The Brush Off

Posted on September 13, 2005 by Professor Booty

Well, I finally got the final “Go Away� from my employer in regards to my request to head down to the gulf coast to help with the clean up.

I’d like to say that I’m disappointed in their refusal to send me down there because I really am, but my company is based out of that area and is going whole-hog with donating money, housing people and working 25 hours a day 8 days a week to get things back to normal, so that is about the only part of their response I’m disappointed in.

I spent the past two weeks calling and emailing anyone who I though had any clout in the company, basically begging to get flown to wherever I’m needed and be worked like a rented mule. Last week I got all the way up to the CEO (who wasn’t happy to hear from me, BTW) and I think that is when I finally got an actual response instead of some wishy-washy “Let me look into it�.

In the phone call I got that ended my search for a way down there I was told what I knew to be true, but I failed to care about until someone told me to knock it off. Basically, ‘there were plenty of people down there who would need jobs and that shipping some bozo from the other corner of the country to train them would just be confusing, but thank you for being so annoying enthusiastic about it. Now Goodbye’

Below the fold is the company email that was sent out yesterday, summarizing the company’s response in the gulf area. Since I really shouldn’t be putting this thing out over the internet, I have changed the company’s name to “TCIDNNLIGF� (The Company I Dare Not Name, Lest I Get Fired), part of which I stole from the Grouchy Old Cripple.

Make sure to read the italicized portion in the parenthesis when they talk of folks getting called up for Reserve/NG duty and you’ll see one of the reasons why I like working for these guys.

Below that I have posted one of my request letters that I though was particularly good.

Have a good day all.
Continue reading →

Posted in Heroes, Comrades and Brothers | 1 Comment

e-Postal Match Announcement

Posted on September 12, 2005 by Professor Booty

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

The September e-Postal Match is hereby ready for public consumption

The theme: Looter Shooter

Here is the scenario:

Your town has been hit by a hurricane. While your incompetent Mayor has ordered an evacuation, the street gangs stuck out the storm so that they could loot the empty homes before people came back into town.

You stuck it out at home as well. Now you have to contend with them wanting your property, your wife and your daughter.

This is your target. It is one of my own making that I have decided to call my “Totally Inoffensive Looter Targetâ€?. It prints out directly to 8.5x11in paper.

None of the rifle ranges in the local area here will allow targets with ‘heads’ on them, so I used the old NRA ‘Tombstone’ shape and put some rings on it. Yes, they’re probably off a bit center, but so are looters.

Notice the duck in the center. He is not your friend, nor does he ‘make bathtime lots of fun’. He is the heart of the looter. A hit on him equals and X-ring hit. Otherwise, the square he is in is 10 points, the next ring out is 9 points, the next ring with the crackle in it is 8 points with the furthest ring being worth 7 points and everything outside of that is a miss.

Here are the rules:

You are to use your SHTF rifle(s) for this. Semi-auto, boltie, lever gun, pump, single shot doesn’t matter. There will be iron sight, optics and magnifying optics classes.

And there is a new class for magnifying optics called the “Distance is your friend class”!

You may enter as many SHTF rifles as you would like.

10 shots on the target. Every shot on paper over the limit is minus 10 points.

The distances are 25yards, 50 yards, 100 yards and then anything beyond 100 is its own class.

There are no practice shots or sight in targets allowed. Nor is any adjustment of sights allowed. You take your gun(s) to the range, put your target out and start firing at a swift, but comfortable pace.

You will have no practice shots or time to adjust your sights when the looters come knocking and you won’t have any here either. Make only point of aim corrections to keep the shots on target. This is your SHTF rifle, it should be sighted in.

You can shoot standing, kneeling, prone or from the bench, it doesn’t matter. But there is a catch: You have to shoot as if you are firing from behind cover.

One of the ranges that Postal Match participant, Merle, shoots at makes shooters fire through a portal in a wall and that is an excellent example of use of cover for this. You can pretend that the bench rest is a window sill or, when firing prone, that a box of ammo in front of your hand is a fence post knocked over during the hurricane. Yes, you can use shooting sticks.

Your results are due by October 3rd. You may email pics of your targets to randomnuclearstrikes – at – gmail – dot – com. If I do not respond to your email within 24 hours, please send another email without the pics and we’ll work on the problem. Hopefully GMail won’t crap out like my old RNS addy did last month.

