JFlowers

This morning (Dec 31) the death toll is being given at 120,000 plus. That is staggering! There has been some discussion about why should America give aid when the international community (especially in Asia from what I see, hear, read in the media) is already badmouthing the US for not giving enough (forget that the US Gov and US Companies are the largest contributors to the relief fund). Well, this is my opinion. The badmouthing comes from politicians who are sitting in their velvet chairs smoking cigars and sipping wine. The folks needing the help are just like you and me. They want a roof over their heads, food on the table.

IBILLCS.COM is one of the largest credit card processors from adult websites. You can contact them directly as IBILLCS.COM and report a fraudulent charge against your card. They have been helpful in the past when I ran into charges by them on my cards. At one time American Express was eperimenting with a system where you used a piece of software to generate "One Use" credit card numbers. You could make a purchase with them and they would be approved through the standard credit card merchant processing system, but AE knew how to decode them to re-direct the charges to your account. But a second charge to that number would be rejected. Wonder what happened to that?

Does Improved Cylinder and Modified Improved work with slugs or do ya'll change chokes for slugs?

For 3-Gun, is it best to use a single choke for a match or is it permissible to change chokes between stages based on the shell/shot/slug required for the stage? If its a single choke, what is the best overall choke? What are the pro's and con's of that choice? James

Last time I flew with firearms on USAirways, their rule was 2 or 3 longarms or 5 handguns to a case, but no mixtures allowed. Even the USAirways agent thought that was a rather stupid rule. But this was pre-9/11.

The problem in the South at the moment is that Mother Nature is doing drugs again and can't make up her mind! Sat's shooting was nice and comfortable, Sun's match was under the freezing mark and threatened with rain, Mon thru Wed was gradually warming, today is 60+ short sleeve weather and rainy. The rain leaves tonight and tomorrow is suppose to be cooling off with Christmas back below freezing. No wonder everyone round here either has the sniffles or a hangover from the cold medication!

We all say that companies take this stance to reduce liability, but do they not increase it as well? If someone came into a business and shot the place up, could the employees sue on the grounds that the company put them at risk by removing their ability to defend themselves?

I haven't seen the ads or if I have they were below my notice (commercials, you know). BUt I would wonder if they are saying shoot slow or just using a catchy jingle to remind people to be aware and not in a rush to take shortcut around safety. Even the shooting sports (USPSA, IDPA, SASS, Steel Challenge) use that philosphy. We obey certain rules and steps that slow down off-the-clock processes so that we are safe. We just shoot all out.

Why does Ford not offer a supercharged 5.4 'Stang? Its this agency called the EPA. You ever noticed that you will have a section of trucks, a small group of sporty cars, and then this huge assortment of sub-compacts in a dealers lot? Theres a reason for that and it has nothing to do with demand. My understanding is that the EPA tells every mainline manufacturer selling in the US that if you take the average MPG of all the cars sold, it has to meet a certain requirement. I bet the current trend in trucks and SUVs is killing them! So a fuel eating 5.4L supercharged 'Stang would force them to sell more Festivas to balance the EPA numbers. But you bet a 3-party will have one selling through the dealers! Now how non-mainline manufacturers get around this I don't know. It might have a # of cars per year requirement. I just can't see Ferrarri meeting an average MPG requirement! This was why Chevy would not sell a 454 Corvette several years ago. But they would sell you a stock baseline Corvette and the 454 Special Kit (engine, suspension, transmission, etc) and the dealer did the work. That way they "sold" a small V8 for EPA reporting and you got a big V8 for personal fun. The current project car is a Ford Thunderbolt owned by a friend. Now you talk about Factory Performance! What a car!

