Let's not throw dirt on the old girl, yet.

Once upon a time I was the sort of guy who gave in to temptation without stopping to think about whether something was logical or not.  It was exactly that sort of lifestyle which caused me to end purchasing my 'dedicated elk rifle(which is also used for deer hunting) in .35 Whelen.  Once upon a time, as an impressionable hormonal teenager I had read an article in Bugle about the .35 Whelen, and I swore that someday, I was going to have one.  Well, eventually, I got my wish.

Another part of that vision was that I was also going to learn how to reload...someday.  That part of the dream hasn't come to fruition yet.

.35 Whelen ammo being a little bit unusual, I kept an eye out for it.  Back then there were only 3 factory loads I could find in the stores...2 from Remington, and 1 from Federal.  The Remington loads were both in their basic 'Green Box' line...and uninspiring.  The Federal load was a nice 225gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claw load...but it wasn't cheap.  A bit of internet research found me a few online manufactures...one place called Conley Precision Cartridges, and the The Hunting Shack in Montana.

Both were cheaper than what was being asked for the Federal load in stores, and had more impressive ballistic tables than the Remington loads.   All things appearing equal, I went through The Hunting Shack, because shipping was cheaper from Montana than Mississippi.  A short time later, Sportsman's Warehouse decided to get out of the .35 Whelen business, so I was able to get 4 boxes of the Federal stuff for 50% off. 

This gave me about 300 rounds of .35 Whelen, and 4 years later, I still had 80-100 rounds of it...which is nice for some hunters, but is starting to hit the worrying point for me.  About a year ago I did some looking, and it was pretty tough to find, even online(forget stores...hadn't seen .35 Whelen other than Remington's 'Green Box' loads in person for a while).  Conley still had it, but their prices had gone up a bit since last time, and The Hunting Shack didn't have it listed.  I guess the nice thing about getting worried with 100 rounds left is it gives you time to keep an eye out instead of panicking.  Was I going to be forced to learn to reload...or would it be easier/cheaper to use this as an excuse to go pick up something new .30-06? 

Finally, I jumped back on the computer today and did some more searching...and to my mind at least, there seem to be many more choices available for me than a year ago.  I have found .35 Whelen offerings from several 'custom order' places($$$$) but there was a loaded offering from Nosler, Double Tap, Buffalo Bore(They call it 'Supercharged'), and a new Superperformance load from Hornady.

It was the Hornady load that caught my eye...both because of it's ballistics(2900FPS!!!!!!) and the fact that it is actually in-stock at Midway's website.  I see an order in my future. 

The only real concern I have is that the load uses a standard soft-point bullet.  This doesn't worry me for deer, but on elk, I would have to do my part to avoid the near-side shoulder(which is the right thing to do anyways).  The ammunition industry, in addition to trying to convince everyone that the NEED the newest Ultra/Short Mag cartridge, does a pretty good job of marketing the newest 'controlled expansion' bullet. 

But, just like the .30-06 and .30-30 can drop game just as good as .300 RUM when the bullet is in the right place, a basic non-name brand SP bullet can do the same thing. 


 

Oh please, just stop talking...

I want to like Sarah Palin...I really do.  In fact, I felt pretty good about her shortly after she was selected as the Vice-Presidential nominee.  What wasn't to like...an attractive, seemingly pro-gun libertarian minded politician from Alaska, and young enough that if the first four years in office aged John too much, he could just pass the torch on to her.  Seemed like a good set-up.

I don't think she cost the Republican's the election.  Oh, her 'aw-shucks, yeah sure you betcha' routine(she watch a lot of 'Fargo' you think?' might have alienated a few of city-city independent voters, but...it was just Obama's time I think.

Now let's fast forward a few years.  She is still an attractive lady(it's not germane to her qualifications as an office holder, but anyone who denies that being at least moderately attractive HURTS you in life is lying to themselves)...but now it seems every time she opens her mouth, I want to 'accidentally' stick a q-tip too far into my ear. 

