FBI Refuses to Release new Girlfriend

While America collapses under the weight of its own pride, I’m keeping up with my frivolous interests.

On Monday, I bought my first AR15. I didn’t even try to shoot it until Wednesday. My new induction cooktop arrived on Monday, and I had to install it, and that took up a lot of time. It should have taken half an hour, but you know how things like that go.

My house is built beautifully, but if you pick at the construction of any home, you will find problems. My problem this week was an improper cutout in the stone countertop. My stove is just a cooktop, so it has to sit in a cutout. The problematic, uncleanable old stove sat in a cutout 33-1/2″ long. Guess how long the cutout for my new stove had to be? Here you go: 33-7/8″. Either the person who installed the old stove screwed up and then covered his tracks by dropping a cooktop over them, or Frigidaire screwed up by making a new cooktop that required an oversized hole.

My guess is that Frigidaire got it right.

I had to buy a diamond saw blade for an angle grinder. I put on a quality respirator, moved my pets to another room, marked the counter with painter’s tape, and went to town.

Grey dust went everywhere. There was no way to control it. The blade sliced right through the granite or whatever it is, but the mess was apocalyptic. I didn’t finish the job until late afternoon, and then the dust cleanup started. I’m still working on it. I mopped the downstairs for the third time this morning.

Of course, the wiring for the new stove was in a larger flex conduit than the one on the old stove, so I had to install a new handy box in a hard-to-reach location.

I know a fair amount about metalworking, basic electronics, and basic woodworking, but when it comes to the kind of work contractors do, I’m not the guy you want. I don’t know how to do drywall or install tile. I don’t know how to replace windows or carpeting. I have to figure this stuff out by looking at Youtube and other websites. My buddy Mike remodeled his own house. It must be nice to have those skills on tap. I have to create them on demand.

Yesterday I finally got to shoot the AR. I put some Norma bulk ammo in it and went to the berm. Unfortunately, when I got the gun, I didn’t think about the length of the magazine. Apparently, 30-round mags are standard except in places where 2A means nothing, and these magazines project downward so far, it can be impossible to shoot a gun from a rest.

I managed to pop off enough rounds to get the scope pointed more or less at the place where bullets landed when fired from 50 yards, and I was happy. I probably fired fewer than 20 shots before the rain started falling, and I was done.

I lost considerable time adjusting the eye relief. As any experienced shooter would have predicted, the fact that a salesman and I set my scope up in the store meant nothing. It was a good half-inch too far back, and I have read that this particular scope is not tolerant of big variations. That seems to be true. The rifle has a continuous rail on top, but there is a place where the rail has an oversized step between picatinny slots, and one of my scope’s mounts was right behind that place. I couldn’t just slide the scope forward in the mounts, and I couldn’t just move the mounts forward one slot. I had to move one of the mounts forward on the scope and then move the whole mess forward.

The AR surprised me a little. I thought it would have less recoil, but it does jump a little. It’s a joke compared to a .308, which is one reason our soldiers carry the military version of the AR, but recoil moves the gun, and there is no way to keep the scope on target. You have to bring the scope back down to see where your bullet landed.

The trigger seemed fine when I dry-fired the gun, but when the shooting started, it became obvious to me that it was unbearable. There was a certain amount of resistance until I pulled it back to the point where it was about to go off, and then it was as if it hit a wall. At that point, I had to pull much harder to get the gun to go bang. Not acceptable.

Last night I watched a video, and I learned how to do an AR trigger job. A monkey could do it, so I may have a chance. I also researched replacement triggers. All basic (i.e. mil-spec) AR triggers are terrible. They’re made to be reliable, not to shoot for money. There are tons of replacements out there, and the good ones generally run around $250. I have two mil-spec AR triggers, so I was not eager to spend $500.

I caught a break. I learned about LaRue triggers. LaRue is a top-tier trigger company, and the make a replacement trigger which gets rave reviews. They used to charge $250 for it. Now, for some unknown reason, they have dropped the price to $80. It’s still the same trigger they used to charge big money for. I was all over that. I placed an order, and we’ll see how it works out. In the meantime, I plan to do a trigger job on the parts I have. It should take about 40 minutes, and it ought to work well enough to make me happy while I’m getting to know the gun with cheap FMJ.