What about not allowing paper targets for more than 1 weapon on a stage? Follow my thinking here.... Lets say James is shooting a P15 in 45 making major and an AR15 in .223 making minor. If a stage is paper targets for the pistol and steel for the rifle then the minor/major combination is not a problem as steel measure minor/major on its own not by scoring. The same goes if its paper for the rifle and steel for the pistol. Since steel is an "A", then it should not matter. Does this limit 3-Gun... yes, but meets the current limitations of USPSA scoring through stage design rather than by paper manipulation at the Stats Shack. I have heard that at some matches, certain targets were painted black for hardcover except for the "A" zone.... same idea as mine. All this means that scoring is straightforward and stats don't have to worry about is this "C" minor or major. Does this make Ironman just another class? Well, yes. But Ironman can still have distinct benefits and disadvantages. A steel plate at 300 yards will be much more likely to fall to a .308 out of a M1A1 than a .223 out of a AR15 (steel measures power on its own......). The only problem might be with the current scoring software. I assume it would have trouble with one stage being scored Major and one Minor (by the weapon scored on paper). Hmmmm, back to the drawing board I guess.

Does anyone make a muzzle platform for a Hogue PowerSpeed holster? And yes, I know a lot of people don't like the PowerSpeed, but I have not had any major issues with it.

I like the idea from Dead Buff of a 'floating' Trophy. The winner of say, 2004 Area 6, gets two trophies; a small one and the large 'floating' trophy with their name engraved alongside the previous winners. Then for 2005 they give the 'floating' trophy back (unless they win it again) and keep the small one.

[rant on] While the ineptitude of the system we have created never ceases to amaze me, the information filtering done by our media continues to amaze me. If 10 facts can be stated about a situation and 1 makes a good story but the other 9 make that 1 a non-issue, ABC/NBC/TBS/etc will happily drop the 9 and make a story out of the 1 fact by itself. So much for responsible journalism. I am sure that this story has more to it that Larry King told. Take the uproar about unarmored Humvees in Iraq. The Humvee was designed as a replacement for the Jeep. You remember the Jeep.... open air little vehicle with no armor. Its not that the military is neglected the troops by failing to provide them with the armor for the Humvees, the problem is the Humvees are the wrong vehicle for the job, but they are what we have. Look at pictures of the up-armored Humvees and especially the "Hillbilly" armored Humvess. Notice the tires. They are canted because the suspension was never designed for the weight being placed upon it. There are armored versions of the Humvees but there is a lot more to the job than bolting armor over the vehicle. Where are the M113s, Bradleys, and Strykers which are the proper armored vehicles for these tasks? Oh, Budget cuts! Conservatives like to point the finger at the Clinton era for that, and while I personally enjoy giving Clinton the finger, I will reserve blame until I have facts. The soldier in question, if you dig out the facts... I would not be surprised to find that he lost his arm but still has his life due to body armor. That would make sense as modern body armor covers the Torso and leaves the arms uncovered. As for his job, US employers are in a bind. Their trained and skilled employees who are reservists and guardsmen are being pulled into active duty, not for a 3 week trip to Haiti to rebuild homes but for 18 month duty stints. So the employer has no choice, especially small businesses, but to hire and train someone else to fill that job. Now when the soldier comes home, the employer does not have an opening for them. Is it sad and unfair? Yes, but what are the employers to do? [rant off] My thoughts and prayers go out to all those serving, their families waiting, and especially those who have sacrificed body, soul, and too often their lives.

Southwest Products makes a product called Pressure Trace. This uses a glued on strain guage to measure chamber pressure. A friend and I have been testing this using a number of rifles and the results have matched expectations. The problem with this and a 1911-based firearm is there is no good way to glue the strain guage to the chamber as the slide of the firearm is in the way.

In my early 20's, my date and I were heading to some eating establishment she had been told of. As we entered an intersection , she informed me that I needed to turn right. After slamming on the brakes and skidding 3/4 of the way through the intersection I managed to get turned. Unfortunately I did not see the officer parked in the Stop-N-Go's parking lot across the intersection. When he caught up to me further down the road, he walked up to the driver's window and asked "Young Man, What in the H*!! do you think you were doing back there?" Not being know for my ability to think before speaking as a youth, I calmly replied "I'm sorry officer, she was giving me directions." The officer looked at my date, told her that she needed to tell me where to turn a little earlier, told me to have a nice day, and walked off. The beating from the girlfriend .... Painful. Not getting a ticket ...... Wonderful. The look on her face ..... Priceless! Needless to say, as a free single man I had my first date with my wife (now) the next weekend!

