I gotta say that this last batch of Winchester 230 grain .45 ACP ball ammo seems to be way dirtier than the last PMC rounds we bought. After today’s session at the range I took this before and after cleaning photo of the muzzle of my Warthog. The Glock 30 was also very dirty.

We’re also having some problems with Winchester both 12 and 20 gauge shotgun shells in our Remington 870s. We bought the shells in July and thought that our shotguns were due some maintenance because of the sudden tendency for shells jamming on the ejection cycle. When we switched to either Remington or Estate shells we had no problems.

Winchester .45s and shotgun shells are off our list for target shooting. In fairness to Winchester we have never had problems with their 9mm Luger ammo.

Via Wayne LaPierre:

The Obama/Biden ticket is the most anti-gun presidential campaign in recent memory. In Obama, you have a former board member of the Joyce Foundation who steered millions of dollars towards gun-control groups. He’s touted his support for bans on handguns and a 500 percent increase on taxes for guns and ammunition, and has called for bans on ammunition (including some of the most popular hunting ammunition).

His running mate, Joe Biden, is a career anti-gun politician. Remember 1994? Remember those dark days when the Clinton administration and their cronies in Congress banned semi-automatic firearms based entirely on cosmetic features? Guess who was one of those most responsible for that gun ban? None other than Joe Biden.

Biden has consistently voted against your Second Amendment rights as a U.S. senator, and Obama’s made it clear that his vision of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is meaningless. This pair, if elected, would be the biggest threat to your firearm freedoms in decades, and that’s with the recent decision in the Heller case. We can’t afford to stay home on Election Day, and we can’t afford to stay silent between now and then. It’s our job to speak up and speak out about the Obama/Biden ticket so that every gun owner is aware of what’s at stake … nothing less than the continued exercise of our Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Keep in mind that any abstained vote for the Republican ticket amounts to a half vote for the extremely anti-gun ticket of Obama and Biden. And who knows what the Supreme Court will look like after four or eight years of an extremist president? Concealed carry prohibited Nationally? Not too far-fetched with these two.

Cross-posted at The Wandering Minstrel.

She’s attractive to conservatives for her apparent views on ANWR, second amendment rights, abortion and pork. She’s attractive to feminists and supporters of HRC because she’s a woman.

Obama and Biden will now have to depend on the liberal media to be the attack dogs - and indeed the media will.

Image right - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (via FNC)

VDH applies his impeccable insight to McCain’s choice for veep - Via NRO Corner:

A Maverick Choice [Victor Davis Hanson]

The wisdom or error in selecting Palin will be determined later, when the public gets to know her, hears her speak and debate, and the mad-dog, in-the-tank press goes after every detail in her bio. She will have a very thin margin of error as far as gaffes go, in as much as the Quayle syndrome will be quickly invoked at the slightest slip.

But in political terms today, right now, one can appreciate the political brilliance of her appointment, which — given Obama’s doctrinaire liberal laundry-list speech — turns the attention to the McCain camp and will hinder the Democratic convention bounce.

1. The pick appeals to the Hillary independent voter and forces Obama to go easy, since he doesn’t want both a primary and general election in which liberal women thought he and his MSNBC media henchmen took the sexist, mean-spirited low road. Given McCain’s 72 years, women will realize that the role and future of this VP is no token appointment.

2. Conservatives and the base will be OK with both her positions and her life narrative; no defections as threatened with a Lieberman pick.

3.On energy, she will either blunt McCain’s unreasonable opposition to ANWR, or, in fact — as an Alaskan pro-driller — give him the opening necessary to “evolve” on the issue into a support for drilling there.

4. In a Zen way it raises the inexperience issue, inviting Obama to critique a fresh VP as “inexperienced” and thereby automatically turn the same scrutiny to his as-thin-or-even-thinner resume for the more important job.

5. McCain can keep running those Biden-attacking-Obama ads, with little worry that he would get the same back had he nominated a primary rival with a Biden-like campaign trail.

6. One governor, even with brief executive experience, still contrasts with three Senate legislators in the race.

7. Obama’s “change” mantra and sermons on Washington insiders are suddenly null and void due to both VP picks: McCain went for an outsider, Obama went for the classical Uber-insider.

8. As any one who has met her can attest, Palin has a charismatic presence and winning personality that could help whittle away at Obamania.

9. Much of the arsenal of the left-twing critique of the last eight hate-Bush years is starting to evaporate. Both McCain and Palin have or will have sons in Iraq; both are not easily identified as hard-core insensitive Republicans; McCain’s eroding maverick status is rejuvenated with this running-mate pick.

10. Let us hope that energy now becomes the key issue. Given Obama’s sorta sorta not references to gas, nuclear, and coal — and not much about drilling, McCain-Palin can really hit hard on natural gas, oil, nuclear, and coal as the perfect U.S.-dominated, at-home transition to alternative fuels that save the treasury and our national security — all much more appealing than Obama’s quixotic windmill and solar-panel melodramas.

For today, the timing and choice were inspired; now we await how Gov. Palin fares when the “new,” “transcendent” — and vicious — leftwing political attacks come.

The day we were at the Grand Canyon Watchtower, I took this photo of a partially-demolished smaller building next to the tower. Since the moon was visible in the sky above the canyon, I lined up the shot to capture this view.

Click on the image for bigger.

One of the nicest places we stayed when we were on vacation is the Lodge at Cameron Trading Post on US 89 near the east entrance to Grand Canyon. If we’re in that area, whether we’re going through the Canyon or not, we like to stay at Cameron. This is a view of the garden area fountain inside of the lodge complex. You would find it hard to believe that you’re in an arid climate when you’re in this nice garden patio.

