The Big Purchase

Of course, the main reason I don't have any new toys to talk about on here lately is because I made a big purchase.....

....in the form of a diamond. I got engaged in the beginning of December. We also bought a house a couple weeks ago.

The Big Purchase has been made. Suddenly, I have gone from a single 20-stomething male with tons of expendable income to thinking "How can dry beans be so expensive". I've got from guitar shopping to worrying about radon mitigation systems overnight.

Oh well, its okay. She's a wonderful woman. She's supportive of my hobbies, interests, and ministries. Most guys say "get your toys now before your married" but my girl is pretty cool about stuff......

Great Read

Recently I've become marginally obsessed with CBS' "The Unit". As its based off a book, I read that book.

"Inside Delta Force" Is a barely sub-400 page book by Eric Haney, one of the first Delta force operators in the late 70's. A first hand account of the formation, selection, training, and life of Delta Force and its soldiers, its a fascinating book. Few books can hold my attention, let alone demand it, but I plowed through this book in no time. If I could read a page quick on the can, then by gum I did.

Sounds to me like a Delta force soldier is one part Army Ranger and one part Spy. Then again, Delta is supposedly highly secretive, so one must wonder, what isn't in this book?

If you are at all into pistol shooting, the training section of this book alone will leave you in awe. Imagine training with all live fire, shooting into a room full of your buddies, planning to hit the mannequins just inches away from their heads. Crazy.

Political Ranting

Okay, I just need to get the Obama complaining out of my system. Here goes.

First off, this guy got elected promising people we needed change. Duh. We need a plan for the economy. Duh. Now this guy is president and I'm not sure he has a plan yet.

I flipped on the the TV on Friday and he's talking about the economy. And he's still babbling about how we need a plan and it needs to be this and that....but the guy still has no freakin' plan! Its exactly what I feared about the guy.

Also, he's very quickly backpeddling on many of his stances. Though usually covered heavily by the media, he very quietly signed an order to repeal a Ban on federal funding of abortion groups, an issue which he craftily managed to make everyone happy on as he ran for office.

And don't even get me started on the people he's appointing to important positions. Its a nightmare.

Guantanimo Bay...whatever.

Screw the gun control stuff, I think he's hopeless on a host of issues. Doesn't matter how good he sounds on the podium of he doesn't know what he's doing in the Oval Office.

I'm pretty much afraid for us.

Ammo Shortage?

It would seem that in the days post inaguaration of our new fearless leader Barak Obama,

there is a possible ammo shortage. Looks like everyone is buying up all the ammo they can. My buddy, a police officer called me and let me know there was a "cops only" sale at a local sporting goods store, and he could get me 10% off ammo.

"Sure I said, pick me up 500 rounds of 9mm and 100 rounds of .40"

When my phone rang on the day of the sale, I almost knew what my friend was calling about.

"There isn't one round of 9mm in this whole store"

Crap. I should have seen this coming. All I've got at home is 100 rounds of .40 and 20 rounds of 38! Crap!

"Is there any 40 ammo?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah"

"Okay, pick me up a couple hundred rounds"

Turns out there was only 6 boxes left of .40 ammo in the store, of which 4 became mine. Had I known it would be that short, I would have bought all 6. I've been trying to trim the budget after buying a house and and getting engaged.

I jumped online the next day to check a website for ammo, and was almost horrified to see that 7 out of 8 pages of 9mm ammo was sold out!

I've been so busy helping my dear and wonderful fiance plan a wedding and buy a house that I didn't put any thought into the whole Obama thing....and now I feel like I've been caught with my pants around my ankles.

Until there's more ammo out there, I'm not shooting much, I'm just hoarding what I have. So much for my indoor USPSA competitions that just started up again......

