New EDC knife.

As some of you may or may not know.  I lost my favorite EDC pocket knife while trying to get back from deepest, darkest bad continent.  So, I had to replace it. 

What I had before was a Boker Subcom like in this link.  I loved that thing.  It may have been small, but it fit nicely in the hand, was flat enough that it's not uncomfortable to sit on for good periods of time, held an edge through daily use, had a thick enough blade that it wasn't going to easily break using it to pry or as a screw driver, and the blade was multifunction enough that I could use it to open envelopes or open... other things to the bone.  Had a nice little clip sturdy enough to hold it in the pocket or on the belt without popping off or slipping away.  In short it was the best knife I'd found for EDC in a long while.  The only issue I had with it was it was a liner lock, not a frame lock.  But that's a personal thing.  I feel that liner locks may collapse more easily than a frame lock.  Mind you, I have no experience or evidence to prove that.  The lock looked like it engaged well enough that I probably would never had had that issue.

So, having found something that worked well for me, I wasn't going to spend weeks and loads of money finding something new.  When I went to replace the Subcom, I found that they had a new Chad Los Banos Subcom Titan available.  Still had the good clip (now titanium), and 440C Stainless Steel blade.  But now, the frame is titanium.  All the features that I liked about my original Subom are still there, but just enough improvements to make it worth it to get this and not just replace my original Subcom F.

Below are some pics of mine.  The bottom pic has a quarter in it so you can get an idea of scale.  This may seem like it's too small to be an effective knife.  But honestly, it fits into the hand very nicely and once you have a grip on it, it's not gonna slip out of your hand easily.  And open, it's overall length is 4 1/2" with a nearly 2" blade length.  Plenty long enough unless you have hands like Matt G, or Gigantor the freakishly large being from Planet Bigtron 4.

While it may not be truly ambidextrous, the clip can be flipped from top to bottom and the thumb stud is on both sides of the blade.  But if you want to know all the specs, just follow the link to the Titan above.



Oh and for the record,  while this may have turned into a product review and praise piece.  I bought this knife with my own money and am not being compensated by Boker or their US subsidiary for this post. 

Blogorado: The Epic Butt Post

So, I'm sure if you've read everyone else on my blogroll you know that Blogorado was not only a huge success, but just barrels and barrels and buckets and tubs of fun.

In attendance were FarmGirl, BredaFallacy, Salamander, Gay_Cynic, Stingray, LabRat, JPG, Better and Better, Old_NFO, Me, Ambulance Driver (with the adorable Katybeth), Snarky, FarmMom, FarmDad, Mamaw, Snarkybytes, Lucrative Pain, LawDog, Phlegm Fatale, and a run'd over deer, and I know I'm forgetting someone. Please leave a comment on who I forgot.

But anyway, here's pics of everyone there. Bonus points if you can match the person to the... umm... pic. :D

Bonus bonus points if you can find the pic that started it all.

Just for scale, this is Breda standing next to one of the midgets from the circus that passed through Sunday.

I did get a pic of Sal's butt, but the knee-beards were soooo much better.

AR build update: The long awaited range report

Guess what today was. That's right it was take a new gun to the range day! I looked at the weather forecast and they were calling for high winds this weekend. So, I got up, loaded up the AR, ammo, ears, eyes, etc. and drove out to my favorite outdoor 200 yard range.

Here's the setup and the target after I sighted it in. I may have the red dot sight set a mite bit low. But not bad for 50 yards standing.

The upper group across the bull is iron sights, 50 yards standing. The lower group is the red dot 50 yards standing.

The aftermath.

Yesterday, during my weekly gun shop crawl, I was talking with my gunsmith Mike. He said something that's been running around in the back of my head. And it's gotten me thinking not so much about the decision to protect myself, but about it's aftermath.

He said:

"A concealed carry gun doesn't need sights. Because if you've got time to use your sights, you've got time to run away."

Which will cause no end to the arguments on both sides of that thought. But it wasn't that that's got me thinking so much. It was what he finished that thought with. He finished it this way:

"And the DA knows that."

That's the scary point. I live in Oklahoma and as friendly we are to guns in general and carrying and self-defense, the politics of the city I live in suck. I've got the only mayor in the entire state that belongs to Bloomberg's idiocy against guns. And the DA she hired is in lockstep with her. If there is any way for him to make a case against a self-defense shooting, he'll take it to a grand jury.

The fact is, a self-defense situation doesn't end after the cops show up. It's just starting. I'm NOT a lawyer or associated with law enforcement in any way. I'm a private citizen. I am not qualified to give advice about what to do in the aftermath. I will offer no advice other than to suggest that there are people who are much more qualified by virtue of training and education (hint, hint, Lawyers) to give you advice. If you don't talk to one before the situation arises, you better talk to one as soon after the situation as is humanly possible. And even that will be cast in a bad light by a cop or DA if he/she is so inclined.

Interesting story

Old NFO has an interesting story up. Read it. Good food for thought.

Another Good Read

Okay, first off, I'm in an insomnia state of mind. It might be because of the downstairs neighbors stereo usage at 12:ohmygod30 in the ayem, but I've had it for a couple of days now.

Anyway, Anthony has another excellent post up on the RKBA, "You are the first and last line of defense".

