Sailboat Pending

Making an offer on a MacGregor 25 today. See examples here. Will have cash in hand so Wish Me Luck!

Res-mail

kimber
Originally uploaded by The Third Way.

Res got a new .45 and was kind enough to send this in depth review. Please, don't drool on my blog. Here is this season's "must have" for the well dressed man-about-town

I just joined the local IDPA league so I could spend lots of time breaking
it in. We shot for about two hours tonight. I went through about 200
rounds. One failure to feed. I suspect it was my fault, I was rushing for
time and changed positions, so I may have limp wrist'd it. Bad thing is
with a 23lb spring when this baby jams it jams hard. I should have racked
it harder to clear it. I'll remember that if there is a next time. No
other problems at all, other than I will need some time to get used to a
shorter barrel. The sight picture is slightly different and I was trying to
hit high on the steal targets because some of them were falling a little
hard.

As a carry gun this has it all! Its 1/4in shorter than anybody else's
commander style gun, the barrel is 4in. It is a bull style barrel that
doesn't require a bushing. IT IS TIGHT! Fit and finish is near perfect.
The gun is deburred and rounded in the shop before they finish it. Front
strap checkering is 30 lpi and the underside of the trigger guard is
checkered too. Using an OWB holster tonight, the gun jumped to my hand and
came up in a perfect solid grip every time.

Control ability is great, the gun may be the lightest in its class but its'
far from unmanageable. The biggest challenge for me is learning the point
of aim on it and getting the sight picture right. I'm so used to a 5in gun
that it seems "wrong" but I think in a week or two' I'll be completely over
that.

Have you seen these:

http://www.gunnersalley.com/product/COMPTACCTAC

I'm thinking of doing something like this for my new carry holster. Its
great to carry and I think I'm going to be real pleased with it.<

br />
Res

Sailing

I bought a canoe. Oh, before I forget, Congrats on the new .45, Res!
What was I saying? I bought a canoe. $100.00! It's old and aluminum and sorta heavy, but I figure I can paddle the girls around some. I was talkin' to an old canoe hand about it the other day, and he got to tellin' me how prone they are to swamping. Seems a decent sized boat will flat fill one up. Took all the fun out of it. I don't want to beretrieving a canoe off the bottom of a lake somewhere. Not my idea of vacation fun.

So, I'm hunting up a sailboat. Nothing too big - 19 to 26 feet, retractable keel, outboard, trailer. A daysailor/weekender to drag around behind the motorhome.

Advice and knowledge hereby solicited.

The Doctor has Infected My Home

Isabella Rossi Pic
Originally uploaded by The Third Way.

For those who don't know, "the Doctor" is Valentino Rossi, the fastest man alive. He is the reigning champion of Moto GP motorcycle racing. He's also a spindly, ubergeek who is at least as goofy lookin' as the class nerd you remember from shool days.

As can be seen in the drawing my youngest daughter has a crush on him. She tore out a magazine ad featuring him, took it to school and told her friends she was "in love". They told her he wasn't "cute".

Her reply, "No, but he's fast and he wins races."

I haven't figured out just what to do here...... I guess I don't have to beat him publicly unless he shows up on my doorstep, but past that I am at a loss.

The Phone Call

Nate: Heyman! Whatcha into?

JACIII: Not much, tillin' the garden.

Nate: Hey, um, somethin's wrong with my bike.

JACIII: What'd you do? (insert accusatory tone)

Nate: Nothin'! I didn't do anything, man. Um, it won't idle.

JACIII: It's outa gas.

Nate: No it's not! It's got plenty of gas!

JACIII: What's it doin'?

Nate: It runs, but it won't idle.

JACIII: You mean you can hold the throttle open and it will run, but when you let off it dies.

Nate: Yep.

JACIII: It's outa gas. The float bowls are emptying out.

Nate: NO IT'S NOT, DUDE. Listen, I just looked, there's all kinds of gas in the tank.

JACIII: OK, turn the idle adjustment screw up until it will stay running without you holding the throttle open and call me back and let me know how many RPM's it takes to keep it runnin'.

Nate: OK. (click)

INTERMISSION - Get popcorn, coke, Junior mints.....

JACIII: Yeah!

Nate: It's outa gas.

JACIII: Told ya'.

Nate: Fag.

JACIII: You good to go?

Nate: Yeah, got reserve. I'll make it to Joy's.

JACIII: Alright, Be careful. And don't pester Joy.



They will always be my little brothers.

Been quiet around here...

The weather is perkin' up and my afternoons have been spent at the forge. I will post pics of some of my handiwork soon. Expect no artistry, only the brutal persuasion of fire, anvil, 160lb of wild swingin' redneck, and a $130 hammer.

