Arrh...
Friday, September 19, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Where are the Iranians hiding their weapons?
The gun shop is all out of the cheaper, "very good" grade, of the Persian Mausers. Blast! Revisiting my post below, I think I am going to go with an Enfield.
This is my dilemma. There are two major types of Enfields: the #1 mark 3 and the #4 mark 1. The #4 is the prettier gun, I can get one made in America in the early 40's, and it is generally a bit smoother and improved over the older #1 mk3.
So where's the dilemma, you may ask? Well, the #4's don't come with this.
That's 17 inches of blade. The British transitioned slowly from the Halberd to the rifle, seemingly reluctant to give up any capability when it came to stabbing. They finally went to a smaller blade for the #4 Enfield because the overall weight of the gun went up quite a bit and reducing the length of the sword on the end was the most obvious place to cut some weight.
Here's a side by side of the guns.
Enfield #1 mkIII
Enfield #4 mk1
So, I can either get a nice rifle or a polearm that also happens to shoot bullets. Decisions, decisions...
UPDATE: I have since learned that I can also get a #1 mkIII Enfield that is wire wrapped. The idea was to reinforce the stock so it could be used to fire grenades. The plain Jane version of the #1 MkIII is ugly but this could take it over the top to bulldog ugly. You know, endearingly ugly.
This is my dilemma. There are two major types of Enfields: the #1 mark 3 and the #4 mark 1. The #4 is the prettier gun, I can get one made in America in the early 40's, and it is generally a bit smoother and improved over the older #1 mk3.
So where's the dilemma, you may ask? Well, the #4's don't come with this.
That's 17 inches of blade. The British transitioned slowly from the Halberd to the rifle, seemingly reluctant to give up any capability when it came to stabbing. They finally went to a smaller blade for the #4 Enfield because the overall weight of the gun went up quite a bit and reducing the length of the sword on the end was the most obvious place to cut some weight.
Here's a side by side of the guns.
Enfield #1 mkIII
Enfield #4 mk1
So, I can either get a nice rifle or a polearm that also happens to shoot bullets. Decisions, decisions...
UPDATE: I have since learned that I can also get a #1 mkIII Enfield that is wire wrapped. The idea was to reinforce the stock so it could be used to fire grenades. The plain Jane version of the #1 MkIII is ugly but this could take it over the top to bulldog ugly. You know, endearingly ugly.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Birds and Bees... and Butterflies and Flowers
Yeah, that "little discussion" I'll be forced to have with Harry when he is a bit older is likely to be a bit more complex than my parents had to deal with, but that is not what this post is about. This post is about actual birds, bees, flowers, and butterflies.
Last month, the family went to the National Aquatic Gardens, located just inside the Capital Beltway off of 295. We had been there before but this was the first trip when it wasn't scorching hot. It made a big difference.
So yeah, pictures.
The logistics of parenthood.
"Our destination is over yonder, son."
"Flowers? It's just flowers? Where are the snakes I was promised?"
"Well, there are butterflies...
butterflies cavorting with bees...
but it is mostly flowers, yes."
"Flowers, flowers, flowers, a bird!"
"And you can't forget that this place avails us the opportunity to make some obvious observations about the ephemeral nature of life."
"Look Harry, that water lily sinking into the pond after a brief blaze of insane beauty is just like Ophelia from Hamlet."
Last month, the family went to the National Aquatic Gardens, located just inside the Capital Beltway off of 295. We had been there before but this was the first trip when it wasn't scorching hot. It made a big difference.
So yeah, pictures.
The logistics of parenthood.
"Our destination is over yonder, son."
"Flowers? It's just flowers? Where are the snakes I was promised?"
"Well, there are butterflies...
butterflies cavorting with bees...
but it is mostly flowers, yes."
"Flowers, flowers, flowers, a bird!"
"And you can't forget that this place avails us the opportunity to make some obvious observations about the ephemeral nature of life."
"Look Harry, that water lily sinking into the pond after a brief blaze of insane beauty is just like Ophelia from Hamlet."
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Historical Firearms I Want
This is a very gun-centric post.
I have the C&R bug bad. There are only two "curio or relic" firearms in my little arsenal and I feel the need for more of them.
What I have now are the Swiss K31 I got from the folks for Christmas and the Soviet Mosin M44 Carbine I bought with the money I got from the folks for my birthday. Both have been refinished to as good a condition as I can get them and shoot just fine. But, bullets cost money and going to the range is both expensive and takes lots of time. So my plan is to continue to build my little collection until such time that I can escape with the family to the hills of Kentucky or somewhere else where land is plentiful and people are scarce. (Mom and Dad recommend NJ.)
