Oct 27, 2010

Sayonara, Meg Whitman

Whitman just told a chatterer on Fox, "I will treat the voters like grownups."

So much for Meg's chances.
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The .41 Remington Magnum

A pal has just told Facebook about his pleasure at acquiring a Black Hawk in .41 Magnum, triggering a certain nostalgia around here. It was a caliber which didn't deserve commercial death and probably would have survived if semi-autos hadn't taken over the cops'  world.

I sold mine several years ago for just two reasons. It was a minty three-screw, and I decided I didn't want to subject it to the abrasions of field use. The decision was sealed one night in the reloading shack when it dawned on me  that I was stocking bullets and dies for a ridiculous number of calibers. So, ludditically, I resolved to home-brew nothing other than .38/.357 and .45. It was a practical decision but sometimes regretful -- like wishing you hadn't sent that trusty old girl friend out into the cold just because she demanded liver and onions once in a while.

There a small and amusing chapter in firearms history about the .41 Remington Magnum. About three years before its time, George L. Herter had begun selling a proprietary cartridge called the .401 PowerMag.  He did a good deal of caterwauling to the effect that Remington simply stole his cartridge.

Oct 26, 2010

Tactical Shift: More Bird Shot

The WalMart got some $60 of my money last week in return for enough Remington .22LR hollow points (550 bulk packs)  to bring the inventory to the  xx,000- round  strategic reserve target.

Ever-conscious of the benefits of financial diversification, I turn my attention to those valu-paks of 12-gauge ammunition which now retail for just under 25 cents a round. I wish they came in shot sizes larger than 7 1/2, but I'll be buying anyway.

I do not predict the end of the world as we know it, but, as my Handbook for Boys advised, that's no reason not to Be Prepared.

You object that they are lead and hence widely illegal for hunting? Pish and phoo. Comes any kind of collapse and the Pelosi forces will find greater perils than a few sick coots.

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Many of you will find this little hobby of mine ridiculous, and perhaps it is. Yet you may want to note in this morning's financial press  that Ben and His Obamaness plan to, next Wednesday, announce QE2, and I urge you to slip over to Wikipedia and spend a little time reading the entry on Quantitative Easing.  

Besides, if unicornery prevails, we can always shoot the stuff at tin cans and clay birds.

Oct 25, 2010

Tam on P.J. O'Rourke's "Don't Vote. It Just Encourages the Bastards."

A hoot in perfect pitch.