Free Form Friday

• Wash your damn hands. You want to stop the spread of Kung Flu? Wash your damn hands.
• I bought a new rifle in one of my most oddball calibers yet. As soon as I get enough ammo and go shoot the thing; I'll write it up
• Pudge has left to go overthrow a democracy or prop up a dictatorship or something so, crap, I have to actually be productive
• I bought a LE Trade In M&P in .40 S&W. Thing shoots a hell of a lot better than a $300 pistol from the pawn shop ought to. I just wish the damn mags weren't so expensive
• I want to look at the perception of General Grant moving forward. We all know I revere General Lee, but General Grant is one of heroes, too. 
• I have battleship pictures to post!
• My sorry ass is going to start shooting USPSA again here soon. Results to follow.
• If any of y'all want to shoot me an email and say write more I would not complain

Thinking Thursday - War Worries

In case you missed it; we blew a sorry goat fucker into the next plane of existence last week. And of course there was blow back. Both at home and aboard. Not to get too terribly partisan, but it was as if suddenly eight years of drone strikes suddenly never occurred.

Here's the thing; from my soda straw view of the world and the Global War on Terror, we will always be at war with some of the more radical, fundamentalist parts of Islam. Hell, we have been since the Marines landed in Tripoli in 1805 under the command of an Army officer.

I don't see that threat disappearing if we up and decide to withdraw from, well, everywhere.

Here's the thing, and this is going to be obscenely callous, but I would rather fight Mister I Hate America in the mountains of Afghanistan or the deserts of Iraq than clean up the carnage of a holy warrior wearing twenty pounds of Semtex and 200 ball bearings at a Target.

I skew libertarian on most thing. I really do. However, I probably suffer from some late stage colonialism, white guilt, or whatever, when I say that at this point I don't think we, as in the United States of America, have any choice other than to be the world's policeman.

Who else will fill that void? The Germans, Brits, and French don't have the ability nor the national will to project force in any meaningful way.

And I would really prefer not to have to fight a land war in Africa against local forces with Russian and Chinese "advisors" if we can help it. That would be ugly and bloody on a scale we as a nation haven't seen since Korea/WWII.

And it sucks. Because at least for the foreseeable future, those battles in far away lands are gonna be fought by volunteers.

Hell, despite the joke about eating crayons and getting fired from Burger Kings, the average American enlisted guy or girl is hella smart. The highly technical nature of war requiring it now.

So, it is no longer, not that it ever really was, America's rejects fighting her wars. We send our best and brightest. Even if they do have a propensity to marry a stripper and buy a Charger at like all the APR.

What brought this all to focus was a kid who came into the shop with his Mom the other day.

This guy was home on Christmas leave from BCT. I didn't know such a thing existed. Nor did I know you could go in as an E-4 based on your MOS. And further more; I didn't realize that there were MOSs where after BCT you go right off to Ft Meade for super secret squirrel shit.

So, this aspiring Joe educated me about all that. And in turn I educated him about the M-4 platform to the best of my ability with a S&W M&P-15. Kid had never handled a gun of any sort until he went off the Ft Jackson.

And no offense to the round browns there, but he didn't know a whole lot after Phase 1 either.

But that kid will probably be on the front of our next near peer major regional conflict. Which is a bunch of buzz words for a damn war.

Which it looks like America will always have to fight.

I just hope we're ready.

Traveling Thursday

So, we have another guest post from everyone's favorite co-blogger Pudge.

And speaking of Pudge, this weekend we are venturing off to a gun show and to go look at a old warship. And the Counter Jockey Ladies' Auxillary will find something constructive to do I'm sure. Which will probably involve spending money I'm sure.

So, hopefully, Monday-ish, hangover permitting, or hell, maybe even Friday, we'll have some content for you.

But until then have a post to tie you over.  -Counter Jockey


Traveling- What do I need?
Just like many of you I spent the last couple weeks running here, there, and everywhere; as I drove half-way across this great country and back again. During this time, it got me thinking on what I take with me when I travel. I also started thinking on what for me constitutes travel. We’ll start with what I deem is enough of a trip to bring along certain gear and then I’ll discuss what I bring and why.

My definition of travel is anything more than a day walk from the house. If I am going farther than this, I tend to bring some extra items along that may help me get back or at least allow me to sustain myself just a little bit longer if needed. As always, each trip is its own trip and not the same as another. Because of this you need to plan accordingly based on where you are going and why. However, I have noticed over the last couple of years there are certain items that I tend to grab no matter what. Since this is the case, I’ve tried my best to come up with an efficient and discreet way to bring these items along. So, let’s look at what I bring and how.