I met all my 2004 shooting goals but 2, so they are #1 and #2 for 2005. 1. Classify as B in Limited 10 (Currently C) 2. Make my dry fire/work out routines habit rather than something I have to go do. and my new goals for 2005 1. Classify as B in Open (Currently unclassified, a 2004 goal was to get the gun running) 2. Make 1 additional 'Major' USPSA match, preferably out of Area 6, along with repeating the 2004 matches. 3. Make 1 additional 'Major' SASS match, preferably the SE Regional, along with repeating the 2004 matches. 4. Find a better balance between USPSA, SASS, and home. 5. Successfully defend my 2004 1st In Class at the 2005 SASS NC Championships, while improving my overall finish in the match by 10%. (The 2004 goal was to win my class) 6. Make at least 1 'Major' 3-Gun Match.

I worked The "Barrel Yard" Stage at the 2004 Area 6 match with North Carolina's own infamous barefoot shooter. I can personally say I think he's nuts, but he probably would just agree with me and grin. His bare feet did prove to be easier to clean up than my boots after two days in the foot deep mud of the 2004 Area 6.

With STI listing the 170mm STI for Para magazines as "No longer produced" what are Para-framed Open Guns to do for big sticks, other than whats on the market. Does anyone make a basepad that makes a standard Para magazine into 170mm?

Folks, Its not just the gun store, no competition shooters that bad mouth competition shooters, we do it to ourselves. IDPA bad mouths IPSC, IPSC bad mouths SASS, SASS bad mouths SASS. How can we expect the mall ninjas and tackle store tactibillies to have any respect for competitive shooters when we ourselves don't respect each other. The local gunshop here used to be a very friendly place for competitive shooters, even though they really catered to the hunting crowd. Why? Well the manager shot SASS and most of the clerks shot SASS, IPSC, or IDPA. The store gunsmithing work went out to Tommy Abernathy who builds IPSC guns in the Carolinas. But that shop was an exception in many ways. The sad fact is that most of the people who bad mouth competitive shooters are scared of their own guns. When I took the CCW class in North Carolina, After 8 hours of classroom work, the shooting proficency test required (and this is from memory so it might not be exact) 5 shots at 7 yards, 5 shots at 5 yards, 5 shots at 3 yards, and 5 shots from waist level one handed at 1 yard, no time limit and since what gun you used was not recorded or cared about most people used 22s. The re-shoot rate was 2-4 shooters per class! Even the D and U class shooters I know could pass this without using the sights! When I was shooting 5-6 SASS matches a month and really pushing hard to develop that particular set of skills, someone asked on a chat board what gun would you use to defend yourself. My answer was that I carried a 3" 45LC Ruger Vaquero. It was the gun my hands and mind knew how to operate and logically the gun that I would be least likely to fumble under stress. That logical translates to whatever gun a person shoots in whatever competition, your level of familiarity and comfort with that gun is high and under stress your hands know how to handle it.

Actually these GunKata Monks ought to be fairly easy to defeat. All you have to do is know the statistics. If the Monk busts through the door and all the oponents are in statistically nontraditional locations then all he does is shoot a lot of holes in the walls and dances out of the way of incoming fire that does not exist into the path of incoming fire from the statistically nontraditional located oponents! I bet the hanging ninja is a statistically nontraditional target!

Lord, I have lust in my heart! Ford's 2005 Mustang GT-R Concept. Basically a 2005 Mustang with the works including Ford's aftermarket crate engine!

Only question in NC is age (18 for rifle, 21 for pistol) and since I reload and pasted 21 some time back I am assuming thats the deal. And the general retailers could care less if you buy pistol ammo under 21 as long as you tell them its for a rifle (Hey they do make 9mm rifles).

Too Late! http://www.gunkatta.com/home.htm

Vince, Could you post the text of one of the emails, if you have it? I know I am dense at times but I am unable to figure out how a email asking for an invitation to a match can be a financial scam. James

Two hours? CAS TV is a 30 minute show, so where do you get two hours? Unless your counting multiple showings during the week.