Because I am a dork I look at my site stats several times a day either from my laptop or from my smartphone. I try and track what posts generate the most traffic and how soon after I put up a new post I start to see traffic from it. Well the good news is that my overall traffic is way up about 50% overall. Some of this is because I put a link to my blog on a forum but the last few days that hasn’t accounted for much because that thread hasn’t seen many views. Hopefully the readers keep coming.
Monthly Archives: April 2011
OOOH, so close
Today I have the day off so I go out to the garage figure I would take one last glance over of the refinished Mosin project and then assemble it and put the action on. Over the past few days I have sprayed it with quick thin coats of clear coat when I have had a spare moment. All in all I ended up with 2 coats of primer, 2 coats of enamel paint and 3 coats of clear coat. Even though one commenter on one forum attacked my paint job I am pretty happy with it. Sure there are a few parts that I wish looked a little smoother but this was my first project of this sort and I was working with it as a learning experience just as much as a practical refinish.
So after being happy with the finish I assemble it and tighten the screws on the action so far all went well. THEN I tried to put the barrel bands on and in the process scraped off a fair amount of the paint on the front of the rifle. Apparently the layers of paint were a little thicker than anticipated and they slid off under the pressure of the band sliding over them. I finally got the bands in place and then had to go back and do some touch up painting being careful not to get paint on the bands or barrel.
The Red mosin starts to come to life
I realize I should have posted more over the last few days about how this project is progressing. Well as of yesterday all the painting is done and it is ready for clear coat. I let the gun sit a full 24hrs with a fan running on it to make sure that the second coat of paint dried nicely.
This morning I walked out and was pretty happy with how the color came out. I found a few spots where the paint felt a little “soft” but nothing too bad. So I kept the fan running on it and went out to run some errands. One of the errands that I ran was to pick up some spray polyurethane to use as a clear coat and shell over the paint. Since this entire time I have had to work by painting one side then letting it dry and flipping the gun over to paint the other I figured I would do that same process with the clear coat, other than it being much faster drying times. So I sprayed the first side of the rifle with the clear coat making sure to use a thin even coat and knowing that I would have to do additional coats later.
About 30minutes later I went back outside and flipped the gun over, this is where my first minor issue came in. I found a spot back near the butt of the gun where when I “scratched” at the paint the red paint kinda slid off. I am not sure if this was an adhesion issue due to the cosmoline or just something else but the primer was still in tact just fine. So instead of clear coating that side I double/ triple / checked the rest of the finish to see if I could find any more spots like that. I did not. So I pulled the red paint back out (after of course my brushes were finally all nice and clean) and did the 8minutes of painting required to fix the issue. The only problem is now I cant spray that side until that oil paint dries again. So as of right now the gun is clear coated on one side but not the other. But it wouldn’t be a project without a few headaches.
Here are some pictures of the gun, this is the non clear coated size but after I did my minor repair job. Hopefully by tomorrow I will be able to post some pictures of the rifle all assembled and looking good.
Local Gun Store gets broken into and the anti gunners come out.
Early this morning one of the local shops in my area was broken into. The shop, Discount Gun Sales is in Tukwilla Washington and is part of a chain that is popular in Washington with several new locations in Oregon. The method of break in was pretty simple, the buglers stole a truck and then drove the truck through the front of the store. At this point it is not exactly clear what was stolen but media reports continue to say multiple handguns were stolen. The owner of the shop is doing a more complete inventory to get an exact list.
I never want to see any store get broken into or have items stolen and particularly not a gun shop. However this story turn a crappy turn when I started reading some of the commenter’s on the KOMO News site. While many of the comments were reasonable some were just far out looney here is my current favorite.
“Two things amongst all the wrong here.
First, DISCOUNT?
Second, why is it that we have to have guns in a shopping complex as if it’s a Hairmasters? GUNS! Here’s an idea, how about you can only purchase guns and ammunition from your local police precinct where they can run a thorough background check on you before handing over a weapon from their secure cache?”
This guy is obviously a loon who has lost grip on reality, I hate to even give him the compliment of taking up space on my blog but I found it just funny enough to put up.
However there was one comment that I had a good chuckle at and I actually agree with at least in premise.
I wonder if the BATF was involved–they seem to like getting guns to criminals on the southern border…
Many of the commenter’s mentioned that the store should have taken additional precautions such as removing guns from the store or putting them in a safe at night, as well as environmental design practices such as large cement planters or blocks to prevent this sort of theft. While these are all smart ideas I don’t think its appropriate to blame the victim in this situation. If some d-bag is devoted enough to steal a truck and drive it through a store to steal a few guns there isnt much that is going to stop this theft. Hell if you give me a 4wd pickup and a good length of chain there isn’t much a safe is going to do either. I fully encourage all store owners who sell anything from hamburgers to hand grenades to take a serious look at improving security measures in and around your property but just because a store gets robbed doesn’t mean the owners did something wrong.
Photo Courtesy of KOMO.com
Here is a link to the original story below
Tukwila Police are looking for two men who smashed a truck through the front doors of a gun shop and made off with several handguns early Thursday.
Investigators said the thieves worked very quickly, breaking into the Discount Gun Sales store at 311 Tukwila Parkway about 4 a.m. and taking off with the stolen guns in just one minute.
“We obviously don’t want stolen guns out there,” said police spokesman Mike Murphy. “We don’t know where they’re going to go. They’re obviously not going to go for good use. We hope to recover them as quick as possible.”
A trail of broken glass from the shop led officers to a Ford F-150 pickup truck dumped several blocks away at Bicentennial Park, where the thieves apparently switched vehicles. The truck had been stolen from somewhere in Kent.
No description of the thieves was released.