Now instead of being a pro-gun semi-libertarian sounding Republican, she is the poster child for the 'Which way is the wind blowing' crowd.  More often than not, this has her siding with the so-called Religious Right...which is one of my less favorite political groups.  If she isn't with the Religious Right, she is using her Star Power to steal away the Tea Party name. 

In short, I really don't like her much anymore...except when she isn't talking.  Because when she does talk, even if she isn't talking about bad politics, she is just saying less than intelligent things.  Case in point is her recent answer about the importance of Paul Revere.




I guess now we know why Obama takes his teleprompter with him everywhere he goes...think he'd be a nice guy and let Sarah borrow it?

Congratulations to Sgt. Leroy Arthur Petry.

Lewis-McChord soldier will receive Medal of Honor

Sgt. Petry is getting himself a free trip to the White House for saving the lives of two of his fellow soldiers back in May of 2008 in Afghanistan.  While withdrawing following a raid, his group came under fire.  Sgt. Petry was shot through both legs, and him and his group hunkered down behind a chicken coup.  While taking cover, two grenades were lobbed in their direction.

The First grenade landed about 10 yards away, causing the Marines to take cover.  The 2nd grenade landed close enough to their group that Sgt. Petry picked it back up, and while he was attempting to throw it away, it went off in his hand.  One can guess the result.  He then applied a tourniquet, and the group was able to fight their way out.  

Their is little doubt that Sgt. Petry's actions saved both his life, and those of his two fellow Rangers.  It seems perfectly acceptable to me.  Sgt. Petry will join Salvatore Giunta as the only 2nd Medal of Honor winner to survive the action which won him the award since the end of the Vietnam War.  

Curious, I did a little research.  Overall, 17% of MOH's have been given posthumously...but this a bit skewed by the Civil War, when there was only a 2% mortality rate associated with the award.  Throw out the Civil War, and it's a 30% mortality rate...and from WWII on, it's over a 50% death rate.  A Hero's Death, but Death none-the-less.  

Even the liberal Seattle Times is proud of Sgt. Petry.  While not everyone can agree with the reasons for the fighting, one MUST give proper respect to the people doing the fighting, and willing to die to save their fellow man. 

 

 

And we will write you a letter...

In the epic movie Team America: World Police, there is a scene where Hans Blix goes to confront Kim Jong-il about not being given access to all areas to look for WMD's. When Kim calls his 'Or Else' bluff, Hans tells him 'We will be very angry...and will write you a letter telling you how angry we are.'

Hans then's get fed to sharks...and we get a great song by Kim Jong-il.

It looks like the House of Representative's didn't watch that scene all the way to the end.

House Scolds Obama on Libya, Dozen's of Dem's join in. 

So...a non-binding resolution to demand some answers in the next 14 days.  I guess the only really interesting thing here is that 45 democrats seem to have seen some form of writing on the wall and voted against something for Obama.

You can't tell me The Obamessiah wouldn't be calling Boehner and Kucinich over to the Oval Office right now if he DID have a trap door into a shark tank.

And, because I need cheering up, here is the(more than a little) inappropriate scene from Team America: World Police.

Cramping my style...

My mother-in-law flew in from Connecticut today for a 10 day visit.

I like her...I mean, she raised the woman that I love more than anything else in the world, so she can't be all bad. There is none of the in-law related tension that we are told should exist. I don't feel any different about her spending 10-days in our 2-bedroom apartment than I would feel about ANYONE spending 10-days with us in our 2-bedroom apartment.

I'm an equal opportunity privacy invasion hater.

Oh, it's the right thing to do...she has paid money to come visit us...there is no way I am making her spend money to not stay with us. If it means I can't sit around in my undies and watch T.V. snuggled on the couch for a few days...so be it.

I can sacrifice undie time for a few days...

