leroy

I suspected as much. I bet the federal wildlife guys turned a bunch of these guys loose on the reservation. They have plenty of protection and "no hunting". We live relatively close (...about 10 miles away...), and i am seeing more signs of them around. Several larger varmints run over in the road that are dog like; but not dogs have been seen on the back side of the ridge where we live. My problem with them is we have "favored" an animal that is no no real use, and endangered both domestic pets, cattle, sheep, goats, and my ole buddies the racoons and possums for these varmints. Only a bunch of short sighted, over-priviledged ninnies would think that introducing a predator that has no real enemies at the top of the food chain would be a good idea. We need to get rid of the d**n federal wildlife bureauclowns too! Wait until one of these guys takes hold of someone's pet on the running trail by Melton Hill or (...God forbid...) clamps on to a small child somewhere. Then we will re-learn why they were "extinct" in this part of the country. My guess is that folks are already experiencing "unexplained dissappearances" of pets in this area already; especially small dogs and cats. leroy

Great picture!! Were they close to the reservation? leroy

I like it!!! Keep up the good work. leroy RE: Marks post here: Mark is exactly right here. Reloading solves all the ammo problems with this or any other caliber (...especially the hard kickers and high performance loads...). The more you reload, the more you can tailor your loads to what you want to do. The more you shoot. The more you shoot, the better your marksmanship becomes. Mark is being modest here, reloading counts for a lot. leroy

Food for thought and a little bit of a physics lesson here. Muzzle energy is calculated using the following formula: E= M*V squared/ 2g. The bottom line is that velocity is a squared variable. That means that an increase from 1200 fps to 1300 fps gives a muzzle energy increase of about 17 (...17.36% to be exact...)%. To get a 17% increase in muzzle energy from a larger bullet; you would have to go from a 165 grain to a 193 grain bullet assuming the same velocity (... assuming a 40 caliber bullet -- by the way; you cant get 1200 fps out of a 40...), and go from a 125 to a 147 grain bullet (...interestin aint it--- by the way, ya cant get 1300 fps out of a 9mm luger at standard pressures either with a 125 grain bullet...) at the same velocity for a 9 mm. There aint any 1300 fps factory loads in either 40 or 9 mm. Here is an interesting discussion of the 9 mm vs 357 sig idea here: HandGunInfo.com: 357SIG: 357 Sig and 9mm Comparison The bottom line is that it takes something like a 10 mm to do that. For a given bore size; the big hitter in the energy department is velocity. We can quibble about how much velocity is enough; but the great truth of physics is that velocity trumps mass every time in the energy increase department. I aint tryin to start a "caliber war" here; and i aint advocating that velocity means everything in any gunning situation. But take a look at the 120 mm gun on the Abrams. High velocity plus heavy round (...depleted uranium...); the best of both worlds. Remember, velocity is a "squared" variable. It has a much greater effect on muzzle energy than mass. To simply blow off the sig as a "warmed over 9mm" is to not fully understand what is going on here. What we are talking about here is exactly why the 10 mm is the greatest of the semiauto handgun calibers (...of reasonable size...). It combines both large mass (...up to 200 grains...) with high velocity (...1200 fps in top handloads...), ala 120 mm Abrams tank gun technology. Hope this gives a bit of a new perspective on the relation between velocity and bullet weight in your favorite hand cannon. leroy (...sometimes this stuff even makes my little bald head hurt!...)

Thanks for posting this neat review. I intend to round up one of these little jewels as soon as the "new wears off of them", or pick up a "lightly used lovingly cared for" pm9. They are a great little pistol. Thanks again. leroy

Thanks Mark. I been watchin trying to find a 239 "sig factory recondition". They are in the right price range (...about $500.00...) and are a great gun. I like the 239; i think they are just about the optimal size (...and weight...) for a good, solid semiauto. The "reconditioned" 357 sigs seem to dissappear pretty quickly; so there are lots of folks like us out there who like 'em. Thanks again, leroy