The Genius of John Browning

EGWFPS
Originally uploaded by The Third Way.

You can tell a fella is the real thing when lesser folks seek to "improve" upon his work and perhaps cure one perceived problem while exacerbating others. This happens because when a really smart and knowledgable guy designs something there is a lot of what I call "density of design", meaning that a lot of parts or design elements serve more functions than it would initially appear. I stumbled upon an example of this today on a 1911 forum.

See, the military decided the 1911 had a too stiff initial manual slide retraction. No doubt some soft handed general abraded himself while enduring qualification with the 1911. A design change was issued and this little part
got changed.

Note the blurry one in the foreground has a bevel on the top right while the rear one has a pretty sharp radius. This one little change to what is called the "Firing Pin Stop" can result in any number of malfunctions. Since this was implemeted folks have come up with all kinds of fixes for the resulting problems it caused; treating the symptons and not the disease.

That one dimension started a whole chain reaction of differences in the way the pistol functioned, from felt recoil, lock timing, slide to frame impact, feeding, to ejection reliability. I other words it didn't work anymore. Whole industries have been founded on solutions to problems this change caused.

Design Density.

The Return of the Pocket Watch

Seen any old movies lately? Folks checking on the train or somesuch by diggin' a two inch diameter clock out of the bib pocket of their overalls, flippin' the cover open, shading it from the sun and squinting at it. I found myself doing this very same thing the other day with my cellphone.

Yeah, I wear bibs sometimes. Did you know they have a special watch pocket on the outside of the bib pocket? The watch (cellphone) slides in sideways right to left. It is the perfect size for the newer compact flip phones, the antenna snags on the way out sometimes, but it is real handy. Theres even what appears to be a useless buttonhole that is for attaching a watchfob to keep you from droppin' your $300.00 phone onto the pavement.

You're not still wearin' a watch are ya'? Luddite, those things are going the way of dinosaur blogs (newspapers) and the network newscast.

Get hip. Get bibs.

Thompson 1911C Target

Thompson 1911C Target
Originally uploaded by The Third Way.

Here it is. The Evidence. That is a three inch target spot. That's @ 25 yards rested on a bench. Measure yourself - and remember, Gregg, those are 1/2 inch holes! I was unable to do any better than 3" on my hindlegs though.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

The Best Defense or "Why a .45?" Well, Grasshopper....

I have been a CCW holder and habitual user for about 7 years now. I started off with a Makarov in .380. I was poor but I found a 'custom' in hard-chrome with target sights. Walther PP size, ate anything, couldn't make it misfire; indestructable. I bought some Franchi ammo one time that was full of half loads and was pure junk. It cycled all but the one round that fell apart chambering. That's right the bullet fell out of the case. I liked the gun alot. Then I saw a show on TV where some nut was holding a girl hostage and shot her about 8 times with a .380. She was on her feet and attempting to evade him as he pumped lead into her. The scene lasted about 5 minutes and ended with her walking to the ambulance. About two weeks later I had a dream about a 'home invasion' and the same sort of thing happened in it. Shoot the bad guy - nothing happens. I traded the Mak the next week off for a Ruger Super Redhawk brass beltbuckle. I wear it to this day and get lots of compliments.

I upgraded to a KAHR Arms K40; all steel, heavy, tough, powerful, accurate, and compact. What a trigger! Butter smooth, but about a 1 1/2 inch pull. Not much use for shooting games and such. You can impress folks by ringing a 100 yard steel with your 4 inch compact semiauto, though! I still love this gun, and use it if small size is critical to a carry situation.

I never thought I would own a "plastic" gun, but I got to lookin' at the CZ100 one day at a local gun store and identified some interesting features that sparked my interest. I asked to see it and the clerk handed it over, offer to make a deal. I handed it back when I realized it was a puny 9mm. He was persistent though, and eventually asked for an offer. I low balled him with half the marked price to shut him up and damned if he didn't take it! What are ya' gonna do? I bought the gun. It shoots great, I carry it most often even though it is a full size duty weapon because it is so light you can forget you are wearing it. I just plan on having to make head shots.

