WNW: Irish Olympic Sailing Commentary

This is for me best mate, Mr. Cumstances McPriv.

(Follow that last link, it's hilarious.)





H/T to whomever first posted this. Not sure who it was, but you're on my blogroll.

I could sure use some help

Caleb over at Gun Nuts Media is looking for a new writer.

Obviously, I think this new writer should be me. After all, I am the Bratty Little Sister of the Gunblog Community. Also, I need money. And think of all the cool stuff I could get to review!

If you would like to see me writing for Gun Nuts, then I encourage all of you to leave comments or emails to that effect, because frankly I'm not above stacking the deck in order to get this job.

Pleeeeeeaaaaase?

Monday Gunday: the Voodoo Tactical Armadillo Bag

Faithful readers will no doubt recall that I have been in search a method to tame the bucking and jumping -- "muzzle whip," I believe it's been called -- of my Mosin-Nagant. (For those of you who are unfamiliar, I have a big nasty Russian rifle that's as tall as I am, and fires a cartridge with enough recoil that it'll put hair on your chest.)

My particular problem with my Mosin isn't its 7.62x54R cartridge and the beefy recoil. In fact, I rather like the attention I get when other people are pop-pop-popping at the range and suddenly there's a tremendous BOOM! from my cannon. No, what bugged me was the way that, after each shot, the muzzle of my rifle would leap about a foot into the air (but was probably only a few inches) and come down in an entirely different place, forcing me to find my target all over again. While this isn't much of a problem at 25 or 50 yards, it's pretty significant at 100.

After doing some research, I was informed that this muzzle whip was probably caused by, or at least exacerbated by, the lightweight ATI stock that I owned. I reasoned, therefore, that if the problem was not enough mass in the stock then I could solve the problem by adding more mass back. The question, therefore, was how?

The answer is this: the Voodoo Tactical Armadillo Bag. ($60.95 + S&H)

This is basically an oversized purse fitted with MOLLE straps and an extra-wide carry strap. But what makes this handy are those two protrusions up top. The Armadillo is meant to serve as a shooting bag as well, and it works by supporting the rifle when you place the fore-end of the rifle between those two cushions. This is supposed to give a stable shooting surface, like a bipod, and also prevent side-to-side rocking.

If you're wondering, "Erin, I don't see how this solves your problem," you're well ahead of the curve. The fact is, it doesn't solve my problem -- or at least, it doesn't solve it in its stock formation. Time to modify!

A bag, inside a bag, inside a bag. I think I'll call this "Inception."

I said I needed mass, right? I want you guys to know that this bag is just the right size and shape to hold a 20-pound sandbag. It even has a lovely drawstring hood to help keep any errant bits of sand from leaking out. (Although, Protip: Place the sandbag in a heavy-duty plastic trash bag for extra insurance.)

All right, there's the mass, but how did I anchor it to the rifle?

Like this.

Through a cunning series of straps that I improvised. It's hard to tell, but trust me when I tell you that those straps aren't supposed to be there. The buckles on the left are supposed to help anchor the lid to the body of the bag, in case, I dunno, the zipper isn't strong enough or something. But let me tell you, sweetheart, that I didn't have any trouble keeping the lid closed, and I had a freaking sandbag in it when I toted it to the range.

This is the finished configuration, with the rifle securely lashed to 20 pounds of dead weight. I can tell you with absolute certainty that, affixed to this, my rifle doesn't buck any more. It just pushes straight back, like proper recoil. (And if it starts to move, I can always increase the weight. This bag easily holds 1,000 rounds of 9mm plus some .22LR.)

No doubt some of you are wondering why I have a bipod on the rifle if it's strapped to the bag. That's a very good question! The answer is that I couldn't get the sandbag to make a completely even top surface, what with the tie-down and the plastic bag and the drawstring, so the bipod is there to make sure my rifle is level. It's a bit belt-and-suspenders, I grant you, but the only thing I wanted that bag for was as a MOLLE-encrusted anchor, and believe me it delivers in that regard.

So, yes. The Voodoo Tactical Armadillo Bag. I can't rate it for what it's supposed to be, because I'm not using it like that, but it works very, very well in its new role. Voodoo Tactical makes their bags tough enough to survive the horrible things I do to them.

Doctor Frankenstein says:  A+




FTC Notice: I bought this product with my own money, so neener.

Freedom Munitions Update #1

I promised y'all a review of Freedom Munitions once I'd shot some, so just for fun, I loaded up 2 extended magazines and took them to the range this afternoon. One  had 30 rounds of store-bought 9mm Blazer, the other had 30 round of 9mm Blaster from Freedom Munitions. Both were 115 grain FMJ. 

I did not detect any difference in performance or operation between the store-bought ammo and the commercially reloaded ammo. It was indistinguishable to me. 

If anything, it was the magazines which gave me trouble with several Failures To Feed. Ironically, the mag with the store-bought stuff had more FTFs (3) than the one with the reloaded ammo (1), so I'm chalking that up to "Extended magazines sometimes do that" instead of blaming it on the ammo. 

For my next test, I'm going to shoot 100 rounds (or more) of the reloaded Blaster and see if there are any malfunctions that I can attribute to the cartridges themselves. I don't think I'll find any, but 10% of my volume should be a statistically significant sample. 

Picture Perfect Pony

Not enough ponies around here lately. (Still working on Failure is Awesome, I promise.)

This is just too awesome not to share. A brony has made a 3-minute music video with original animation, original voice acting, and original music. 

Words cannot express how impressed I am. The first time I saw it I was going "Wait, I've seen the episode with Photo Finish in it, I don't remember any of this," and then it proceeded to annihilate all my expectations. 

It looks like it came out of the MLP studios, it's that well made. 

Enjoy!

WNW: Spoon!

I'm not sure if I ever posted this or not. I suspect I have, but cursory search of my blog doesn't turn it up.

Oh well. If I did, it was years ago, and worth seeing again.

Arsenal of Democracy

This is what liberty looks like:

Suck it, Charles Schumer. 

I bought 1,000 rounds of 9mm from Freedom Munitions. They are both a manufacturer and a reloader; they commercially reload cartridges to factory specification for a cheaper price. And if you're willing to accept cosmetic blemishes on your ammunition (seriously, is this even a consideration? Is bullet. Is not pretty. Is meant to be shot) you can get an even cheaper rate with their Blaster line. 

I ordered this on July 22, and it took a week to arrive. With shipping (and 1k rounds 9mm weighs about 30 pounds), it cost me $195.68.  For the record, that is about $15 less than what it would cost for a spam can of 900 rounds 9mm to be mailed to me.

And if you save your brass, you can mail it back in and get a rebate on your order.

I can't quite call this a review because I haven't shot this ammunition yet. (But I will. Oh, but I will, and very very soon.)  Assuming they shoot well enough -- and they should, as this isn't rocket surgery -- this is an exceptional value for the money.

UPDATE #1: I shot some of these side-by-side with store-bought ammo. I couldn't tell any difference between the two. More information may be found here.

Update #2: As of 1/15/2013, I have shot approximately one-quarter of these bullets. So far, not a single one has failed to perform perfectly. I feel completely justified in giving Freedom Arms the Palette Seal of Approval!