No tax stamp required...for now.
They look to be on backorder, but for only $299 I could afford a bunch of BBs.
2 years ago
Showing posts with label idle hands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label idle hands. Show all posts
4/19/11
4/4/11
Dear Amazon
Amazon, I like you and all, but can you please stop sending me e-mails with the latest deals on flat screen TVs? I was only looking as a backup if my amateur TV repairman efforts failed. As it turns out, all I needed to do was swap out some boards and everything was just peachy. I knew exactly what I was doing thanks to the magic of the internet.
So no more TV e-mails, okay? Now if you've got suggestions on what to buy for Buy A Gun Day, I'm all ears.
So no more TV e-mails, okay? Now if you've got suggestions on what to buy for Buy A Gun Day, I'm all ears.
2/8/11
Home Improvement Scope Creep
I've haven't been posting lately because I've been knee deep in home improvement projects. Initially we were going to add cabinets and a work surface to the wall of our office to provide for more storage and give our two kids a quiet place to do homework and other projects.
A week ago we had finally gotten to the point where it was time to cut the carpet in order to expose the subfloor that the base cabinets would be mounted on. Out came the carpet knife, up came the carpet and the carpet pad, but the subfloor did not appear. Instead, we found 3/4" thick oak hardwood floors. My wife has always wanted wood floors.
We pulled all the furniture out of the room, and once the carpet was gone, the carpet pad removed, the staples used to hold the carpet pad pulled, and the tack strips carefully ripped out, we were left with this:
I still had to remove the 20 or so 1" long (remember where I said it was 3/4" hardwood) screws used to "stop the floor from squeaking".
Last Friday, with the room all prepped, I rented an orbital floor sander and edger. Total cost including sandpaper was about $125. I also picked up some water based polyurethane, Varathane brand with nanotechnology. I picked the water based stuff for two reasons. I was hoping to avoid the yellowing of the finish that the old oil based polyurethane had developed. I was also hoping to avoid having my whole family high off of fumes. Doing this in the winter makes airing out the house an unattractive option.
The orbital sander did a great job and was relatively easy to use. It really is just a giant version of the hand held orbital sander I have in the garage. A little scraping was required to remove the white paint spots the previous owners of the house so thoughtfully applied to the floor prior to covering it with carpet. We started with 36 grit for the rough cut, used 60 grit for the intermediate, and 80 grit for the final sanding.
After extensive cleanup involving brooms, vacuum cleaners, and cotton shirts, we had a clean bare floor. By Saturday afternoon we were applying the first coat of water based poly. I'm not sure what the nanotech did, but by Sunday at 11 AM we had a bunch of sore muscles and a floor that looked like this:
A week ago we had finally gotten to the point where it was time to cut the carpet in order to expose the subfloor that the base cabinets would be mounted on. Out came the carpet knife, up came the carpet and the carpet pad, but the subfloor did not appear. Instead, we found 3/4" thick oak hardwood floors. My wife has always wanted wood floors.
We pulled all the furniture out of the room, and once the carpet was gone, the carpet pad removed, the staples used to hold the carpet pad pulled, and the tack strips carefully ripped out, we were left with this:
I still had to remove the 20 or so 1" long (remember where I said it was 3/4" hardwood) screws used to "stop the floor from squeaking".
Last Friday, with the room all prepped, I rented an orbital floor sander and edger. Total cost including sandpaper was about $125. I also picked up some water based polyurethane, Varathane brand with nanotechnology. I picked the water based stuff for two reasons. I was hoping to avoid the yellowing of the finish that the old oil based polyurethane had developed. I was also hoping to avoid having my whole family high off of fumes. Doing this in the winter makes airing out the house an unattractive option.
The orbital sander did a great job and was relatively easy to use. It really is just a giant version of the hand held orbital sander I have in the garage. A little scraping was required to remove the white paint spots the previous owners of the house so thoughtfully applied to the floor prior to covering it with carpet. We started with 36 grit for the rough cut, used 60 grit for the intermediate, and 80 grit for the final sanding.
