May 2007 – Page 4 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Advice Needed: Shotguns

After doing some clay shooting with Countertop this weekend, it got me thinking two things:

I suck at skeet.
I think it’s high time I got myself a decent shotgun.

I would have been lucky to hit a fourth of the clays on the skeet range. I did 21 out of 25 on the wobble trap range. Skeet is a lot more difficult than other clay sports.As for the shotgun, I currently have a Mossberg 835 pump action, which I’ve generally found adequate for the few times I would go shoot clay birds. I never got out much to shoot at clays, but not because I don’t enjoy it, rather because there are few places in my area where you can shoot clay birds that aren’t private clubs. Well, now I’m in a private club that has a really good skeet and trap range.

So what should I get? I’m looking to move away from pump. I’m not sure semi-auto is the way I want to go either. So that leaves side-by-side and over-under shotguns. The only problem is, that class of shotgun will generally push you over the $2000 dollar mark if you want anything halfway decent, and I’m not sure I would use it enough to justify the cost.

I’ve always been partial to the look of side-by-sides myself, though, I suspect for clay shooting the over-under configuration is probably better. Any thoughts on that? I’ve also noticed that CZ makes shotguns at what seem to be bargain prices, but I don’t know much about the quality. I know CZ pistols are low cost and high quality, so I’m hoping their shotguns are similar. I have my eye on these:

I’ve also been considering these models from Charles Daly:

If anyone has any experience with these or can offer advice it would be appreciated. Also consider that I’m not about to spend $4000 bucks on a shotgun. I don’t envision myself getting serious enough about the shotgun sports to justify a ton of money being spent, but I would like to have something that’s a bit nicer than your bargain basement pump shotgun when I do want to shoot some clay birds, which should be more often now that I have the opportunity.

It’s Memorial Day

I’m not really feeling inspired to write something, well, inspiring.Â Won’t be blogging too much today, since I’m still in Virginia.

Why We Say No to Waiting Periods

Waiting periods are one of the more ridiculous “reasonable restrictions” the gun control movement has come up with.Â Â Kevin shows us why, along with some really awful media coverage, which, sadly, is to be expected.

Noo… We Don’t Need National Park Carry

A photographer was recently mauled by a grizzly bear.Â But really, National Parks are perfectly safe, and what kind of fool would feel the need to carry in one:

Â A man whose face was severely mauled by a grizzly in Yellowstone National Park is a photographer and author of books about grizzlies who also had been attacked in 1993. The National Park Service said Jim Cole, 57, was hiking alone, off- trail in prime grizzly habitat Wednesday when he was attacked by a sow with a cub. He apparently was carrying pepper spray but whether he used it was unclear.

Cole told rangers he walked two to three miles to seek help.

Cole, of Bozeman, Mont., was in fair condition Friday at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls. He underwent seven hours of surgery Thursday to repair his face.

Remember, that the National Park Service bureaucracy respects you so much, that they are perfectly willing to risk this happening to you!Â I will grant that these types of encounters are rare, but it’s up to me to weigh the risk and decide which measures to take. Â Not some bureaucrat in Washington.

I will not comment on exactly how much respect I generally have for the National Park Service ban, but I will say that the kind of firearms you typically need in really wild areas are not typically easy to conceal.Â The time has long since passed for the National Park Service to recognize the basic right of citizens the means to defend themselves in our National Parks.

Gas Prices

I should probably say, before I delve into the subject of gas prices, that I come from an oil family. My grandfather worked for an oil company. My father works for an oil company. So do my cousin and Aunt. I decided to make my career in another industry that’s hated for providing people with useful and essential products: pharmaceuticals.

Another blogger asks:

Speaking of Jericho, if people can go that NUTS over a TV series, why can’t John and Jane Q. Public stage an uprising against high gasoline prices? Are we sheep?

Because gas prices aren’t something that we can do anything about. They are driven by market factors that no individual or group of individuals control. Unless you want to pressure the President to nuke China and India, gas prices are going to be high.

Factors that are contributing to high gas prices:

High crude prices driven by volitility in the nations that provide it. Most world oil producers have shitty governments.
Demand from China and India driving up demand for existing oil supplies. That’s more than 2 billion people who all want to drive like Americans do.
Americans love to drive, and they like to drive big cars, and drive them a lot more in the summer.
Refinery shutdowns around the country that are a result of refiners not doing regular maintenance. Because gas prices are high, the costs of shutting down refinery units is high in terms of lost production.
We’ve switched from using MTBE as a anti-knock and oxygenating agent to the much more expensive Ethanol. Thanks corn lobby!
We haven’t built a new refinery in 29 years. Thanks EPA and NIMBYs!
A patchwork of environmental regulations prevents gas from one area being sold in another. The gas formulation for Philadelphia is different than for Houston.

But if you can find somewhere I can set nuts that would solve all these problems, I’d be willing to chip in.

UPDATE: A lot of folks have brought up the issue of the gasoline tax.Â Getting rid of gasoline taxes, in the short term, would not lower prices.Â In the long term, it would put more profit back into the industry and encourage more resources to be invested in refining and distribution, but over the short term the current price is set by where the supply equals the demand, and tax relief, in the short term, does nothing to increase the supply of gasoline.

11 Year Old Ends Hunger in Africa

Well, no, but it looks like he could if he wanted to. Look at the size of the pig this kid killed with a friggin pistol. Holy Barbecue Batman!