Variations:

There is also an “Unknown Gun� class.

Take a friend to the range to shoot this and you switch rifles with him. Think of it as a “The closest gun at hand� scenario or a “Captured Rifle�. Again, no sighter targets.

If you like to include a shotgun as your SHTF gun, go ahead and let the lead fly. You will have your own class as well. #4 shot or larger diameter pellets, please. Targets will be judged by how little of the target is left after five shots.

And there you are, ladies and gentlemen. Have at it.

Remember to be safe and shoot well.

My targets are below the fold.
Continue reading →

Posted in Postal Matches | 4 Comments

Saturday Rangeday (Again) AAR

Posted on September 12, 2005 by Professor Booty

Can you say ‘On Cloud Nine’, because that is where I’ve been all weekend.

I got home from work at 0530 on Saturday morning, blogged for a bit and then went for a nap. I woke up at 1100 and got things ready for my friend Jon to arrive so we could get the safe mounted to the concrete.

Ta-Dow

P9120008.JPG

It’s kind of nice having a second safe. Now the wife can’t use the fact that my other one was full as another reason for me to stop buying guns. I’ve got 4 more spots to fill in this one and I don’t have to lean Barak the Boomershoot rifle over at a precarious angle to get it to fit because this safe has shelves that can be moved around.

I like having it out in plain sight and not just because I’m typing this right now less than five feet away from it. It means that my other one(s) should be left alone.

Just an FYI, AmSec ships the safe with some real crappy concrete anchor sleeves made of plastic. If you buy one of their safes, stop by the hardware store and get the good stuff ($4-6 each).

But anyway, moving on, after getting that all done, Jon and I got some lunch and went to the local rifle range. It was an excellent day for it too; it had rained all morning so the fair-weather-only shooters weren’t there and we got a chance to do some scientific testing.

What kind of testing am I talking about? Well, in the maintenance of some of the heavy equipment at my work, the mechanics have to replace these large runner guides. They’re made of brass and are usually still around an inch thick when they need to be replaced. One of the guys made me a steel plate and stand that these brass guides attach to because he wanted to see what happened to brass when it gets shot.

Answer:

P9110002.JPG

I had to place the plate out at the 200yd line because the rangemaster was worried about jacket splash. This was not a problem. The hit farthest to the right is from a 22-250 55gr Rem Core-Lokt. The one on the top portion near the center is from a single M80 FMJ.

The lower part was virtually destroyed after repeated hits from both the 22-250 (5 shots) and the M80 ball (5 shots). I never found the missing chunk.

While at the range I also met up with my co-worker, Ron, who went in on the rifles I bought from Barb of Righty in a Lefty State. He brought his two sons, Ryan and Dylan, and if I hadn’t been so wrapped up in mounting the safe I probably would have remembered my camera.

The word ecstatic is just one of many words that fail to describe how happy they were with the trifecta of Ruger M77’s. They put ten to fifteen rounds through each one before the closing bell and I doubt the smiles they left with had gone away by the time they got up Sunday to go fishing.

The range has a commercial welder who donates swinging steel plates to the range that sit out at the 200 yard line and all three of them were ringing the four and six inch steel after just a couple sight-in shots. Three weeks ago they were thinking they’d have to sit this hunting season out since they’re rifles were stolen. Not anymore.

So let’s add this up: Thieves would basically have to ram through the wall to get the new safe off the concrete, I got to blast a 4×8 brass plate until it disintegrated and three hunters will be able to take their best shot at deer this year.

Yep, I think I can say I had a good weekend!

Posted in Have Gun, Will Travel | Comments Off on Saturday Rangeday (Again) AAR

RNS Main Screen On

Posted on September 11, 2005 by Professor Booty

All auxilliary screens power down. A moment of silence, please.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Never forget.

Posted in Heroes, Comrades and Brothers | 1 Comment

September 11th, 2001

Posted on September 11, 2005 by AnalogKid

My presence was required at work for a productivity meeting that was taking place an hour before my regular start time. It was supposed to last for three to four hours since the regional guys would be attending, hoping to hear some good news about our district, but I was only supposed to stay in the conference room for the first hour. I wasn’t a manager or even considered “lower-middle-management,” so I didn’t quite understand why I was supposed to be there. I was hopeful that it was the fact that I was known to be upfront, if not downright blunt about situations, because that was my planned route to get some attention shone on the things that weren’t going well in the department.

