For some reason, there've been a couple of threads started by relative n00bs asking about civvie versions of HK's incredible melting XM8 within the last week. Another just popped up this afternoon. And the same guys are still making me chuckle.
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n00b: Are XM8's Legal?
C: In the same way that it is also legal to keep the Loch Ness Monster as a pet.
n00b: XM8's look like a much better weapon than an AR-15
C: According to HK's marketing department.
n00b: they were almost adopted by the military.
C: Only if you define "almost" as "never, ever, in a million years, no, not only no, hell no, HK can go to hell, go to hell and DIE!"
n00b: I was curius if these were available to civilians
Nein! For that does not fit into H und K's Master Plan. HK despises the civillian market.
Allow me to quote H und K's slogan.
Quote: HK. Because you suck. And we hate you.
n00b: Yeah, but it's really cool looking.
It looks like the mutant love child of a super soaker and Bloaty the Pizza Hog.
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El T: Consider this flawless gun nut logic: I submit that the weapon is unobtainable, thus it's coolness factor increases beyond measure, therefore it is the best weapon ever made.
C:That's why if I were equipping an army, I would arm them with XM-8s, Gyrojets, Trounds, and Puckle guns. We would be unstoppable.
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Funny
Mock trailer from National Lampoon. HT: Nobody Move!
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ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- An alleged home invader was shot and killed and another was stabbed early Thursday morning when six victims scattered during the break-in, found stashed weapons and attacked the assailants, according to police.
Orange County sheriff's investigators said at least three people broke into a home located at 2672 Muscatello Street in the Peppermill subdivision, fired a shot into the air and screamed, "We mean business."
Deputies said the victims scattered to safe places in the home where they knew that they had weapons stashed and fought back.
"When I looked over, I was just thinking, 'What do I do to protect myself? What do I do right now? How can I keep them from stealing everything that I have and killing me?'" victim Allen Long, who was punched in the left eye with brass knuckles, said. "I stabbed him in the side with my pocketknife."
The attacker yelled to his cohorts for a gun after he was stabbed and stepped out of a room to get it, Long told Local 6 News.
"I locked (the door) and ran out the back," Long said. "If I'd have stayed in there, I'd be dead right now for sure."
One female was in the house during the attack.
"When I started crying, they waved a gun at my face and told me not cry or else I'd get it," Jessica Goodson said.
A resident named Cody was in bed when one of the culprits stole his cell phone and beat him before leaving the bedroom.
"Once he heard that guy yelling for the gun, Cody came out with his (AK-47) and took care of it," Goodson said. "It was definitely self-defense."
Officers said the victims seemingly did what they had to do during the attack.
"All that we know for sure is that we have one black male suspect that has been shot and killed, and one man who's been stabbed and fled the residence," Orange County sheriff's Cmdr. Tom Cockriel said. "(They) defended themselves. That's very possible that's what this turned out to be."
Another victim was hit in the head with a pistol, but no others were injured during the incident.
Police are searching for two people who fled the scene, and said they believe the man who was stabbed is severely wounded.
The weapons, including the AK-47, were in the home because one of the victims participates in gun shows, one of the victims told Local 6 News.
In 2006, Orange County sheriffs deputies responded to the house twice, both times for stolen vehicle calls. Several of the victims study motorcycle mechanics and have motorcycles at the residence.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to call Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.
Kudos to the reporter and editor for understanding that the homeowners, not the dead and wounded goblins, were the victims.
Even when nobody is shooting at you. Combat casualties make national news-partly because of the media's agenda. Deaths in training might make a small blip on the national news, but are mostly local news and mostly forgotten within a week.
MAJ Greg Young of the Oregon National Guard was killed Tuesday when his F-15 crashed during air combat training off the Oregon coast. Cause of the crash is under investigation.
Yes, I've been flogging FOB Tacoma hard, but that's only because Mike Gilbert's doing a tremendous job of collecting news stories about the hometown Ft Lewis troops and Arrowhead Ripper.
For those of us who have little faith, today's lineup of papers with stories is a bit astonishing: Drew Brown of Star & Stripes, yeah, we expect S&S to have good stories, but he also dug up Alexandra Zavis of the LA Times, Joshua Partlow of the Washington Post, and Michael Gordon of the New York Times. (I'm going to be a d*ck and make you go to Mike's blog to read those stories.)