All:________________ I EDC a glock 33 357 sig. We did some testing over a chronograph and it's no problem to get 1275 to 1300 fps out of handloads thru this little cannon (...about a 3.2 inch barrel...). They are accurate (...can hit the 8 inch diameter pie plates at the range at 30 or so yards with ease...), dependable, and are an excellent choice for those who take the time to learn to shoot them. Recoil is sharp (...about like a hot loaded 45acp...), muzzle blast is considerable, and accuracy is great with the 125 grain loads. In my opinion, the 357 sig is exactly what was claimed for the 9mm in the "eighties revolution" spearheaded by the Air Force that brought the 9mm to the military. The 357 sig will best all other auto pistol calibers (...e.g, the 9mm and 38 super...) in the velocity department by a couple of hundred fps with the 125 grain bullet loading (... given equal barrel lengths...). It is, in fact, a real, high performance 9mm loading. This caliber does, in fact, bring 357 magnum performance in a medium sized auto pistol. After shooting this little jewel, we rounded up a glock 32 also. The glock is a great choice for this caliber. I would suspect that the sig or any other well made pistol would do as well (...would love to have a sig 239 in this caliber my self!!...). I now understand why the THP and several other LEO agencies like the sig. They are extremely accurate and pack a helluva punch in a compact package. By the way: You can convert your 40 s&w (...as others have said...) to 357 sig with a simple barrel change. The case head diameter is the same, so the 40 s&w slide will extract the sig cases. Hope this helps a bit. leroy

Thanks for the report. I believe the Kahr single stack is the gun that Glock should have built. leroy

Go:_______________ I agree with Bearman. When i wuz a boy, i had a dear friend whose grandpaw owned a riverbottom farm. This friend and i spent bunches of time hunting (...and finding...) indain stuff. He would have called that a hide scraper of some sort that the women used to clean hides with. For what it's worth leroy

All:_______________ We can all rest easy now. The "US experts" say no evidence of meltdown" on nuclear plants. Link here:Japan nuclear crisis ebbing, U.S. experts say - latimes.com Here is another report on progress: Idaho Samizdat: Nuke Notes leroy

What a truth, brother!! Thank God that political speech is still political speech. Keep up the good work. leroy

All:__________ I dont disagree with anything being said about moving quicker. There is no doubt in my mind that some of it is political manuvering. RE: Jay's most excellent question: I believe there is a day comming when all (...and that means all...) sectors of government will have to take an across the board reduction in staff, benefits, largesse, "entitlements", ect. to balance the budget. That will take a bunch of political courage and nerve because the "non producers" and those "on the dole" will howl and will threaten everyone (...you and me included --- not just polititians...). The fact is that we simply cannot continue to spend on everyone who sticks his hand out. There should be zero borrowing. We are far better off to begin to do these cuts than we are to do the smoke and mirrors economic scholar stuff. We need to cut spending and entitlements. Period. That's how you balance your budget at home and at work. A failure to do so will make all of us poor. leroy

JG:__________ I think your analysis and the political calculation (...both yours and in the article...) is right. RE: The issue of moving from "spending" to "cutting". I think that all of us (...especially me...) are sick of all polititians. None of this budget deficit stuff is new news. What you hear from us (...myself included...) is frustration and exaspiration at the current crop of polititians not moving fast enough to fix it. My guess is that most conservatives will swallow hard and put up with this until 2012; but those doin the negotiating better be on the level, transparent, and without a hint of larceny (...real or imagined...), or they will be thrown out. The Tea Party is the first manifestation of a third party ive seen in my lifetime (...i'll soon be 65...) that i believe will actually affect a great change in government. If the sitting Republicans don't do the right thing, i believe they will be thrown out; exactly as they should be. Remember the old German Freikorps saying: "....Better to shoot a few innocent than to let one guilty get away!...". I dont see that the electorate throwing a few good legislators out and sending them home is a bad thing. It sends the right message to the others; and that may well happen in this next round of elections. If it doesnt; we will soon see the country devolve into third world status. Let's hope they do the right thing. libertarian leroy

Thanks for the info. I need to read up on these guys. I think you are, indeed, blessed to see all these great creatures. The goose comment is great; and right on target. Thanks again, leroy

I think you are exactly right. The 10 mm is a great idea; kinda like the old time 41 mag. A 10 mm is as close as a "reasonably sized" semiauto can get to real magnum performance (...ala 41, 44...). I been thinkin about rounding one up myself. Handloading is the way to go with this (....and all calibers...) that you burn lots of powder thru. Keep up the good work! leroy

lak:_______________ Are the second, third, and fourth pictures (...in the holly tree; i love them too!!...) Kingfishers? I love the fourth one!! It's the ole "...what are ya doin?! ..."l ook. Great pictures. leroy

