 10 yards in front of the 25 yard rifle targets. Every time I walked up to mark, put up, or take down our targets (when another shooter would arrive to put up or leave and take his targets), at any range (25, 50 or 100 yards), I'd slow down and go into Hoover mode in front of the 25 yard targets for the .40 caliber and in front the firing line for rifle brass.

blogging to: a quiet house

reading: The Next Victim by Jonnie Jacobs (a Kali O'Brien mystery)

Guilty: Liberal "Victims" and Their Assault on America by Ann Coulter

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Parting Shot: "In choosing a president, we really don't choose a Republican or Democrat, a conservative or liberal. We choose a leader." ~ Rudy Giuliani

A Shooting Weekend in the Country

We took our rifles out to the outdoor range both Saturday and Sunday afternoon; in the HUGE 40+ lb hard case. Man! That thing is HEAVY!! even with wheels. The good thing is that it holds almost all the "stuff" we regularly use when we shoot our rifles; my red dot sight, both scopes, both risers, and my forearm grip. If all the holes are filled, we have almost everything we need for the rifles.

We found these metal 50BMG "army" ammo cans for $9 each at at a local gun shop. We tried to choose the ones with the most character. We now own four of them. Our active military friend started it when he gave us a smaller one which is great for magazines, non-ammo things or smaller amounts of ammo. We started out with one of the plastic "ammo" cans from Cabela's. That's OK as long as you're not hauling around much ammo. With two of us shooting and different pistol calibers we would often strain the plastic can. The larger metal cans are smaller than the plastic one from Cabela's, but we never worry about the lid with the handle and hinges separating from the bottom part of the container. In fact, as the lids on the metal ammo cans fit so snugly, I use the weight of the bottom to open the lid.

The weather was great. The temperature was in the mid '60's on Saturday and low 60's on Sunday. Both days started out sunny but was solidly overcast about an hour later and even later rain.

Now that I have my red dot sighted in at 25 yards for CQB (close quarters battle) and know it's main foible — I have to make sure that when I turn a knob it's firmly all the way, one way or the other or my sight picture will be off — I concentrated on sighting in a scope. We have three, two Leupolds, and an inexpensive Bushnell. The larger Leupold, a Rifleman 3-9 x 50 works well on Mr WK's rifle. The other Leupold, a VX-1 3-9 x 40 was on my bolt action Marlin 22LR (evil black, like almost everything else we own); it's new home will a medium height riser which fits on my rifle. The little Bushnell we bought for the Marlin which has been sitting for months will now go back to the Marlin. As I don't (at this point) want to do much long range shooting with a scope I thought that the Bushnell would be fine but Mr Wk says it wasn't designed for the heavier recoil of my rifle, so I guess I'll take the fancier Leupold. The sacrifices we make.

Saturday got us sighted in with both scopes at 25 then 50 yards. Sunday we tackled 100 yards. Mine was almost there when a shooting friend did it in two shots, one to see where it was and the second to confirm after adjusting the scope. Yes, he's very good. At 300 yards, bench resting, his groups are the size of a dime. Mr WK's rifle is very close. Close enough to shoot a fly that landed on the target at 100 yards. Me? I blew hedge apples to smithereens with Sierra Blitzking explosive tip cartridges. Hollow points would blow right through them and it was rather boring. Pieces of hedge apple all over . . . that's what I'm talkin' about.

blogging to: a quiet house

reading: The Next Victim by Jonnie Jacobs (a Kali O'Brien mystery)

Guilty: Liberal "Victims" and Their Assault on America by Ann Coulter

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Parting Shot: "The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty." ~ James Madison

Knit, Knit, Knit

Trying not to fall behind again. It's not like I have anything to do ... most days.

The Dr Who Scarf is really rolling. I'm on row 505, which according to my very anal spreadsheet makes the scarf 48.46% complete, not including the 34 tassels. However, if I measure it, I'm over half way, not including the tassels. It's over 80" long already. I've taken some row gauge measurements and I'm dropping at least two rows from the wide stripes. Unless you count the rows in a stripe, you'd never know they're missing. That will cut down on the length.

Not much of anything else is getting knit on. As I've been knitting so much during the day, I don't feel like knitting and reading in the evenings, so the red lace scarf is not progressing very quickly. I'm six rows into the fifth pattern repeat. One of these days, the sun will return and I'll get some photos of both projects.

I'm doing my knitting and house cleaning thing; I watch a TV program and knit and on every commercial break I clean. This week, as Mr WK's been gone all day, every day and good chunk of the evening, the house has just about recovered from the past two weeks of very little housework and running around when Mr WK was on vacation; maybe another reason why I didn't blog.

We haven't done any shooting this week. We even missed IDPA yesterday (Thursday). Mr WK is getting his feet run off. His company has a new/old customer. The tech with the company that had the previous contract, whom Mr WK used to work with, did only enough to keep the machines barely functioning. Mr WK, who when he was with another company worked with these machines several years ago, is bringing them back almost from the dead so he won't have to go there every single day to fix something. Mr WK's been putting in a lot of hours and miles. Hopefully, once he gets them back up to his and his company's standards, this pace will slack off.

We picked up a heavy duty Boyt double rifle case last weekend. Just the case without the rifles is heavy and solid, 30 pounds. Fully loaded, it's about 42 lbs. Thank goodness it has wheels. Mr WK and I spent some time laying out our rifles and "accessories" then when we were satisfied, marked the outlines with tailor's chalk and cut the foam with an electric knife. Then we used spray adhesive to glue the cut-out foam piece to the bottom piece of foam. That's all cool. And now we have two foam replica's of our rifles to play with. We are such dorks!

blogging to: a quiet house

reading: The Moon Tunnel by Jim Kelly (a Phillip Dryden mystery)

Guilty: Liberal "Victims" and Their Assault on America by Ann Coulter

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Parting Shot: "I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." ~ James Madison