So what follows is a list of firearms I want to add to my collection.
Mosin 91/30
This is the long barreled version of the Soviet gun I already have. Those numbers, 91/30, indicate the year the gun was originally developed and the year it was refined. That means 1891 and then 1930. This was the primary firearm of Czarist and Soviet Russia. I think I'd just go for the oldest example I could find that I could still shoot. More info here.
Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE)
The "Smilie" or "Smelly" was the backbone of the British Empire through most of the 20th Century. There are numerous versions of this gun made all over the world, including: Britain, Canada, USA, Australia, and India. Most tempting for my collection would be a WWII era US-made Savage Enfield sent to the UK under the Lend-Lease Act. More info here.
Israeli Mauser
These guns have a certain ironic appeal. They are German Mausers, used by the Nazis, that were captured and then sold to the new state of Israel. Take that, Hitler!
US M1 Carbine - Image from Aim Surplus. Go there, buy stuff!
This is the semi-automatic gun given to truck drivers, tankers, and other guys that supported the infantry in WWII. It fires a weaker cartridge than the full sized M1 Garand battle rifle, but it was still sufficient to send plenty of Nazis and Japanese militarists to their eternal "reward." Alas this gun is pretty much out of my price range, but if I were to come into a windfall, I know which one I would get. How cool would it be to own a gun made by IBM? Yes, that IBM. Gotta love the war economy. Maybe if we can get McCain in office, I can get my Apple iGun.
M1 Garand
I have to get one of these since I am an American. To quote Patton, "Best battle rifle ev-er." Or something to that effect.
But what am I going to get next? None of the above, actually.
I came across a really interesting rifle while perusing the internet the other day. It's the Persian Mauser 98/29. Same deal with the numbers. 1898/1929. This is a rifle designed by the Germans, built by the Czechs at the famous (what, you haven't heard of it?) BRNO factory, for use by the Persians. Yep, it's an Iranian gun from back before they were Iran. It is over four feet long, fires a huge 8mm cartridge, and has a lion crest. And it's not one of those androgynous lions either.
More here.
I have the C&R bug bad. There are only two "curio or relic" firearms in my little arsenal and I feel the need for more of them.
What I have now are the Swiss K31 I got from the folks for Christmas and the Soviet Mosin M44 Carbine I bought with the money I got from the folks for my birthday. Both have been refinished to as good a condition as I can get them and shoot just fine. But, bullets cost money and going to the range is both expensive and takes lots of time. So my plan is to continue to build my little collection until such time that I can escape with the family to the hills of Kentucky or somewhere else where land is plentiful and people are scarce. (Mom and Dad recommend NJ.)
So what follows is a list of firearms I want to add to my collection.
Mosin 91/30
This is the long barreled version of the Soviet gun I already have. Those numbers, 91/30, indicate the year the gun was originally developed and the year it was refined. That means 1891 and then 1930. This was the primary firearm of Czarist and Soviet Russia. I think I'd just go for the oldest example I could find that I could still shoot. More info here.
Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE)
The "Smilie" or "Smelly" was the backbone of the British Empire through most of the 20th Century. There are numerous versions of this gun made all over the world, including: Britain, Canada, USA, Australia, and India. Most tempting for my collection would be a WWII era US-made Savage Enfield sent to the UK under the Lend-Lease Act. More info here.
Israeli Mauser
These guns have a certain ironic appeal. They are German Mausers, used by the Nazis, that were captured and then sold to the new state of Israel. Take that, Hitler!
US M1 Carbine - Image from Aim Surplus. Go there, buy stuff!
This is the semi-automatic gun given to truck drivers, tankers, and other guys that supported the infantry in WWII. It fires a weaker cartridge than the full sized M1 Garand battle rifle, but it was still sufficient to send plenty of Nazis and Japanese militarists to their eternal "reward." Alas this gun is pretty much out of my price range, but if I were to come into a windfall, I know which one I would get. How cool would it be to own a gun made by IBM? Yes, that IBM. Gotta love the war economy. Maybe if we can get McCain in office, I can get my Apple iGun.
M1 Garand
I have to get one of these since I am an American. To quote Patton, "Best battle rifle ev-er." Or something to that effect.
But what am I going to get next? None of the above, actually.
I came across a really interesting rifle while perusing the internet the other day. It's the Persian Mauser 98/29. Same deal with the numbers. 1898/1929. This is a rifle designed by the Germans, built by the Czechs at the famous (what, you haven't heard of it?) BRNO factory, for use by the Persians. Yep, it's an Iranian gun from back before they were Iran. It is over four feet long, fires a huge 8mm cartridge, and has a lion crest. And it's not one of those androgynous lions either.
More here.
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