Good fun at the range

Early yesterday morning, I woke up and decided it was way past time to go do some shooting.  Even though there was a wind advisory and the gusts were fairly strong, I figured it would make things interesting.  Besides, I wanted to make sure my carbine was properly zeroed and make sure everything was running properly.
So I loaded up with my pistol (Glock 22), my carbine (an AR-15 with 16" barrel and Magpul furniture), one rifle magazine (short on the ammo, I know what I said about having enough ammo but financial considerations come into play), all my pistol mags, the ammo can full of 40S&W, and range bag, then headed out to the county's shooting park.
Although it's way the hell and gone halfway into the Sheep Range at the end of Decatur Blvd. (or so it seems), the range is a very decent facility, with separate areas for trap/skeet shooting, archery, and rifle/pistol.  Hopefully they will follow through on their plans to add a tactical range in the near future ;-)
I wound up being the first person out on the range, and had plenty of time to get things situated with setting up my targets with the kind assistance of one of the RSOs.  About half an hour later, another gentleman showed up, and I just had to stop and watch the fun as he was shooting an AR pistol (for you non-gun types, it's basically an AR-15 with a very short barrel) and had his target at 10 yards out.
Very loud muzzle blast, which can be expected with a shorter barrel, but I am sure it was fun to shoot all the same.
After setting up my larger targets, I used the magazine full to make some very nice shots and with only using my support hand to hold the barrel and not the usual rifle rest on the table.  I didn't have to make any physical sight adjustments and though the wind probably didn't help matters, I still wound up with a fairly decent grouping of hits.

 So overall, not a bad morning to start things out with.  Now just need to get some more rifle ammo and keep practicing to get some tighter groupings.

How a LEO should act towards citizens

While I do not totally agree with open-carry (has its advantages and disadvantages), it's nice to know there's at least one good LEO out there who is aware of citizen's constitutional rights and doesn't go full-retard. 

More Sunday weirdness (NSFW)

EL GUINCHO | Bombay from MGdM | Marc Gómez del Moral on Vimeo.

Something which will make most people who have not had their stimulant of choice yet go "WTF??!!"

Perusing a new book

Peter Grant, the host of the blog 'Bayou Renaissance Man', has just published his book "Walls, Wire, Bars and Souls', an intriguing read and narrative of his time spent in the Federal prison system as a chaplain ministering to the inmates.
His book will definitely be an eye-opener as he describes the workings of an average prison and the personalities of the warders who watch over the inhabitants, and the unsavory personalities of the prisoners (although most prefer to call themselves 'convicts').
Read more about it here and if you find it interesting enough, go to Amazon and download a free sample or just buy it ($3.99 for the Kindle edition as of today's post).
I plan on reading it completely and offer my thoughts in a future post.
Meanwhile, try to survive the weekend!

Some funny stuff for Sunday

The question regarding ammo

I like to peruse the various other sites on the blogosphere, some of which are of the 'preparedness/patriot' bent, and gather info on best practices and methods for making sure you're on the vertical orientation after confrontation with baddies and helping their way to transition to the horizontal-subterranean repose which is how the loser usually finds themselves.

This article here by the Bayou Renaissance Man offers his opinion and observations on how much ammunition one should keep on hand for defensive purposes.  My own answer to that question personally is 'never enough', although for practical purposes a minimum of 500-1000 rounds for rifle and 1000-1500 rounds for handgun would both allow a minimum of practice to maintain proficiency and to defend yourself should things blow up in the world.

Once I have a chance to poke around, I do intend on jazzing this blog up a bit to make it less vanilla and monotonous on the eyes.  Stay tuned...

Humanity's first interstellar probe

This video from Space.com discusses the confirmation from NASA that Voyager 1 has definitely crossed the boundary from our solar system into interstellar space.

So old Star Trek jokes aside, it would be fun to stick around for the remainder of this century to see where we wind up.  Assuming of course we still have resources available to get off this planet.

Meanwhile in the blogosphere...

AmericanMercenary: Struck a nerve?

I often wonder sometimes whether our fellow citizens tend to confuse a democracy with something else entirely.  Take a look at AM's earlier post then look at Ann Banrharts's commentary which started the whole line of thinking.

Getting started...

I have often posted various odds and ends on social media sites, but I believe it is time to make the plunge into blogging.  Hell, so I am starting about 15-20 years late, so sue me! ;-)

Why do I refer to myself as a desert rat?  Well, besides the fact that I have lived the majority of my life in the Southwest US, that particular sobriquet was something my dear late mother had pinned on me, and was echoed by my sister.  So I figure if the shoe fits...

So a little more about me.  I am in my early 40's, on the verge of middle age and beginning to reflect some on what my life's journey's have taken me and what is lying ahead.  I am single and not really interested in hooking up formally, but rather to live in sin and enjoy my hedonistic ways...easy to do here in Sin City.

My political views tend to be more towards the libertarian slant, with a mix of conservative liberalism thrown in to add some spice and to piss off the total lib-tards which seem to grow in numbers day by day.  Although not really all too enthused by Ayn Rand and her points of view, it does have some validity which I hope one of these days my fellow citizens would point to when it comes time to go to the polls.

As for religion/spirituality, I was raised in a family which had roots in Baptists, but then went to and was influenced by the Episcopalians some, but after seeing some of the excesses and hypocrisy which most organized religions tend to have in excess, I feel my relation to God and to Jesus can be handled without the middle-man to muddle things.  I honestly believe that if you try to live life to the fullest, follow the Golden Rule, and try your best to be honest and candid in dealing with others, He will make sure of things when the time comes.  And considering that He already had one good chance to call me to His Home, I suspect there's more in the works here on Earth I need to take care of.

I don't expect anyone to really share my beliefs or opinions that I post on here, but it would be amusing to see what occurs when I kick over various anthills and watch what boils up from the depths.

OK now time for bed.  And remember, it's Patriot's Day so take a moment to pause and reflect on what has happened in the last 12 years since that fateful Tuesday morning and honor the memory of those we have lost.