Today I went to the CORE Rifle Systems factory and got myself two 10-round magazines plus a sling stud that fits my M-Lok hand guard. If it ever stops raining, I should be ready to shoot.

I shot from a folding table and chair, and when I went back home to work on my scope, I left them in the pasture. I was gone maybe 10 minutes. When I got back, there was a slimy substance all over both.

The miserable cows had slimed my furniture.

My grandfather had cows, and I spent a lot of time with them, but I guess I didn’t know them, because it wasn’t until recently that I learned that cows are completely insane, not to mention mischievous. I can’t imagine why cows would run over to my table and lick it as soon as my back was turned. Maybe it looked like a giant salt block. Maybe they thought the cow messianic age had begun, and that a cow savior had come to fulfill their wildest dreams. Anyway, I had to hose both items off.

I can put a sling on my gun now, but I don’t have the sling I want. Something else to look for. I’ve decided to go with a two-point sling. The whole single-point sling seems like a weird and unfortunate fad to me, and I don’t understand why anyone would want a gun barrel to bang against his crotch all day.

Maybe it works well when you’re in Fallujah and you really, really need to be able to shoulder your gun in half a second.

One reason I went to CORE was to see if there was a post-riot panic. It didn’t look too bad. Caveat: CORE is a manufacturer, so it may not be that easy to deplete their supply of rifles.

One thing I really wanted to see was their ammo supply. The pallet of Norma .223 from which I took a crate on Monday was over a foot lower today. I think the coronavirus panic was worse than the riot panic has become as of today.

I have more ammunition on the way. I got the Norma because I needed something to get started and because my policy is to keep a certain amount of bulk ammo on hand for any weapon which could be useful if my home is attacked. It seems silly to buy a gun and not buy fuel for it. I have enough 30-ish-caliber high-powered bulk ammo to shoot a whole town full of violent agitators, should they choose to visit.

I didn’t buy this gun with people in mind, and I am not excited at all about future zombie scenarios that seem increasingly likely, but I want to be in a position to decide what I want to do. Also, someone who is more gung-ho about the whole pre-tribulation dystopia picture might need the ammo or even the rifle, and if I have these things, I could be a resource.

The fact that I want nothing to do with that kind of shooting doesn’t mean I don’t recognize other people’s right to do it. Not everybody is ready to be a martyr.

I ordered myself some Fiocchi 40-grain V-Max rated at 3650 fps. I don’t know how fast it will fly out of my 16″ barrel, but my guess: pretty fast. I read about people getting sub-MOA groups with it, and I’m hoping that’s true, because it would allow me to do some real shooting while getting my .223 reloading game in order.

This particular load is supposed to be very good for pest control. I have no idea whether it’s appropriate for self-defense, but it seems unlikely. It wouldn’t be a GOOD thing to be shot with it, but it’s not made for shooting people.

I’m hoping I can use it on coyotes and whatever.

Some people have gotten MOA performance out of 16″ CORE rifles shooting factory garbage. That would be fantastic. I want this gun to be accurate, and I’m expecting to have to buy a designer barrel, but what if I can shoot well with the barrel I have? I’ll just keep it and save money.

Fiocchi is typically not expensive, but it’s excellent. The brass should be great for reloading. I hope. Haven’t Googled to find out what people think.

I finally broke down and ordered a couple of holsters. I’m tired of putting my 1911’s down in the back of the utility cart when I shoot, so I have a Miami Classic II on the way. I also got one for my full-size Glock. This is the holster I wore to church as an armorbearer. I’m very familiar with it, and I like it a lot. I don’t know whether the tacticool crowd likes it, but then they poop all over pocket holsters, and I am completely certain they’re the best option for concealed carry of compact guns.

Digression: I watched the upsetting video of the West Freeway church shooting. This took place in Texas. A nut (Caucasian, if that’s of interest) entered the church with a shotgun. He seemed to whisper to an usher, which was oddly polite considering he was wearing a hood and carrying a long gun. He apparently asked the usher a question, and the usher seemed to answer him, pointing to the rear of the church. A security team member sitting on a nearby bench saw him, stood up pretty slowly, and fumbled around for a rear belt holster. The gunman shot the security and then shot the usher in the upper body. Both victims died.