After extensive cleanup involving brooms, vacuum cleaners, and cotton shirts, we had a clean bare floor. By Saturday afternoon we were applying the first coat of water based poly. I'm not sure what the nanotech did, but by Sunday at 11 AM we had a bunch of sore muscles and a floor that looked like this:
12/5/10
Need One of Them There Money Trees
The indoor range a stone's throw from my house has been closed for a while now. It has also been for sale for a while now. I drive past this range every weekday morning and see the for sale sign. This has not been good for my long term planning. Every time I drive past, I see the sign and think that I ought to buy the place and run it right for a change.
The thing about this facility is that, while it is likely the nicest facility in town it has never been the best run place. Seriously, read the reviews. My favorite has to be this one from Yelp:
They did refuse to allow a group of folks shoot (seven of us) because they overheard one of the group mention that it was for our NRA handgun class. Their stance was that since they taught classes there, no one else could. I could understand that viewpoint if they were teaching classes weekly or more often, but since they only held classes at most once a month and charged $50 more than the average going rate I didn't get how that could make business sense.
Many new shooters end up shooting again and again at the range they learned to shoot at. Why turn away seven new, potentially repeat customers? Most of our group of seven never went back to that range and instead still shoot at the place we ended up doing our shooting for the class at. After that experience, I stopped taking new shooters there. We went to the outdoor range with the similar name halfway across town. You need a State Parks Pass to even get to it, and the RO's are huge sticklers for their numerous rules, but they actually try and make folks feel welcome. In addition, they try to help out any way they can, especially new shooters. I've seen the RO's help to site in a rifle, give an AR-15 lesson, and help a father and son both learn to shoot safely.
I think I could run a range like that. The problem is that I can't figure out where I planted that dang money tree. Well, that and I don't really know anything about running a range.
The thing about this facility is that, while it is likely the nicest facility in town it has never been the best run place. Seriously, read the reviews. My favorite has to be this one from Yelp:
I came with a group of friends, of which, several were not caucasians.It typically isn't great business strategy to arbitrarily harass your potential customers and then kick them out. I never had any truly terrible experiences there, but I was never made to feel welcome. The staff always acted like they were doing you a favor by letting you pay to shoot there.
The owner and his staff referred to my friends as "terrorists". I said I did not appreciate that and let it go. We continued small talk and then I asked how much it was going to be. He (the owner) said; "For you, It's double."
They did refuse to allow a group of folks shoot (seven of us) because they overheard one of the group mention that it was for our NRA handgun class. Their stance was that since they taught classes there, no one else could. I could understand that viewpoint if they were teaching classes weekly or more often, but since they only held classes at most once a month and charged $50 more than the average going rate I didn't get how that could make business sense.
Many new shooters end up shooting again and again at the range they learned to shoot at. Why turn away seven new, potentially repeat customers? Most of our group of seven never went back to that range and instead still shoot at the place we ended up doing our shooting for the class at. After that experience, I stopped taking new shooters there. We went to the outdoor range with the similar name halfway across town. You need a State Parks Pass to even get to it, and the RO's are huge sticklers for their numerous rules, but they actually try and make folks feel welcome. In addition, they try to help out any way they can, especially new shooters. I've seen the RO's help to site in a rifle, give an AR-15 lesson, and help a father and son both learn to shoot safely.
I think I could run a range like that. The problem is that I can't figure out where I planted that dang money tree. Well, that and I don't really know anything about running a range.
9/4/10
How I Spent My Friday Night
After the boys went to bed, I got everything set out and ready for a little Friday night fun. This is the result.
I like the Magpul parts as far as feel and durability go. However, I was a little disappointed with the rough finish, particularly on the MAID grip. The LPK and stock kit were from Stag Arms. There were no issues and both the buffer tube and the trigger look to be on the nicer end of the spectrum.
Now I've got a serious problem. I need to decide exactly what I want to do with the upper. I know I want it in 6.8 SPC (for a possible antelope gun and general bigger boom). After that though I am undecided. Maybe I should just ask the experts and call up Bison Armory. Maybe I should hem and haw some more. After all the journey is part of the fun.