Murphy said detectives are reviewing security camera video from inside the store and looking at recordings from nearby traffic cameras.
The store owner is checking inventory to determine exactly how many weapons were stolen.
Return to Freedom
Today was my day off and it was one of the few days that although I had a ton of errands to run and places to go they all involved spending time with my sweetheart so I was excited about that, then I am getting into the car and decide to check the mail. I open the mail box and I see a bunch of junk mail, a bill or two and a letter from the Law Enforcement Support agency. Which is the private organization that processes my counties CHL applications. So I rip open my letter see my CHL and litterly rush back inside to toss on my holster.
Its been almost 4 months since I carried a pistol and I have to say it felt good. My holster seems to have lost a little bit of its “curve to me” but I have also lost some weight so I have a new curve too. I carried my full size M&P today and while IWB holsters and full size guns dont always equate to comfort I was pretty happy with how it felt. Glad that I dont have to longly look at my holster box waiting for the mail to come.
Good news/ bad news
This actually came to my attention when it happened on Friday but I didnt have a chance to post it until today. The story is about 2 guys that break into a power equipment store and an employee who was working late spots one of them with a chainsaw in his hand and decided to protect himself. So he shot the guy and held the other intruder until cops arrived. The good news is we have one less scumbag clogging up Seattle streets and another legal effective defensive gun use. The bad news is this news story, the Seattle times just cant get over the fact that somebody would use a firearm to defend themselves so they wrote the most anti-gun story I have read in regards to a defensive shooting in a long time.
Some of the sample quotes are
“Police declined to say whether either of the intruders was armed with a handgun.”
WHO THE HELL CARES IF THE SCUMBAG HAD A GUN, WASNT THE FACT THAT HE HAD A CHAINSAW ENOUGH????
“The employee who shot Stapleton was interviewed and released by police, Whitcomb said. Whitcomb declined to say why the employee was at the store so late, but said it was not uncommon.” SO THE GUY WAS WORKING LATE OR NOT OR WHATEVER, HE HAD THE LEGAL RIGHT TO BE THERE END OF STORY.
It angers me to no end that this guy was forced to defend his life and is now being attacked by this nutty news paper.
Turning a run of the mill Mosin M44 into an attention getter UPDATE
The initial sanding and stripping phase of my mosin refinish went well. And after 2 coats of Kilz oil primer I had no signs of any adhesion issues so I think I got all of the cosmoline out of the wood with the combination of oven cleaner and mineral spirits. Well now the first coat of red paint is on the stock and its trying. I figure 2 coats of paint and then some clear coat should be all I need.
Turning a run of the mill Mosin M44 into an attention getter.
I have an Izhevsk Russian Mosin M44 that I picked up at Big5 sporting goods a few years back. Its fun to shoot and its alright. But one thing that has always bugged me is that everybody and their brother has a mosin of some sort and unless you get up close and start comparing arsenal proof marks they all pretty much look the same. Then one day at work I was thinking of what to do with it and I was reminded of Calebs Red Racer from The Holster Site. That gave me the idea of painting the Mosin a color that would really stand out.
Before I started the process I started a thread over at The High Road and got some advice from the guys over there. This morning I started the process I stripped the gun down and removed the stock, and started stripping the finish. My first attempt was mineral spirits and I got nowhere fast. However after another trip to Walmart and picking up a can of Lacquer thinner I got the finish pretty much removed. A little clean up sanding and its starting to get ready for paint. So here is what I have so far.
Two GOP candidates that your not taking seriously and you should
Between the popularity of the TEA party and the general feeling of distrust of all politicians the 2012 election is going to be unlike 2008 and certainly like anything prior to that. I feel that for the first time in many elections the GOP candidate will not come from the “political establishment” but instead come from somewhere else. Likely the business world.
Now neither of the canidates I am presenting today are established politicians and both come from the business world. One of them has IMMENSE name recognition and the other has almost NO name recognition.
The first candidate is Herman Cain I first became aware of Mr. Cain when he announced his candidacy on Fox news a few months back. He is currently a radio talk show host in Georgia and has had a successful career in business ranging from time flipping burgers at Burger King to being the CEO of Godfathers Pizza. As well as being head of the National Restaurant Association. I feel that his only major obstacle is that he is not well known, this hurts him in the name recognition department as well as a general feeling that people are unsure what might come out of his past. The good news is that he is getting in early and this gives him pleanty of time to become well known to the voters.
If you wish to learn more about him go and check out his website or watch few of his videos including is amazing speech at CPAC.
The second candidate is none other than Donald Trump. Mr. Trump is a real estate and business mogul. He is worth billions and continues to grow his personal fortune. I feel that his fiscal responsibility and knowledge is exactly what this country needs. I also feel that although he is use to living amongst a rather elite crowd he can actually relate to every day Americans. Now the truth is he does have some things in his past that might hurt him. He has had an interesting history of marriages and recently participated in a Comedy Central Roast of himself. While these things may hurt his ratings with social conservatives. I truly feel that this election is going to be focused so strongly on fiscal issues that he may still stands an amazing chance of winning. I also feel that although he is known as a celebrity through this TV shows and such he has a real political mind and has the connections to surround himself with the right people.
A threat to our gun rights from WITHIN
One of my biggest pet peeves is gun owners who hate gun rights. Weather its the fudds that are hunters and only care about being able to keep their Remington 700 or the guy who is perfectly happy with only being able to keep his sporting clays shotgun. Now I don’t feel compelled to compel anybody to go out and by an AR-15 or a glock if they dont want one but I DO wish to compel them to to stop trampling on the rights of those of us who choose to own those types of tools.
Yesterday Weer’d has posted an excellent article about fudds and I fully agree with him, you should all go read it here
Tacticaltupperware 