This paragraph though is especially to the point.

When someone kills an innocent person who could not defend themselves because of a law the blood of that person is on the hands of the people who helped to pass it.

That says it all. Pelosi and Kennedy and Obama and both Clintons and even Bloomberg would take this right away and then bemoan the results, yet ultimately bear no guilt themselves. They are all fired to take the gun manufacturer to court for some critters act, how eager are they to go to court for the laws they create? I'm talking about their being sued in civil court for the results of their mandated defenselessness. How photogenic are they going to look standing opposite a women who's been raped and robbed because she lacked the means to even the field against her assailant? Or the child whose lost his mother, father and siblings to a home invasion turned murder because their means of protection was locked up, unloaded, and disassembled while the police were still minutes away?

Let's face it, the goblins aren't the "deep pockets" the civil liability attorneys are looking for. Those politicians are. The first time their bank accounts are threatened, their tune will change.

On second thought, they'd only enact liability limits.

Ha! How's that for a touchy-feely emotional appeal you liberals!

Sometimes....

The lengths people will go to to exhibit their idiocy astounds me. Breda has a post up about the confusion someone has between jewelry and self-defense. Go read it.

Sheeeee-it...

Everyone has been blogging about Bidens naming as the running mate of Oba-my-god over the weekend. A lot of more eloquent and knowledgeable people have already commented on it. So, I won't waste your time beating this particular cardio-challenged equine.

I just want to say, on one side we have a man who believes he's the promised one (whether that's the second coming or the antichrist I haven't heard yet) and his running mate, the man who not only authored the last "assault weapons" ban (a truely useless and insane piece of legislation), but has bragged about it.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

Why I carry.

This happened just before I left for work yesterday morning. I had to drive around the police tape and firetrucks.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080806_11_hr744416

As one of the chatters at last nights Gun Nuts podcast said, "When you need smoke and covering fire to get to work in the morning...."

This is the 4th murder in my complex this year. That's not including other crimes like home invasions, drive bys, drug dealings,....

And speaking of last nights podcast. A point was made in passing that has me pondering a blog. I'll post it when I get it polished enough for me to not be completely embarrassed by it.

Gun Nuts too

A quick h/t to Ahab and Squeaky for another great show. Even with all the technical difficulties it was a pleasure to attend via the chatroom. If you didn't catch it, go to the website and you can replay the recorded show.

Radio night

Hope everyone is ready for tonight's Gun Nuts: TNG show.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts/2008/07/23/Gun-Nuts-The-Next-Generation

Edit: Great show. The 45 minute format is starting to get too short. The interview with the VCDL was excellent. I wish a little more time could have been given to the "Mothers Against Guns" segment. I was left with more questions about this "organization" and no time to ask them. Maybe Ahab or Snowflake could keep on this item and post what they find.

Two excellent reads

I was trolling teh intrewebz for something to blog about. And in my daily read list are two excellent posts. One by Brigid at Home On The Range called "TIMES PAST, COMMON SENSE LOST", and the other by Xavier at Xavier Thoughts called "Evil Among Us". Sorry couldn't get a direct link to Xaviers post. But it's the first one of Tuesday, July 15th.

Both cover two of my favorite topics; "Why I carry" (Xavier's post), and something I'm thinking of entitling "BoVLB" (Bears of Very Little Brain), (Brigid's article) concerning the lack of intelligence or even a basic education among those who've taken it upon themselves to rule... lord over... trample upon... govern us.

I'd love to be able to write as well as these two. Xavier's been at it a while and has the polish that comes from experience. Bridig's only been at it a few months and seems to be a natural. I'd hate her for that except she's just so damn good at communicating via the written word. You've got to respect that.

Why I carry.

I've been asked before and I've blogged about it before. Why do I carry. What am I compensating for. Usually I answer that I'm compensating for being old and slow. That's the easy answer.

This past week, two people were shot in my apartment complex. That's the second shooting and, I've lost count of the number of home invasions and violent crimes in my complex. Now I'm not saying that my carrying would have stopped me from being a victim of one of these types of crimes, but it does give me an opportunity to not be. I'm sorry if that's confusing. Let me try to explain. Without a defensive arm, and by that I mean a gun, a knife, a kubota, something, I have no other choice then to meekly pray that the goblins at my heels don't just kill me for whatever reason. I'm not saying that that's what will necessarily happen. But do you want to depend on mercy or compassion from someone that just looks at you as some sort commodity to be used for money or drugs? Without a means of self defense I've already decided to be the victim, with no ability to mitigate how much of a victim I become.

Also, Lawdog had a excellent post on not just our right, but our duty to defend ourselves. By being a sheep and laying down to be slaughtered, we're telling the bad guys out there that there is very little risk to what they've chosen to do. And since they see reward outweighing risk, they continue to do it. If the risk outweighed the reward, they'd turn to something else, that just basic human nature. It's sort of like house breaking a dog. Reward him for good behavior and punish him for bad. And unfortunately much like a dog, the reward or punishment has to be immediate for it to be connected to the activity. So, defenseless, high reward, low risk, happy thief, continued behavior. Defended, high risk, lower reward, unhappy thief, modifying behavior. Lawdog does a much better job of explaining it.

Why do I carry? Why don't you?