For that purpose I woke up an hour earlier than usual and hopped in the shower. Soap, rinse, repeat and I’m drying myself off when the wife knocks on the door to tell me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.

I stopped and thought “How the hell does a plane hit a building in Manhattan?” I finished with the towel and got dressed quickly to go watch the news coverage on the television. I stepped out of the bedroom, through the hallway and into the TV room and started seeing images of a smoking building and emergency services arriving.

Moments later, the second plane hit on live TV.
Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Saturday Rangeday (Again)

Posted on September 10, 2005 by Professor Booty

Actually, that is not completely true. It is also ‘Bolt the new safe to the concrete’ day.

My friend Jon is coming over to give me a hand offloading it from the truck and the punching the concrete. Let me just say, I don’t think I’ve used the overload leafs on my truck since the pumpkin shoot back in 03. I think they’re a little soft.

After we get the safe mounted, we’re headed off to the range for the afternoon. I’ve got a couple co-workers meeting me there and I hope to get the e-Postal Match target shot for y’all to see on Monday and test out my newest toy: a metallic target built for me by a guy at work out of scrap stuff. We’ll see how it works. Pics to follow, of course, on Monday.

Anyway, we’ve got a double feature with the Carnival of Cordite this weekend at Gullyborg’s Carnival of Cordite. Because of the subject matter, this CoC is mandatory, stop on by there and check out the disaster preparedness links as well as the usual excellent fare!

I finally got an answer from my company about me heading to Louisiana yesterday afternoon. I don’t like it and will post on it on Monday.

I guess, until tomorrow, be careful out there and remember two things folks;

1. Stay Sharp
2. Food, Water, Ammunition. Repeat.

Posted in Have Gun, Will Travel | Comments Off on Saturday Rangeday (Again)

Guess Who’s Back?

Posted on September 10, 2005 by Professor Booty

It is I, the one, the only, the irresistible, Professor Booty.

Ah-a! Bet you thought I was a goner, didn’t you? Never!

I have traveled the world and done wonderous things these past couple weeks. Though I cannot show or talk to you about “The ASSignment�, I can show you some of the things I have done.
Continue reading →

Posted in Kewel! | Comments Off on Guess Who’s Back?

Analog “Two Safes� Kid

Posted on September 9, 2005 by Professor Booty

I’ll be picking up my new safe today and I can barely stand the wait at this point. Here is close to what I’m getting (the safety specs are right, but I couldn’t find the exact one). Time to borrow the roto-hammer from work.

For those who don’t get the reference of the title of this post, click here.

The sad part is that what with my current safe full to the brim, this new one will be pretty close to full when it gets mounted to the concrete. So expect me to be getting another one within the next year or less. And I’ve got a real good place for that one (read: sneaky/invisible).

I’ve never been a fan of having ‘one big safe’. I’m of the persuasion who likes to have a couple-three safes secured randomly around the house. If you’re going to steal all my firearms, you’re going to have to work damn hard for a long ass time.

After the debacle at the Ford dealership yesterday and then going to work for 11 hours, I’m too beat to even finish the post I’m working on about the Katrina debacle. So far, it is six pages long as a Word document, and has around 30 links to the list of crap the local and state losership has bungled, all of which the blogging left has either ignored or discounted as minor compared to the so called ‘fact’ that W forgot to wear his Superman cape that week.

I’m not leaving him absent of fault, but I can’t find a reason to hang the man. I just really wish y’all could hear the local leftist radio shows here in Seattle. They’re quite serious with their calls for his impeachment for ‘criminal negligence’ in the matter and they are inches away from accusing him of walking through the Superdome and capping ‘poor blacks’ in the head with a Derringer.

I can barely stand to listen to it. But I do for some odd reason.

I’m seeing reports of firearms being confiscated from the empty homes and even the citizens of New Orleans all over the gun-blogosphere. Geek w/a 45 even has some video of it you might want to take a look at.