Well, thank gosh for 'Policy and Procedure'.

I am almost speechless after reading this story: 

Cops, firefighters watch on shore as suicide victim drowns

Almost but not quite speechless...I can probably sum up what I want to say with: 

WTF!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Now...if their ONLY answer was 'we thought the guy might be dangerous, because suicidal people are often unpredictable'...I might have bought that answer...but as soon as you through out we didn't have the right training, and it's all the budget's fault...just stop.

You couldn't find a couple of hundred yards of rope to throw around someone's waist, or a jet-ski to run out there a couple of hundred yard?  You really going to try and blame this on a budget issue?  

 It's not even the guys death that bums me out that much...I don't know him, or anything about him.  If a person wants to kill themselves, I am fine with it...slowly fading away in neck deep 54 degree water must be a pretty peaceful way to go...talk about some will-power though.  

Nope...I'm more upset by the different stories that say the fire department and police did nothing but watch from the beach for an hour...typical government workers, always looking for a chance to take a break.  Wasn't there a cat they could rescue somewhere else to earn their paycheck instead of standing around watching this guy drown?

The guilty shall be punished…unless you are a college football coach.

I like football…I tend to watch professional more than collegiate, just because SWMBO makes me choose…she would not abide by me spending all day Sunday AND Saturday in front of the TV watching football.  I find the professional game a little more compelling, especially with a real play-off system to determine a champion at the end of the season. 

There are some people though, who swear by the college game.  They say it has a ‘pureness’ that is missing in the professional level, because the kids are playing for the love of  the game, and not big piles of money.  To which I say B.S…

I will concede that the small college(Division II, III, NAIA) level…football is being played by kids who just want to play the game…the fact that some of them are getting scholarships is the icing on the cake.   Big college football, played by teams with names that everyone would recognize AND watch on national TV, is a huge business, and it most certainly just as much about the money as the NFL is, even if none of that money can legally end up in the hands of the players.

THE Ohio State University is the latest school to get busted for having financial gains illegally ending up in their player’s hands.  It seems for several years, players at OSU have been selling Ohio St. merchandise, uniforms and even Big 10 Championship Rings to fans and boosters for marked cash, as well as goods and services(tattoos are the big things they have been busted on).  They have also been receiving special ‘Players Only’ discounts at car dealerships in town. 

These activities constitute what the NCAA calls an ‘Improper Benefit.’  When he found out in a manner he could not ignore(he had to suspect something), that these improper benefits were being enjoyed by his players, Coach Jim Tressel screwed up.  Instead of letting his boss and the NCAA know by coming clean, he e-mailed some of the folks he knew to be doing it, and said please stop.  Eventually, the story broke anyways…and for his poor judgment, Jim Tressel was forced to resign. 

I suppose some might think that is punishment enough…I mean, he was forced to give up a job that was paying him 3.5 MILLION a year, with a guaranteed ‘working retirement at $150,000 a year included(as well as other disgustingly sweet things detailed here). 

There will be no ‘long term’ punishment for him though…no suspension from coaching….the only thing keeping him from landing another major college job is going to be public opinion.  Even that public opinion will not keep an NFL from hiring him…Pete Caroll, who left USC under similar accusations, was hired pretty quickly by the Seattle Seahawks, at 7 MILLION a year.  That’s some punishment for letting his players run wild. 

Most of the players themselves will not be punished either…they will get to keep their tattoos and car deals, and get drafted by NFL teams, where they will sign big contracts.

The punishment, like it always does, will fall on THE Ohio State University.  They will probably lose scholarship spots, and maybe the ability to go to a Bowl Game, which could cost the school 12 MILLION dollars.  The football squad won’t feel the lack of that money, because boosters will make it up…but the general fund might.  You might even see the Athletic Director and a few other senior administration folks resign because of a lack of ‘Administrative Control’ at the school. 

It’s not a good time to be a Buckeye fan.