A little background to what has gotten me to where I am now. A few years ago I drove from North Carolina to Georgia almost every time I got a long weekend. One of the routes took me through Charlotte and this is right when there were massive protests and riots. I actually just missed driving through the area where people where blocking cars on the interstate and pulling people out and beating them up. I travel with a handgun whenever possible but thought with all the craziness it might be better to have something a little better.

Additionally, this went hand in hand with me already thinking that I needed something I can use for hunting to help sustain myself and family if we got stranded and had to make our way back in a SHTF scenario. (I’m not superstitious but don’t want to look back and say, “I should’ve……”) Due to these thoughts and the current situation I decided to build a 7.5” AR 15 pistol in 5.56. I chose an AR because I have a lot of time with them and can fix and use one quite well. I chose 5.56 because I already had it and it can be found at any sporting goods store and is fairly inexpensive. Lastly, I chose 7.5” because even with a brace on it I can fit it in a little inexpensive hiking pack. I also chose an AR pistol because it is a pistol by all rules and definitions.

Therefore, with my concealed carry license I can carry it loaded in my car or even in my backpack walking around while still being legal. Now I know some people will groan about this but I built it out of low-priced parts. (Low priced does not mean cheap, it means inexpensive.) Why do I keep mentioning inexpensive? Well, crap happens and I would hate to lose a $1,000+ rifle when I’m very comfortable and confident with my $375 AR pistol. (I made sure to test it thoroughly prior to carrying it with me.) I have a Holosun red dot on it and I’ve shot it effectively out to about 250m which is more than enough for my intended purpose of this build.

To go along with this, I keep a 20 rounder in the gun to make it less prone to snagging. (The 20 rounder is the same length as the pistol grip.) I also keep at least two 30 rounders stashed in the bag as well. The 20 rounder and one 30 is hollow-points and the other is hardened steel tip.

Now that the super cool part is out of the way the following items are what I would need more likely than anything if I have to dig into this bag. I keep a decently stocked med kit. My med kit started out as a standard Army IFAK that I’ve modified and added items to for a little bit of everything that I may need. Traveling across the country the most likely situation you may encounter is being one of the first people to arrive upon a car crash. In my med kit I keep two tourniquets, gloves, trauma shears, ace bandage wrap, multiple rolls of gauze, a couple packages of quick-clot (highly recommend, one military issue roll will do what three rolls of regular gauze will do to stop bleeding), nasopharyngeal, athletic tape, assorted sized regular bandages, and two needle-ds. These items will get me through most situations that I may find myself in or come upon while traveling.

On top of my medical kit I keep a multi-tool, headlamp, notepad, pen, pencil, and marker in the bag. This bag is meant to augment what is already in each of our vehicles.
In each of my wife’s and my vehicles we keep at least enough food to get by for two days, water for three days, a blanket, lighter, multi-tool, and another well stocked vehicle medical kit. I know all of this sounds like a lot but it all fits neatly either under or behind the seat and my bag takes up hardly any space at all for the comfort that it provides me. [*cough* Fire extinguisher. *cough* - Editor]

When at home I keep a pistol and 2 mags in the same travel bag as well in case I have to run out of the house in a hurry. I usually take out the pistol when I travel because I have my conceal carry gun on me but will throw in an extra box of pistol ammo as more assurance.

I will continue to evaluate and change my equipment based on new items, changing situation, and knowledge expansion, but for now this is what goes with me whenever I travel. Think about how much time you spend in your vehicle, how far it takes you from home, and how you are going to get back if need be. Stay safe out there and travel wisely. - Pudge


I agree on all of his key points. - Editor

Woeful Wednesday

So, my new year's resolution was to write more. And finish my zombie short story. And I haven't been exactly diligent in either of the above if you have noticed.

So, a virtual friend of mine who was an actual for real author passed away. And, well, I ain't got much to say.

JD Kinman wrote some good, scary, real world books. And he also wrote some funny ones about doggos.

We were internet friends thanks to the wonder of Facebook. A bunch of mutual friends and what not.

He was a USAF vet, liked Smith k-frames, a for real conservative, and an ardent hand loader.

I will miss him.

Y'all ought to go by his books off of Amazon. They're good.

Ve con dios mi amigo