Folks:________________ If you remember a bit of the great George Orwell's novel "Animal Farm". You will remember the chillingly truthful quip that: "....all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others...". Looks like that George's quip has been acted out in the Kaleforrnia assembly. It seem that some of them are worried about their safety. They want (...and got...) "special authority" to carry weapons inside the state house for self protection (...i wonder from who; probably not their ratty constituency...). Article link here: Capitol Alert: Assembly OKS concealed guns for four legislators The citizens of Kalefornia with handgun permits can't do this; but the "more equal animals" (...the political class...) can. More food for thought. I wonder when the "real citizens" of Kalefornia will get tired of this nonsense. Always remember: wonderin leroy

Folks:______________ Crimson hit a home run here: He is exactly right. As my 21 year old is fond of sayin: "...They are all in it together!!!....". We need to throw 'em all out. They can probably get by with playing this game thru 2012, making the arguement that with the split congress that they are doin the best they can. My guess is that that wont be a good idea after 2012. I'm like him; we need to throw the whole damned lot of them out!! Libertarian leroy

I care too!! I like 'em!! Thanks for posting the pictures. I think the herron is the original avian "tough guy". They look funny, are carnivorous, and no other creatures bothers them. HEHEHE. Seriously, i love these things (...especially the blue ones...). They are a great creature. BEARMAN: I bet they dont taste like chicken. I think they taste like frogs, but too tough to eat. All in keeping with their "bad guy" image. Keep up the good work. leroy

Interesting read. Thanks for posting it. leroy

Folks, Jamie hit a home run here: The problem aint more legislated anything. The problem(s) are the guy who did the robbing and killing; not the folks that sold him the gun. That is the personal responsiblilty problem. The robber will be tried for murder and robbery. The second problem is the Colorado judge and parole board that turned this thug out. In my opinion, they are the "real criminals" here; but they will never be charged, tried or punished for their crimes. More law hardly ever fixes anything or deters it (...especially now...). I contend that leniency in the law undoubtedly contributed to this tragedy. If you want to assign blame for this, i say it's 50/50 parole board/thug. If this hoodlum had have been bustin rocks in a prison quarry somewhere instead of being "rehabilitated" by a bunch of mush head "social engineers" or if he had been identified as a sociopath (...which i think he is...); he would have never have been allowed out, and no one else would have been endangered. Folks need to think about all that for a bit, and figure out for themselves who the "real criminals" are in this tragic story. leroy

mds:_____________ Your question. RE: Car searches: Yes i do. I've seen folks fired for having property stolen from their employer and "prohibited items" (...read that alcohol and illegal drugs...) based on an employer initiated search. It was all "legal" due to being subject to searches while on the employer's property as a condition of employment. leroy

Bingo!!! How sadly true. Keep up the good work. leroy

All:______________ A bit of "food for thought": Why would a bunch like Glock (...who i think are some of the smartest guys out there in the firearms design business..) build a "new" 45 auto cartridge? My guess is that they were working to solve a "real" problem on two fronts. The first is the "reliability" problem with subcompact 45 ACP caliber semiautos; ala Glock 36 and 3 inch 1911's (..popular, thought they may be...). One approach was to refine the gun (...the Glock 36...); the other was to design a 45 cartridge that they thought would work better in the subcompact pistols. The 45 gap solves the second problem. You never hear of "reliability" problems with the GAP handguns (...the GAP cartridge is shorter than the ACP...). I think the GAP probably IS a typically great Glock solution to "reliability" with the 45 caliber semiauto (...and a good one, i might add...). I could also have no problems imagining that Glock is banking on another "handgun revolution" in some big market sector (...think the police sector here...) in the future. The GAP would be a great contender (...remember, big military and police customers like to spend money, they are political animals...). The european military and police market may need a 45 caliber handgun; who knows!!? The GAP may never be a "caliber of major porportions in the USA" , principally (...again in my opinion...) because of the near idolatrous worship of the 45 ACP by us americans; but it could well become a good seller elsewhere. If i wuz goin to fool with a GAP, i would start handloading for it. Gather up a couple of thousand rounds of brass and go to work. Ya can always find the bullets. I think they are a great (...abeit a bit unpopular...) idea. leroy

I tend to agree with Mike here. Let's hope that the "adults" make some hard choices (...the "right choices, even for the wrong reasons...) and a few real statesmen show up. If not, it will ultimately turn the greatest country in the world into a third world country with no money, no influence, and no freedom. That is a sobering thought. By the way, thanks for posting the "pie chart", it tells the truth in a forthright and hilarious way. Keep up the good work. leroy