Knives- A Man's Cutlery

Breaking away from guns for a bit, I thought I'd write a post about the knives I use. Just like guns, I do not have an endless collection, just a few that I use regularly. It should be noted that I do not really carry knives as weapons or for self defense, I carry them as a tool to use. I think its great to have a good knife with you, always a use for something. Also, while I like to buy decent knives, I certainly don't spend a fortune on the most amazing thing out there. I buy decent quality stuff that's affordable. I'll start with the smallest and work up the largest.

Camillus Sizzle

This is my "everyday" knife I carry around with me pretty much whatever I do. Nice little knife, assisted opening, 2.5" blade made of Aus8 stainless. I bought it as a gift to my brother, and liked it so much that I kept it. Has held a good edge, and its a nice size to carry around....a little blade to do random little everyday tasks. The one downside is that mine has a partially serrated edge.....when I bought it I thought that was great, but I have really grown to prefer a completely straight edge. They are discontinued but are still out there for sale. I bought mind for around $35

CRKT M4

I've had to warm up to my Columbia River Knife and Tool M4. At first, I can't say I liked the thing, but now I love it. It was my first decent knife I bought, and I think I expected it to slice through steal. Having generated realistic expectations about knifes, I know very much appreciate it. The blade is made of Aus8 stainless and bead blasted. It has a positive extra locking system that I like when the blade is open. The edge is hollow ground with a drop point.

I like this knife because its slightly larger and more robust, I feel I can take on serious work with the thing. It also has a thick enough spine that I would feel comfortable using to baton wood, etc. I have taken this camping/hiking and would feel good if I was lost and this is the knife I had at my side. I take it with me when I'm outdoors- plinking, dayhiking, or when I'm beboping around doing things where I might want a decent knife. It has a thin handle which is nice for my smaller hands. The one downside is the pocket clip can dig into the hand a bit. Overall, a well constructed knife. Does need sharpening a couple times to get a really good edge. They are around $90 new but I found one on sale for about $40 on REI.com

Benchmade Rant Drop-Point

I really like this knife. I've only had it for about a month. This is my larger, more robust knife I plan to bring on full-out hiking/camping/hunting trips. It has a 4.5" blade made of 440c stainless. Obviously, it also has a drop point. It came right out of the box with a really nice razor sharp edge. It has a finish that I can't explain....its like a bead-blasted but yet different. The appearance would remind you of corrugated steel. The handle is a very large textured santoprene handle. Actually, the handle is probably getting too big for me....it has a large palm swell that feels like it could give me blisters. I've only used it on a winter camping trip, so I had gloves on. It comes with a leather sheath that is well built, but is a but finicky on how it slides in. Thus, it doesn't easily resheath without looking- which is probably my biggest bummer.

On the trip though, it did a great job of splicing kindling, whittling, cutting rope, doing some kitchen duty, overall it was great. I would feel more than good in having this on my side if I got lost and was in a survival situation. Also would make a good knife I think for hunting and skinning. I've seen these anywhere from $45-70. Mine was in the middle.

Note: if you happen to google this, the knife was redesigned recently. Subsequently, there's lots of pictures out there of the old ones. The new one (that I have) is the Mel Purdue designed Rant DPT

Rant DPT on bottom, Fallkniven F1 on top.

Other things:

I also frequently carry around a Leatherman Fuse and a Swiss Army knife. Both great. I registered for a Leatherman Wave in my wedding gift registry, we'll see if I get lucky :) Great fiance to let me register for that, huh?

Back in the Saddle

Well, I've been off this thing for almost 3 months. I think that's long enough to declare it officially dead. Just like my college radio show, I'm sure I had about zero faithful followers, but its nice to pretend someone is reading this stuff. I'm not sure I can resurrect this but I'll try.

I guess I have an excuse to be gone. I've been a bit busy. I got engaged in December, and just bought a house. I got a raise at my church job, which also means they want me to put in a little more time there. Busy busy.

I am going to have at it again. I think part of my problem is I was blogging 90% about guns and ammo, which is great, but I was running out of steam. I don't have an endless collection of things that go bang, and as such, I was running out of things to say.

So, that said, I am going to expand the things that I talk about, and I think I'll start with knives.....