I like the Magpul parts as far as feel and durability go. However, I was a little disappointed with the rough finish, particularly on the MAID grip. The LPK and stock kit were from Stag Arms. There were no issues and both the buffer tube and the trigger look to be on the nicer end of the spectrum.
Now I've got a serious problem. I need to decide exactly what I want to do with the upper. I know I want it in 6.8 SPC (for a possible antelope gun and general bigger boom). After that though I am undecided. Maybe I should just ask the experts and call up Bison Armory. Maybe I should hem and haw some more. After all the journey is part of the fun.
9/2/10
Gun Shop Wisdom
After having shot other peoples' AR-15s in various configurations and deriving massive amounts of enjoyment from the Evil Black .22, I decided it was finally time to own an Evil Dark Earth Rifle. I looked around and didn't see anything really close to what I was after, so I did what any country boy with a smidgen of mechanical aptitude would do. I went out and bought a stripped lower.
The first gun shop I called had lowers in stock, but I couldn't get over there till the next day. By then what they had was gone. I drove across town to another gun shop who when I called to see if they had them replied that they did but, "they are marked pistol". After being assured that they were indeed mil-spec receivers I headed on over to pick one up.
When I got there another gun shop employee asked what I was after. When I told him he asked if I was building a rifle or a pistol. I replied that I was building a rifle thinking he was just making small talk. That was when he proceeded to tell me that all they had was pistol lowers.
Que my confused face. After about five minutes of discussion, I finally got him to agree to sell me the "pistol only lower". It came with a warning to be real careful if I was really going to build a rifle out of it.
LPK is on the way, and the furniture from Magpul is already here. I guess I'll just have to be real careful...to not lose the pivot pin detent spring when I build my rifle lower.
The first gun shop I called had lowers in stock, but I couldn't get over there till the next day. By then what they had was gone. I drove across town to another gun shop who when I called to see if they had them replied that they did but, "they are marked pistol". After being assured that they were indeed mil-spec receivers I headed on over to pick one up.
When I got there another gun shop employee asked what I was after. When I told him he asked if I was building a rifle or a pistol. I replied that I was building a rifle thinking he was just making small talk. That was when he proceeded to tell me that all they had was pistol lowers.
Que my confused face. After about five minutes of discussion, I finally got him to agree to sell me the "pistol only lower". It came with a warning to be real careful if I was really going to build a rifle out of it.
LPK is on the way, and the furniture from Magpul is already here. I guess I'll just have to be real careful...to not lose the pivot pin detent spring when I build my rifle lower.
2/17/10
Pretending It's Either / Or
Without my kids and wife around to talk to / play with / holler at, I'm finding myself with a lot more time on my hands. The first couple of weeks in the motel, I just relaxed and tried to deal with the stress of the somewhat lousy situation.
This week I'm starting to look around and wonder just exactly what I am going to do down here for the next 7 months and change. I know I'll be fishing and hiking and generally exploring the countryside. I also know that my beer making equipment will make the trip down shortly.
What I can't decide is if I need to start reloading or if I want to build an AR from the ground up. I have long wanted to get into reloading, but I do wonder if starting it up down here in a house that is not my own is the best idea. I mean, blowing up myself in the house thatI own the bank owns is different than blowing myself up in the house I'm renting. Building an AR sounds like a lot of fun and something that is right up my alley, but it looks to be a very addicting hobby.
The biggest problem I see is that if I put the barrel on the AR that I'm thinking about putting on top, I would likely need to start reloading anyway. I guess the real question is do I start with the chicken or the egg...
This week I'm starting to look around and wonder just exactly what I am going to do down here for the next 7 months and change. I know I'll be fishing and hiking and generally exploring the countryside. I also know that my beer making equipment will make the trip down shortly.
What I can't decide is if I need to start reloading or if I want to build an AR from the ground up. I have long wanted to get into reloading, but I do wonder if starting it up down here in a house that is not my own is the best idea. I mean, blowing up myself in the house that
The biggest problem I see is that if I put the barrel on the AR that I'm thinking about putting on top, I would likely need to start reloading anyway. I guess the real question is do I start with the chicken or the egg...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