In between the Makarov and the KAHR I bought a book called, "The Best Defense" by Robert A. Waters that is filled with stories of regular folks successfully defending themselves and their loved ones with a firearm. In this book is the tale of a woman who was stalked for fifteen years by a former coworker at a bank. She, her husband, and children even moved away to get away from the ass. No help from cops, of course, they are only there to clean up the mess; not prevent it or intervene. Eventually the guy goes off completely, makes a 'death list' and begins showing up on the doorstep of former coworkers and killing them, though one survived and was able to get police to warn the other former coworkers that he was on a rampage and was wearing a bulletproof vest. Now, the above stalked woman's husband had purchased a .45 and learned to use it. He prepared for the coming attack. The coward shows up on his doorstep pretending to need help. The husband got his family on the floor and when the psycho figured out his ploy didn't work he shot the lock off the door and came in shooting at the children on the floor. Dad rests the .45 on the refridgerator at puts a .45 slug on target. The cops picked the psycho up later, begging for help for real this time, whimpering on the ground from the trauma caused to him by one .45 round to his chest. Through a Kevlar Vest. The round didn't penetrate, it just hit so hard he wished it had. I knew I would eventually purchse a .45ACP 1911 the second I finished reading that tale.

My New 1911!

Oops! OUR new 1911!

Follow THIS to a review of the gun (Thompson Custom 1911 review is the first review listed in the "Reviews" links) - Note the 25yard accuracy data. I was able to duplicate these results today at the range. These numbers are usually reserved for $1500+ firearms. Thompson is owned by KAHR Arms, makers of the most reliable, accurate, and potent hideaway (CCW) guns available. I own a KAHR in .40S&W and have found it to be of amazing dependibility, accuracy, and quality, so I took a gamble and bought one of the first hundred 1911 Customs they have ever manufactured.

It's new and the chamber is a bit tight, so I had a couple of failures to eject. And the guide rod is shedding some kind of coating, but I can't bitch until at least 200 rounds have been fed through it. I'll call KAHR tomorrow and get a new guide rod shipped out and tell them how accurate their pistol is.

I showed my groups to the Mrs. and her reaction was, "I can't believe anyone would BUY a gun that wouldn't do that...". I explained to her that 2" at 25 yards was exceptional, the 1.5" groups I got today was amazing, and that we had no right to spend less than $700 on a 1911 and get that kind of result. We buy this company's guns because of this. They do not play when it comes to accuracy.


See me smilin' ?!

"I think this guy is a loser. " - Harry Reid

This is my favorite tack used by democrats. Harry is refering to GW here, of course, and to my knowledge he hasn't been beat at ANYTHING. This, I guess, makes him a loser in the eyes of his opponents. From whence does this shit come? They're either hypnotised or trying to hypnotise us through repitition is all I can figure. How else do you explain such obvious serial rejection of reality?

They have been on a steep downhill slide since Clinton was inaugurated and Newt began beatin' them about the head and shoulders, steadily losing any grip on power, yet they herald Bill Clinton as a savior. He presided over the most dramatic shift away from a party since FDR in the midst of no causal crisis either real or imagined. Now, they consider him a "winner", nay, an idol - worshipped by the denizens of the dinosaur blog and legacy media alike.

GW has whipped their asses at every turn, and done it in a manner which looks like a hard fought narrow victory starting with the governorship of Texas. That flies once, or maybe twice. Not every time. What these dolts are doing is staying at the table, betting, while a shark runs it on 'em over and over again, but just barely. That's what democrats call a "loser".

While this makes democrats fun to watch (I especially enjoy listening to NPR after whatever latest ass whoopin' has been visited upon the left! Whaaa! Whaaa! Big tears!) it makes it particularly frustrating when they are taken seriously about ANYTHING.

The corollary to the above is, "What's GW doing to those of us who would appear to be on the same side of the political spectrum?"

Bunn

I know. Who gets excited over a coffeemaker? First time for me I gotta tell ya'.

The ol' coffee pot went ta' shit and I told the wife I wanted on of them damn near instant coffee makers. Her mom has one and it makes the closest thing to percolated coffee I've had yet. The coffee tastes 'cooked' somehow.

And it's not just the coffee, 3 minutes for a pot of hot water. Think Earl Grey, hot chocolate w/ 'fluff'. MMMMMMMMMMMM

I put this household appliance in the same category as that KitchenAid mixer the wife stands back from, throws yummy things into and out pops pie makin's. Derby Pie anyone?

Incidently, here's the wife's variation if you want to celebrate the Derby proper:

1 cup sugar (pure cane)
1/4 cup flour
2 beaten eggs
1 stick melted butter (must be cooled)
1 cup pecan pieces
1 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla

Put into store bought frozen dough pie crust.

bake 1 hour at 325 F

Enjoy!

Happiness is a well equipped workshop.

What more does a man need? (Besides a Ducati 1000DS, of course.)


Happiness

I don't see a coffee pot or a "Liar's Bench" in the photo, but you can bet there was seating somewhere nearby. There is no way the community elders will let a man get away with too much concentrated continuous productive effort. At least not without the benefit of their unsolicited advise.

