Ruger SR9

Concealed Weapons Permit Class

Of course I did quite well with this 8 hour class. I even have a certificate to prove it! And, for those of you who are wondering....this is my target:





With a little investigating, research and scientific reasoning, I have determined the ONE shot in the 7 ring was a direct result of lunar gravitational pull. That's my story and I'm stickin to it!!!

Top Ten Reasons (some) Men Prefer Guns Over Women

(PLEASE NOTE: This was sent to me by a friend, and not necessarily MY opinion)
(hahahaha)

#10. You can trade an old 44 for a new 22.

#9. You can keep one gun at home and have another for when you're on the road.

#8. If you admire a friend's gun and tell him so, he will probably let you try it out a few times.

#7. Your primary gun doesn't mind if you keep another gun for a backup.

#6. Your gun will stay with you even if you run out of ammo.

#5. A gun doesn't take up a lot of closet space.

#4. Guns function normally every day of the month.

#3. A gun doesn't ask,"Do these new grips make me look fat?"

#2. A gun doesn't mind if you go to sleep after you use it.

And the number one reason a gun is favored over a woman....


#1. YOU CAN BUY A SILENCER FOR A GUN

SAFETY RECALL

April 9, 2008 - Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR), announces that it has determined that Ruger SR9 pistols manufactured between October 2007 and April 2008 can, under certain conditions, fire if dropped with their manual safeties in the "off" or "fire" position and a round in the chamber. The pistols will not fire if the manual safety is in the "on" or "safe" position.

As a responsible manufacturer, we want to make our customers aware of this safety concern as soon as possible. Ruger is finalizing the design of a new trigger group which prevents firing when dropped and will retrofit at no charge all Ruger SR9 pistols with serial number prefix "330" (330-xxxxx).

SR9 owners can obtain information or register for the recall by:

* Visiting the Ruger website at: www.ruger.com/SR9Recall/
* E-mail: SR9recall@ruger.com
* Fax: 928-541-8873
* Calling the Ruger SR9 Recall Hotline at 800-784-3701 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. EDT.

When Ruger is ready to retrofit a consumer's pistol, Ruger will send a shipping box, label and instructions for the FREE return of the SR9 pistol to our factory in Prescott, Arizona. Work will be completed promptly at no charge to the consumer and the pistol will be returned at Ruger expense. All owners will receive a FREE SR9 magazine as a "thank you" for their patience and cooperation.


All owners of Ruger SR9 pistols are urged not to use their pistol until it has been retrofitted with these new factory parts. If owners must use their SR9 pistol, the manual safety should be kept in the "on" or "safe" position except when actually firing.

Lunch break

After dropping my new Ruger off to have the sights adjusted, and not having a chance to fire it since I picked it up, I went to the range at lunch today. I fired 3 full magazines, and I can't believe how well I did. Being only the second time I fired her, she's pretty well tuned at this point....take a look.

The culprit....

Here is the stent that was in my ureter tube all the way from my kidney to my bladder. This thing was NOT comfortable, and I can foresee it taking a while for my body to readjust to it's absence.

Right to Carry video

Every LAW ABIDING CITIZEN in America should have the right to protect themselves.

Just watch.....

Shooting results from April 5, 2008

Rainy Day 3 & 3 Chili

Three kinds of meat, three kinds of beans, tomatoes prepared three ways!

Oh this is GOOD!!!

I decided to get a little creative since today was a rainy day. Chili is always good, but especially on a rainy day. The fun part is letting it cook for several hours while you stay busy around the house...or just kick back and relax.

2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 lb Jimmy Dean Regular sausage
1/2 lb Italian sausage (I used "sweet")
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can navy beans
1 can black beans
1 onion quartered
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 large can diced tomatoes
chili powder
(sour cream and black olives optional)
shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese

Pour tomatoes into large crock pot or medium stock pot. Turn on medium-low heat. Drain and rinse all 3 cans of beans, the add with onions to pot. Add chili powder and stir. Brown beef in frying pan adding chili powder liberally, then drain completely (do not rinse) and add to pot. Combine the sausages and brown, adding chili powder, drain, add to pot stirring in chili powder. Bring chili to boil, stirring frequently. Reduce burner to simmer. Allow to cook at least 4 hours, stirring occasionally.


When serving, add cheese generously.
Add sour cream and black olives, if desired.

History of the Ruger SR9

(since I can't get this to work right, copy and paste the link into your browser's address bar)

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1446831866/bctid1348305539

Shooting results from Saturday, March 29th, finally

I borrowed a friend's Beretta .380 and shot this at 15 yards.

This is the first two clips thru my new Ruger SR9.
From 7 yards, notice a nice grouping, but high and left.
This is when I discovered my sights need adjusting.