Considering that the wealthy folks in NO have their own private and armed to the teeth security, I don’t know what the legal justification is for this. Although, with martial law ordered, the BoR is suspended, so, I’m confused and not at all happy with it. I’m hoping someone there takes this to court. That’ll be one lawsuit from this situation (of the soon to be plethora of lawsuits) I’d gladly support and donate money towards.

My first instinct was that this is just another ploy to get folks to leave the town, just like stopping the delivery of food and water to people’s homes a couple days ago. BUT, and this is an Oliver Willis size but, from the video it doesn’t look like they’re giving folks a chance to leave before disarming them.

I would hate to have to shoot a member of our armed forces, but they are obeying what seem to be unconstitutional orders. If they came to my house and didn’t give me the opportunity to leave before demanding my firearms, I don’t know that I’d hold back.

Refuse those orders, gentlemen. Stand down. For everyone’s sake.

For everyone else, you have your hidden stash spot for your guns already, right?

Again, while I cannot stand to see any of this happening, there is nothing I can do from here in Seattle except support the lawsuit afterwards. So I’ll be pleased to see this tested in a court of law and hopefully have our rights reaffirmed so as to set a precedent.

On a lighter subject, I’ll have pics of the new safe up, probably Monday as well as the new rifle e-Postal Match.

I’m sure we all know what Sunday is, so there will be nothing from either Booty or Thai on that day. We’ll have a September 10th celebration day, our last day as carefree Americans, and then a solemn September 11th remembrance here at RNS.

So until then, stay sharp people.

Posted in Armageddon | 3 Comments

The Soundboard

Posted on September 8, 2005 by Professor Booty

In coordination with my snark box, I am putting up a link to the song from which those words were ripped from.

If you don’t recognize them, here are some hints:

First off, listen to more rock music. Next, think of a three piece band made up of musicians who might as well be instrument playing deities to a good number of their fellow musicians. They have been around for a good long time and have released more albums than you can carry in two hands.

And in one of the oddest twists of life, while he commends their musicanship, Kim du Toit says that their music makes him jumpy.

Which is really too bad for Kim because I have a small stack of mix CD’s I plan on giving to the son & heir at the 2006 Boomershoot to listen to on the drive home and one or two of them might be a live disk from this band (because I’m a sick and twisted bastard).

Still don’t know who it is yet? Hmm, OK then, how about now that they’re past their 30th anniversary as a band the guitarist has psoriasis on his fingertips, the bassist has arthritis in his right hand and the drummer is almost legally deaf, yet they could still probably out play 95% of today’s so called ‘music artists’.

No, that didn’t help? Well then, you need to climb out from under that rock and put your mouse over the link below and click the ‘Save Target As’.

Click here

This was recorded live in Rio de Janeiro in 2003

Enjoy!

Posted in Kewel! | Comments Off on The Soundboard

Edging you way on top

Posted on September 7, 2005 by Professor Booty

One of the items I seem to have neglected to include on my necessary equipment list in the By Ourselves, For Ourselves series was something large and with a sharp edge.

I’m talking about axes.

I was reminded of this reading one of Steve H’s post over at Hog On Ice.

While an excellent weapon, they are also one of the best utility tools ever invented. They come in many designs and configurations and even colors, for those who are picky about things like that.

But just like anything else, you get what you pay for when it comes to axes. Don’t be a cheapskate.

My favorite is the Pulaski, used by forest firefighters around the globe. Double edged and can do anything just about anything you want it to.

But you can never go wrong with a good carpenter’s axe or forest axe.

Another good tool to have around is a stout wrecking bar. I have one of those guys’ 25 inch bars and I trust it to work on anything. If I had one of their 36 inch bars and a maul, I don’t think that there is a damn thing on this planet I couldn’t tear down short of the great pyramids (but I’d give that one hell of a shot too).

If money hadn’t been so short around the time of Boomershoot 2005, the son and heir du Toit would have probably gone home with one of these because I love mine so much and every boy needs a good throwing axe.

Well, take a look around these sites and maybe some others. There a number of good small companies that make some excellent equipment out there. If you do decide to snatch up one of these tools don’t forget to grab yourself a couple good hatchets as well.

Stay sharp.

Posted in By Ourselves, For Ourselves | 2 Comments