Click on the image for close up view.

Here’s the “gun plank” from the Democratic Party’s 2008 platform:

“We recognize that the right to bear arms is an important part of the American tradition[1], and we will preserve Americans’ continued Second Amendment right to own and use firearms. We believe that the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation[2], but we know that what works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne[3]. We can work together to enact and enforce common-sense laws[4] and improvements, like closing the gun show loophole[5], improving our background check[6] system and reinstating the assault weapons ban,[7] so that guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals[8].”

1. The right to bear arms is not tradition - it’s IN THE CONSTITUTION!
2. “Reasonable regulation” — a vague expression at best and most likely a thinly veiled threat to restrict all guns and ammo.
3. You will have fewer rights if you live in Chicago than if you live in Cheyenne - an example of Democrat “equal opportunity under the law.”
4. “Common sense” — see “reasonable regulation” above.
5. “Gun show loophole” — a myth. It ranks right up there with “global warming.”
6. “Improved background check” - a device to further restrict who may own guns.
7. “Assault weapon” - assault is a behavior and weapon is a tool. Assault is a verb, not an adjective.
8. Criminals and terrorists are never, ever going to obey gun laws. Period. Criminals and terrorists will ALWAYS have access to guns.

Cross-posted at The Wandering Minstrel.

At last - Damsel’s Utah Concealed Firearm Permit arrived in the mail today. It takes about sixty days for the Utah Department of Public Safety to process the paperwork and do a background and fingerprint check.

We hoped to get the permit prior to our recent vacation but due to my procrastination and other work-related complications we started about six weeks later than what it would take to get the permits in time. On our vacation we traveled in several states that honor the Utah carry permit - Utah (of course), Nevada and Arizona - the only one where we went that doesn’t recognize the Utah CCW, sadly for us since we live here, is California. Click the map above to enlarge.

A couple of months ago, I posted about a man suing our police chief and mayor to get a CCW here in our town. I tried finding how that’s going and couldn’t find anything about it. I’m hoping that it resolves our town’s attitude about CCW but I’m not holding my breath.

Where is my Utah CCW? Not here, not yet. I hope it’s on the way. There was a little foul-up on the part of the USPS in getting my application to the Utah Bureau; we sent our applications in separate envelopes on the same day via certified mail. Hers arrived four days before mine did. Even with all of the computerized automation, the denizens of the USPS manage to screw things up without even trying.

I know that the guys and gals that participated in the Para Bloggers event at Blackwater had a lot of fun. We’re jealous that we didn’t have that opportunity, but we made do with our weekly trip to the range.

We always have a lot of fun when we go to our local indoor range. We generally start out with the handgun selection, usually 5 guns, one revolver - a .357 magnum or .38 special - and four pistols - two each of 9mm and .45 ACP. We put about fifty rounds - sometimes more - through the 9’s and 45’s and somewhat less through the revolver. At the end of the session, we break out the shotguns and put about 25 rounds through each of those - one 12 and one 20 gauge.

Here Damsel demonstrates her skills with her little S&W 442 .38 special, then with the Para Warthog .45 ACP semi-auto and finally with her 20 gauge Remington 870 express shotgun.

This succulent is called Crassula Falcata and is native to South Africa. These do well here in Southern California. This one has been growing in front of our house since my Mom brought me a cutting and I stuck it into the ground. Every year since then, it has had these bright red and yellow flower clusters and the fragrance is like fresh ocean air, slightly perfumed. Click for the biggie.

On the south side of the Colorado River, the panorama at Mather Point extends from the lower end of Garden Creek taking in some of the Bright Angel Trail, over the deep canyon of Pipe Creek and eastwards to Cedar Ridge/O’Neill Butte, along which runs the South Kaibab Trail starting from the next point to the east - Yaki. Some of the Tonto Trail is also in view, near Pipe Creek. On the North Rim, the vista is centered on the long, straight Bright Angel Creek, flowing for 10 miles between a collection of tall red buttes and other ravines.

Text above borrowed from American Southwest dot net.

I took this photo from the trail between Mather point and the Grand Canyon Village. You can see a throng gathered on the point at the far right end of the panorama. Click on the image to see the full size image in the viewer.

This is my current collection of hand guns. I took the picture after cleaning them up from the trip to the range. Clockwise from the top: S&W 908s 9mm, S&W 686 .357 magnum, S&W 442 .38 special and my Para Warthog .45 ACP. Not shown is my Remington 870 20 gauge shotgun.

I say my ‘current collection’ because that may change soon. Stay tuned.

I got a call today from Kerby Smith, the director of communications and public relations for Para Ordinance Firearms; he called to follow up on Damsel’s Warthog. Kerby arranged a factory return for the pistol after learning about the problems Damsel was having with it.

We talked about several issues concerning short-barrel .45s. We touched on the topics of lube and maintenance, ammunition, shooting procedures and what to do when you get a misfeed. Kerby seemed to be very knowledgeable about his product line and offered suggestions for us to get the best performance from the Warthog.

I have to say that the Warthog requires a little more in the way of TLC, but it is a very nice gun and Damsel loves it in spite of its history. I also have to say that I’m very impressed with Para’s support of their products and the lengths to which Kerby Smith went to make sure Damsel would be happy with the pistol.

Kerby mentioned that he will be participating in the Para-sponsored Bloggers event at Blackwater where Michael Bane, Ahab, Robb Allen, Sebastian, Say Uncle and others are headed this weekend. Have fun, guys and gals, shooting those Para Pistols.