After some minor adjustments, this is the next two clips.
Still a decent grouping at 10 yards.

OH YES!!!

My beautiful, sleek, new Ruger SR9.


I bought it at a pawn shop that also sells new. They dealer told me it had been previously purchased, so he couldn't sell it at the "new" price of $450. He had to price it at $400. Since the breakdown is so simplified with this model, I took the slide off and found NO residue. This means the guy who bought it probably never fired it even ONCE!

Therefore, I bought (basically) a brand new gun for the used price!!

Am I happy about that? You're dog-gone right I am!!!

The New Ruger SR9

from Guns & Ammo October 17, 2007

Ruger throws its hat into the personal defense and law enforcement markets with this all new striker-fired pistol.

By Dick Metcalf

Ruger's long-anticipated striker-fired pistol is finally here! The polymer-frame SR9 semiauto 9mm represents an entirely new design platform for Ruger pistols, and gives Ruger a product that will be a strong competitor for existing powerhouse firearms in the personal defense and law-enforcement markets such as the Glock, S&W M&P, Taurus 24/7, and Springfield XD. Ruger enthusiasts and fans of these other modern-standard pistols are really going to like the SR9. It offers all the features users expect from current state-of-the-art polymer DAO duty-pistol designs, plus a variety of unique Ruger innovations.

SR9 is a sleek, mid-size 9mm with advanced features

In brief highlights, the SR9 is a full size striker-fired 9mm with a slide-activated cocking mechanism, and an integral trigger safety. The semiauto mechanism is a conventional cam-block recoil-operated tilt-lock, with a full-length recoil spring guide rod. The polymer grip frame has the same basic hand-pleasing contour as Ruger's popular P345 hammer-fired pistol, with the slimmest, flattest grip profile in its class--in spite of the fact the steel magazine hold a hefty 17 rounds.

A cushiony rubber grip backstrap insert can be easily removed and reversed to allow either an arched or a flat grip contour, depending on user preference. The design also features a fully-ambidextrous (not merely reversible) magazine release, and a frame-mounted ambidextrous manual thumb safety system that allows "cocked-and-locked" carry in addition to the integral "must be pulled to the rear" trigger safety.

There's also a visible/tactile cocking indicator at the rear of the slide, and a visible/tactile loaded-chamber indicator atop the slide behind the chamber. All the operating mechanisms--magazine release, safeties, slide lock/release--are low-profile, and conventionally positioned in traditional "M1911" locations.

The three-dot SR9 sights are drift-adjustable for windage (front and rear) and the rear sight is also click-screw adjustable for elevation--the only pistol of this type to feature elevation adjustment on a low-profile combat sight. The bottom front of the frame features an integral equipment rail for attachment of a tactical light, laser aimer, or other accessories. All exterior surfaces are contoured and rounded to minimize holster wear or clothing snag in concealed carry.

The gun is constructed in modular components, with separate self-contained fire control module, trigger module, and cam block inserted into the polymer frame. This greatly streamlines the manufacturing and assembly process in the factory, and makes for an extremely straightforward and easy disassembly/reassembly process for user maintenance. To disassemble, you merely remove the magazine, clear the chamber, and lock the slide to the rear with the slide lock lever. Then use your fingertip to push out and remove the takedown pin from the frame, and just pull the slide/barrel assembly forward and off.

The barrel and captive recoil spring guide assembly can then be removed from the slide. It's not necessary to manually hold the slide in any special rearward alignment to remove the takedown pin, just lock it back. Nor is it necessary to pull the trigger prior to removing the slide--an important safety feature that many other striker-fired pistols don't have. To reassemble, you merely replace the barrel and recoil spring assembly into the slide, place the slide onto the frame and lock it back with the slide lock lever, reinsert the takedown pin, and let the slide go forward. Simple, easy, and safe in the extreme.

My personal favorite feature of the SR9 is the fact its magazine disconnect safety can be user-deactivated. As with a majority of today's semiauto pistols, the SR9 comes from the factory unable to be fired with the magazine removed. However, unlike any other pistol of its type, the SR9's disconnect can be deactivated simply by plucking out the disconnect link while the gun is disassembled, enabling a chambered cartridge to be fired even if the magazine is inadvertently dropped or damaged. I believe this is an essential feature for ANY personal defense or duty sidearm.

I've had the opportunity to extensively fire several first-production SR9s at the Ruger facility in Prescott, Arizona, and find it to be a reliable, accurate, and extremely good-feeling shooter. The new Ruger SR9 is a fine piece of design work, well worthy of the Ruger brand, and will be a welcome addition to the marketplace.

Modular SR9 construction allows instant, convenient disassembly

Celebrate What's Right With The World!!