If the Chicago Tribune and Boston Globe get reporters to Diyala, I'm going into business selling parkas and crampons in Hades.
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6/26/2007
Things I Learned at the Matches, Part I
As the post title implies, I learned more than one thing. There will be at least one sequel to this particular post. But I'll start with the one that has probably the deepest effect.
Here's the thing: I've been using a sub-optimal grip style for shooting pistols, pretty much since the first time I qualified on the M9. I've always used the 'cup and saucer' hold. While it can be a good, steady hold, it does not lend itself to quick follow-up shots.
The straight thumb grip, as described in this article, (also see some good videos on grip here and here was the one taught by the AMU pistol shooters. And, well, it works, although I'm still getting used to it.
After shooting with this grip for a bit, I realized something. The M9's grip, which I'd always found too large when using the 'cup and saucer' grip, was suddenly the right size. I could get a decent grip with my firing hand, and had space on the grip for the meaty party of my non-firing hand to make good contact while still getting my fingers wrapped around the fingers of the firing hand.
Basically, I came to the realization that I've got big, or at least long, hands. Not big meaty gorilla hands, more like long chimp hands. So when I got home, I took a second look at the pistols in my safe (and nightstand). And I discovered that they didn't fit my hands-and my grip-quite as well as I thought they did.
So, armed with this newfound knowledge, I started looking at my stable of pistols. Please excuse my lamentable photography.
Kahr K40, one of my two carry pistols. Pretty much zero room on the grip for my non-firing hand. Haven't had a chance to take it out shooting to see how this effects things, but right now I don't like it.
Sig P229, my other carry pistol. Not as much space as I'd like, but I can get a decent grip with a small bit of displacement of the firing hand. I've had this one to the range, and I can shoot it pretty well. At least, pretty well for me.
Kimber 1911 Again, the firing hand gets displaced a bit, and on the 1911 it effects how much I'm able to depress the grip safety. It still gets depressed far enough to allow the pistol to fire, but I'm thinking about getting a replacement grip safety with a memory groove to give me a bit more purchase there.
Sig P220 (.45) My new favorite. Actually, rediscovered favorite, since the P220 is the first gun I ever owned. The non-firing hand fits just about perfectly. I really need to get to the range with this pistol, since I think it's been over a year since I last fired it. I'm also seriously thinking about getting a P220 Carry SAO to be my main carry pistol.
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Um....OK Then...
This is one of the more interesting sporterizing jobs I've ever seen. Note the hinged scope mount to allow loading. (For those who haven't yet followed the link, that's a clue to what kind of rifle is was.)
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ET: C, I object to your remark. I think you fail to account for how cool this rifle is--it's really, really cool. We all know that military small arms selections should be based on how cool they are.
C: You know, that tactic damn near worked for the H und K marketing team.
ET: Sie stinken und wir hassen Sie!
WJ: You seem to be implying that their tactic has failed...certainly seems to be doing pretty well so far.
C: I was thinking of the XM-8.
"NEIN! It is better than M4! Because we say so!"
"But it melts!"
"NEIN! It is very, how you say, "cool". It takes only H und K accesories. Is more better, Herr General."
Rod Beck was the closer for the '97 Giants. My unit was in Macedonia during the pennant race. I remember getting to my desk in the S4 shop early every morning to check the scores. My mom sent me what I'm sure was the only SF Giants-1997 NL West Champs t-shirt in Macedonia, if not all of Europe. I still have that shirt.
His years with the Giants weren't exactly childhood for me, but it's always hard when your heroes shuffle off this mortal coil.
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Disaster Recovery: A Comparative Study // San Francisco 1906 and New Orleans 2005
I'll bet you'd find two things:
1) San Francisco recovered 100 years ago faster than New Orleans will today.
2) The fact that San Franciscans weren't waiting for Big Government to help them had a lot to do with it.
San Francisco 100 years ago was just as corrupt as contemporary New Orleans (now, you can argue that SF was corrupt but competent, whereas NO is corrupt and incompetent.) But SF didn't have the massive handicap of having a huge portion of its population living on the government dole and expecting more handouts to fix everything after the city burned to the ground.
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