What if it had been me with my pocket holster, instead of an usher with a tight, uncooperative belt holster? I would have had a better shot at winning. I wouldn’t have had to stand up. I could have straightened my right leg and drawn in about half a second, without throwing off all sorts of signals. I hate belt holsters that require a lot of struggling. I can’t believe anyone wears one. Speed is really important sometimes.

Looking at the video over and over, I get the impression that the security guy may have caused things to go haywire. It looks like the gunman was calm until the security guy started talking to him and reaching for his gun. Things might have gone better had he pretended to be a harmless usher, waited for the murderer to focus his attention elsewhere, and then shot him from behind or from the side. But with that terrible holster, he might have alerted him to his intentions with all of the reaching and yanking.

The dead security guy is a true hero, but he may not have handled things well. Impossible to say from watching a video. I don’t know what the murderer said before the shooting started. He may have made it clear that there was no time to wait.

I don’t know if I would have been as brave as he was. I might have jumped under a pew. How can you know unless you’ve been there?

The man who killed the murderer shot him about a second after the first shot went off. No intelligent, informed person can say speed isn’t important. He only fired at the killer once, and that seems like a huge mistake. He was also very slow to go check on him after he fell out of view. Maybe that’s attributable to age.

When you shoot an armed assailant, you shoot him as many times as possible in the first volley unless you have a very good excuse. You don’t stop until you’re sure he can’t hurt anyone. That’s what I think. Most armed people are still dangerous after being shot.

The Miami Classic II is much faster than the belt holsters I’ve seen in person. It’s a little slower than a pocket holster, but it’s not a dreadful two-second belt holster.

Unlike a belt holster, it will hold two spare magazines.

It’s what I’m getting. I’m familiar with it, it’s very comfortable, and if I want to carry while working outdoors, it will be out of the way. I know that from experience.

In late May, I ordered a new 1911, and it arrived today. I actually fondled it briefly at the gun shop where the transfer will take place. The FBI is acting funny right now. Some NICS checks take a couple of minutes, and some take an entire day. Earlier this week, I was cleared in a pretty short time, so I thought I would have a similar experience today. Not so. The shop closed three hours after I filled out the form, and they still had my new gun.

Maybe the FBI deliberately sticks it to people who bought another gun recently. They’re not pro-2A conservatives. They’re bureaucratic Deep Staters. If they’re anything like other Deep Staters, they lean left. Look at Comey, McCabe, Page, and Strzok. Maybe the NICS workers received a memo telling them to slow-walk frequent buyers.

Or maybe it’s a fluke.

It was rainy today, so I wouldn’t have been able to shoot anyway. I do wish I could do all the usual new-gun things. I wish I could clean it and caress it and name it Naomi and so on. Maybe put a little Chanel No.5 on the slide. Just the normal stuff every guy does.

While I was at CORE, I picked up a box of cheap Aguila .45 ACP FMJ. Some firearm makers void their warranties if you shoot handloads. Smith & Wesson doesn’t have that policy, but they do object to ammunition they don’t like. They call it “improper” or something. It gives them weasel room which could turn handloads into a problem. I want my first 50 rounds to be from a box. A lot of things that go wrong with new products go wrong right at the start, so if this gun has a defect, I want to see it while I’m shooting crummy, unimpeachable factory ammunition.

The 1911 is not for self-defense. The caliber is great, but if you carry a 1911 for self-defense in 2020, you have a religion, not a reasonable preference. They’re heavy and they only hold 9 rounds. You would feel really stupid if you carried one, fired at an attacker 9 times and missed, and then got a clear shot.

No one ever said, “Gee, I wish I had brought less ammunition to this gunfight.” No one ever said, “I may be dying from multiple stab wounds, but it’s better than carrying a plastic gun.”

I got the new 1911 because it’s a really neat gun which ought to be very accurate and a joy to shoot. It has a hand-fitted barrel, and that’s a big plus for 1911 accuracy.

Yes, I will have several hundred rounds of defensive ammo for it. Because you never know.

I truly, truly hope I can get the AR15 sighted in tomorrow, and I may actually get to bring Naomi home. Things will be great if the cows will just stop licking my table.