Celebrate What's Right With The World

Henderson County's Finest

As I went to lunch today I passed over the interstate on Crest Rd. There were two Henderson County Deputies standing on the overpass. As I approached, slowly of course, one of them leaned down and pointed what appeared to be a radar gun at traffic on Interstate 26 below. And he was between two "exit" signs. He was not visible at all from the road below. The other raised as walkie-talkie as if he was speaking into it.

Now, this may seem normal to some people, but it really burned me up! I have spent time in Law Enforcement. I was actually at the state level, not the county. I find these deputies methods extremely questionable. I would have to do some research to confirm this, but I distinctly remember being taught as a Trooper that we were NOT to "hide" in order to "catch a speeder." Many co-workers did, and wrote hundreds of speeding tickets a month. I cannot justify this in my own mind. Granted, people speed. But hiding to catch them, when you can sit on the side of the road in plain sight and STILL "catch" them, seems quite questionable to me.

www.LensRentals.com

I have rented a lens for a 3 week period and I can hardly wait to start shooting.
It's a 70-200 2.8 IS lens. Granted, the focal range on my Tamron is 28-300, but this lens, with it's image stabilizing feature, takes a much sharper photo. I am shooting as much is Charleston as I can this weekend. Everyone loves Charleston pictures. Next weekend is a basketball tournament. The following weekend is St Pats in Savannah...hoping to go there, we'll see. I might even get to take some shots of horses during the hours after work while the sun is still shining.

Of course, I'll be posting a picture or two once I get them uploaded.

Building a trailer from a kit...part 2

I've gotten the next step complete. It involved building the back half, including the brackets for the casters...





...installing the axle, wheels and fenders, and the tongue.





Later, I'll complete it by installing the lights, wiring and the other side-rail brackets.

Here is how it looks when folded for storage...

Building a trailer from a kit...part 1

At 5:30 today I began my venture. I bought a 4'x8' trailer to haul my pictures to arts & craft shows. Hopefully I can make a buck or two with it!

The kit came in two boxes, and the wheels were separate.




After opening the boxes, and extracting the parts, I decided this wouldn't be too difficult. So I start with step one...assembling the front half. The rail parts are tube steel and angle iron. Many pieces are exactly the same, I'm sure for ease of mass-production. I lay the parts out, start putting the bolts and nuts together...and realize I have a piece backwards. Grr...ok, no biggy...four bolts..I unscrew them, turn the part around, and replace the bolts. Being careful not to over-tighten and make it out of square, I finally get them replaced.



On to step two...adding the braces. Not a problem, right? Yea, keep telling yourself that. I got all four of the braces on, loosely, and realized that to install the tongue, the pre-fab holes didn't line up just right. OK, I start taking the nuts back off the bolts, look at the diagram again, take a couple more bolts off, THEN realize I had it right to start with!! ARGH!! So I put them all back together the way I had them to start with.



By now, both of my index finger's knuckles are ripped and bleeding. So I got the first half done, and have yet to curse. So I guess I'm doing ok.



BUT....(there's always a but)...I go into the restroom to wash my hands, turn the water on, pump soap into my hands, and start rubbing them together. Was that hand soap in the pump bottle? You guessed it...NO! It's hand sanitizer. You know, the alcohol based gel that LOOKS like soap in a bottle!! Yea, so now I am barely 35% done with the assembly of the trailer, AND my knuckles are burning like alcohol in an open wound! WONDER WHY!?!

I have found one I would like to have...

I have often wondered what it wold be like to live on a boat. Going out in the evening or on the weekend, motoring around...fishing for dinner...taking photos of angles rarely seen....kicked back with satellite TV and internet...or just out in the ocean, away from all the noise and hustle of the city life...now I know what type of boat I would enjoy.

This particular one is a 42' Monk, made in the Pacific Northwest, and currently in Seattle, but I am sure this is the KIND of boat I would like....


(hey...a man can have a dream, can't he?)










Or...mabye one like this 36' Egg Harbor Sedan model...

Quick trip to Charleston...

I finally got time to make a whirlwind trip to Charleston. I have wanted to shoot the new Bridge since it's opening, but never had a chance. I would have loved to get some photos while the old bridges remained, but timing wouldn't allow.

I know the one shot is what everyone gets, because the Yorktown offers a great overall view, so that one isn't so spectacular. The other shot I wanted to be different. So I drove around some looking for another angle. I tried to get something unique. As for searches online, I have not found one with the angle I was able to get. I set the exposure for 30 seconds, and framed what I thought would make a good shot. Look closely and you can see the lights of the ship that was passing under the bridge as the shutter was open. (I'm surprised I didn't get arrested for tresspassing to get this one.)

The final shot was also 30 seconds, but the top of the fountain was too dark. So I opened the shutter again, and ran around the side, out of view of the lens, and pointed my tiny LED flashlight at the top.