The Wandering Minstrel

I dunno if I’m ready for a 1911-style semi-auto in .357 magnum, but it sure looks tempting. Alas, too many things already on the shopping list.

Quoting Handgunner Magazine:

Never, except for those made with other Smith & Wesson revolvers, have there been published machine rest groups that can in any way compare with those made with the S&W ‘.357’ Magnum. It’s square-shouldered, Sharpe-type lead bullet will shoot through steel plates that are only dented by other cartridges, yet the S&W ‘.357’ Magnum bullet will upset to .50 caliber in 8″ of soft paraffin; other bullets pass through practically unchanged in form. The S&W ‘.357’ Magnum Has Far Greater Shock Power Than Any .38, .44 Or .45 Ever Tested.”

Time to clean the carry guns. The Minstrel and I both pulled our carry guns out and cleaned and lubricated them this afternoon. Rosie (the Riveter) was absolutely filthy and the salt and rust were in evidence. Believe me - this gun looked much better after I scraped all the crud off of her. Minstrel’s Glock 30 (Fat Man) was in better shape, but he just recently started carrying him in lieu of “Little Boy,” the Glock 26 9mm. Clickable image.

A couple of weeks ago, we were cleaning and lubricating our guns. The Better Half took this (clickable) image of my S&W 686 .357 magnum revolver, “Jerry Lee.” It is so named because of the Great Balls of Fire muzzle flashes he produces.

We missed last year’s GBR but we’re looking at options for attending this year. You can see from the 2009 GVR-IV slideshow that we had a great time there. Read about this year’s event at the GBR Blog.

We received the email announcing the event this morning - here’s an excerpt:

It’s that time of year, and the Gun Blogger rendezvous is only a couple
of months away. I really need a big promo effort to help get the word
out about the Rendezvous this year. Pre-registrations are coming in, but
we need to encourage a lot more folks to attend to make it all worth the
effort and to be able to continue to attract sponsors, and in the end,
raise money for Project Valour-IT.

We will have at least three guns to give away in the raffle, and
possibly four, plus other cool stuff too. The NRA is buying us Breakfast
on Friday morning, GunUp is going to buy us dinner on Friday Night, and
NSSF is buying us pizza on Saturday night. Registration is still only
$30 per person, so you make that back just in free food, even before the
door prizes!

Be sure to visit the GBR Blog to see all the cool stuff they’re giving away.

Our local gun dealer has this interesting cartoon on the door to the shop. The sign on the door says “NO SMOKING - GUNPOWDER.” The better half got this photo of the door and the cartoon today. The door is usually open and today it was closed. This is the first reasonable image she was able to get of the cartoon depicting an individual riding atop an explosion. Clickable image.

I got an email update from American Rifleman this morning which had a headline article about “Why We Name Our Guns.” The post, by JJ Reich, included thirteen different anecdotal responses from his friends. The answers he got were sometimes charming, humorous and genuinely interesting to read.

Reich writes:

There are many reasons to give a name to your favorite firearm. Many gun owners name a gun in memory of someone special, as a good luck charm or simply because they love it.

These are the thirteen categories from his responders:

1. They love their guns
2. It honors a loved one
3. It has been around forever
4. It has a good reputation
5. It describes an action
6. It travels well
7. It’s inspired by Hollywood
8. Just trying to be funny
9. It’s picky about what it hunts
10. The name is taken from TV
11. It says good luck
12. The name tells a tale
13. To keep it simple

We have named several, but not all, of our firearms:

Miss Piggy is so named because she is The Better Half’s Para Warthog. Reasons 1 and 10.

Jerry Lee, my S&W 686 .357 mag, is so named because he emits “Great Balls of Fire.” Reasons 5 and 12.

Fat Man and Little Boy, my Glock 30 and 26, are named in honor of the two events that caused the Japanese to surrender to MacArthur in 1946. Reasons 4 and 12.

Rosie the Riveter got her name from the rosewood grips on the little S&W 442, but also to honor the women, and indeed all Americans, that came to the aid of the war effort at home during WWII. Reasons 2 and 12.

Do your guns have names?

We have been neglecting our shooting at the range activities due to finishing up the details for the new house. Today, however, we brought out (almost) the entire gun collection for a badly needed clean and lube. Our carry guns, although not fired recently, needed the lint, salt and other crud removed. We set up the cleaning table in the shade on the patio and spent an hour or so engaging in gun love. Clickable image courtesy The Better Half.

I ran across this article on Fox Nation this morning:

The XM2010 sniper rifle is making a name for itself in Afghanistan. Officials won’t say how many are there or where they are. But at the time of the Sept. 20 contract, officials said the first 250 rifles would be ready by early December and sent directly to Afghanistan.

No matter how many are there, this is clear: The weapon’s performance has been strong enough to warrant full fielding.

Read more:

Just look at that beautiful piece of tactical hardware!