I live in the oldest community in the state of Kentucky. The General Store was taken out of serious service only about 10 years ago. It's still open, but is now a craft shop. (blech!) For such a small community there are a lot of businesses in place and business is done the in the old way. There is William Leonard's mechanic's shop (formerly the smithy his father owned and worked), Egbert's Gun Site across the street, Bill's Market at the top of the hill with groceries and fuel, and the 127 Foodcenter combined with the new hardware/lumber yard which together serve the former function of the General Store.

All of these places have a thing in common: A spot for folks to sit, drink a cup of coffee and pass the time. This is the wat things were done here in the 1700's and the way they are done here now. Can you tell I like the place?

Proof Positive

Soccer is for sissies. The captain of the UK (That's United Kingdom, lest some ethnocentric yankee think Kentuckians are engaging in such behavior) 'football' team is publicly giving out beauty tips.
Normally, were I to say a man was giving out beauty tips I would be refering to something like, "Hey man, if you cut your finger off you can glue it back on with Super Glue. Yeah, Works great! See?!" or, "My wife quit buying soap for the shower, too, so I just use whatever squirts outa one of them bottles that doesn't appear to be synthetic jism. Sure, same stuff for the hair and beard, too. Kinda smelly, though...."

This soccer star, though, uses moisturizing cream and enjoys manicures. His wife says he is very much a "new man" and "totally in touch with his feminine side. He loves having his face and nails done."

Bwhahahahaha!

I always thoguht soccer was for the the uncoordinated kids who couldn't play basebal, football, basketball or those without fathers who's mothers forced them into it because they couldn't bear to see little Richard compete (gasp! bad for self esteem). Turns out it's just a bunch of queeners exchanging beauty tips. Can't say I'm really surprised at that anymore than at the 'revalation' that the youngest of the Jackson Five is a pervert.

Doh!

I'm Gettin' Pissed.

Blogger is a pain in the ass to post a pic anyway, and then they gotta go and screww around with it all the time. Man! Here I've been surfin' the web and slobbering over the 1000DS Welldigger clued me onto and I can't corrupt anyone else by puttin' up a 'to die for' pic.

Gimme time. The weather has been nice in the afternoons and I just can't get to the keyboard. Hope y'all are neglecting the keyboards, too!

See ya'!

Duc Fever

I’ve got it; showing all the symptoms. I don’t know if I’ll be able to shake it before I buy one or not. It’s getting’ pretty bad; I’ve got an ST4 on my desktop, I search them out on ebay three times daily, I read the data on owner’s group and enthusiast sites….. I used to think they were ugly, I think they’re sex on wheels now.

Any constructive discouragement will be appreciated.



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I had fun today.

I finished painting Big Red as you can see below. Man, am I ever pleased with the way she turned out.

I ran out of paint towards the end and jumped on The Mothership (Voyager XII) to acquire some more. Along the way I see and Hardley Sportster 883 waiting at an intersection. I pass by and see him pull out and gun it in my mirrors. No biggie; it's fun to ride in groups. Dude pulls alongside for awhile then guns it again. Now, I don't tolerate this sort of behavior well, but I was on 900lb saddlebagged interstate whale - the motorcycle equivalent of an 18 wheeler - so I just rode in back for awhile. The thing about these damn Hardleys is they sound like shit and the pussies who ride 'em want everybody to hear it. The one in front of me was no exception, sounded like a Briggs and Stratton with no muffler. So I dropped two gears and twisted the 'GO' handle. I saw him check six and then he twisted the 'All Sound and Fury but NoPower' handle. I ran him down surprisingly easily and proceeded to run off.

We came to a stoplight and chatted awhile, he thought it was a fluke. From the stoplight I let him get steady and situated onto the highway and began settling into a staggered formation behind him when I see his front wheel tryin' to come up as he goes for second gear. O.K. Twist, rundown, pass, run off. I gave him a headstart this time. WhooHoo! Go Voyager!

The above scenario repeated itself two more times. Dude looked upset the last time and sped off doin' a steady 90mph in a 55mph zone. I let him go. No reckless drivig tickets for me. Not on the Mothership!

The thing is BigRed, a ten year old bike, would do that to him so fast and hard he would feel the compression wave with out any real fuss or effort. Dude should peel the SPORTster sticker off that thing.

A wise man once told me he felt sorry for Hardley riders. He figured they didn't know any better since most of 'em had never ridden anything else...

I saw so many potbellies out on those things today I thought I was gonna be sick. Cattle. Each one has a 'custom' bike - just like everyone else's. Pitiful.

And This is How Red They Are!

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