Hogzilla is being made into a horror movie. But the sequel may be even bigger: Meet Monster Pig. An 11-year-old Alabama boy used a pistol to kill a wild hog his father says weighed a staggering 1,051 pounds and measured 9-feet-4 from the tip of its snout to the base of its tail. Think hams as big as car tires.

Seriously, my hat’s off to the kid.Â I still can’t get over how big it looks.

With the pig finally dead in a creek bed on the 2,500-acre Lost Creek Plantation, a commercial hunting preserve in Delta, trees had to be cut down and a backhoe brought in to bring Jamison’s prize out of the woods.

Manbearpig will kill us all!

Rosie the Reviled

Damn, Elizabeth Hasselbeck is friggin hot:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTOz4cOk8GM[/youtube]

Am I the only one who thinks so? Â Full version is here.Â The good news in all this is that Elizabeth saved the universe of another three weeks of Rosie O’Donnell. Â Apparently Alicia Silverstone snubbed her later in the show by refusing to even shake her hand.Â Don’t worry Elizabeth, Alicia is a skank ;)

I’ll Bite

From SayUncle.

1. Add a direct link to your post below the name of the person who tagged you. Include the city/state and country you’re in.

Nicole (Sydney, Australia)
velverse (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
LB (San Giovanni in Marignano, Italy)
Selba (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Olivia (London, England)
ML (Utah, USA)
Lotus (Toronto, Canada)
tanabata (Saitama, Japan)
Andi (Dallas [ish], Texas, United States)
Todd (Louisville, Kentucky, United States)
miss kendra (los angeles, california, u.s.a)
Jiggs Casey (Berkeley, CA, USA! USA! USA!)
Tits McGee (New England, USA)
Joe (NE Tennessee, USA)
10K Monkeys (Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA)
Big Stupid Tommy (Athens, Tennessee, USA)
Newscoma (Weakley County, Tennessee, USA)
Russ McBee (Knoxville, Tennessee, USA)
R. Neal/KnoxViews (Blount Co., Tennessee)
SayUncle (Blount Co., Tennessee)
Sebastian (Langhorne, Pennsylvania)

2. List out your top 5 favorite places to eat at your location. (full disclosure: I eat out a lot, which is why I’m too fat).

Monk’s Cafe (Philadelphia, PA) – Bar none, one of the best Belgian Beer Bars on the east coast. I could drink the house Flemmish Sour Ale all day long (well, if after the fifth or sixth I wouldn’t be falling down drunk, that is). The menu has a lot of good stuff, including your standard mussels, wild game, and some good sausages. There’s also some good hippy food on there if you are going out with hippies. Desserts are very good.

Ludwig’s Garden (Philadelphia, PA) – Great selection of German beer and German fare. I usually get the Wurst Platte.

Tamarindo’s (Blue Bell, PA) – Small Mexican restaurant, run by real Mexicans. The food is Yucitan, which includes their fish dish, which is a whole grilled red snapper. Prices are reasonable, quality is high, and the absolute best part: free margaritas. They do not have a liquor license, but Pennsylvania law allows anyone to give away liquor, and they do. They aren’t watered down too much either. If I have three, I’m feeling it pretty good. They will come refill your margarita glass like you’re drinking water. You can’t beat that!

Issac Newton’s (Newtown, PA) – American cuisine. Their burgers are quite good. I usually like the Issac’s Fancy Burger, which is a burger served with brie and shitake mushrooms. Issac Newton’s also has one of the best beer selections outside of Philadelphia, including many fine Belgians.

Thai Orchid (Blue Bell, PA) – I’m a big fan of Thai food, and this is my favorite place to get it. I used to frequent it for lunch so often the waiter’s and waitresses knew me. Lunch prices are reasonable enough to frequent regularly, and the food is good.

I’m leaving a lot of good places off. Like, the best Chinese food in the region is the pretty upscale Lai Lai’s, in Blue Bell. Anyways, now you have some places to eat if you’re ever in the Philadelphia area. I’ll tag Bitter, Countertop, and Pro-Gun Progressive. I need some good food ideas for that area.

Nebraksa Expanding Gun Free Zones

From John Lott we learn that Nebraska is expanding its gun free zones to include college and universities, and hospitals.Â Â I’m sure criminals and psychopaths hell bent on murder are quaking in their boots at the prospect of this new law, and will, of course, be sure to disarm themselves accordingly.

My attitude on gun free zones is quickly becoming the old mantra of “Better judged by 12 than carried by six.”Â Clearly the politicians, at least in Nebraska, are delusional as far as the effectiveness of this crap.

Readshaw Bill Passes

The Pennsylvania General Assembly has passed the Readshaw bill unanimously. This extends liability protection for land owners who open their land for public hunting.

“For decades, the Recreational Use of Land and Water Act stood to protect landowners who agree to open their land to hunters,” Roe said. “However, a recent civil case in Lehigh County, demonstrated that there was a need to strengthen the law, thereby continuing to provide liability protection for landowners who generously open their lands to hunters.

“With House approval of Rep. Readshaw’s bill, we now look forward to working with the Senate to advance this measure to Governor Edward G. Rendell’s desk in a timely manner.”

I expect Rendell will sign this. Even if he doesn’t, unanimous is a veto proof majority. Pennsylvania has always protected land owners from liability for opening their land to hunters, but a recent case in Lehigh County, in which a judge ruled a property owner partially liable for an injury to a woman a half-mile away from a hunterâ€™s stray bullet. It’s good to see it pass unanimously, which is quite a feat. I’m sure the senate will quickly pass it.