A post is also a length of wood, metal, or plastic that is partially buried in the ground for the purpose of either marking a spot or hanging something from it.

At least, I think it is.

To all those in the Greater New Orleans area (Northshore included):

We're playing at Keystone's Lounge on 28th Street (one block off Severn Ave.) in Metairie this Friday night and we're playing at the Mandeville Trailhead (Lafite St. on the lake side of Florida St.) on Saturday afternoon.

Hope to see you there!

The Skull Is Family!

The Radom ViS 35

The Vis was adopted in 1936 by the Polish military as Vis wz. 1935. They started producing them in the same year and continued until the fall of Poland in 1939. The original Vis wz. 35 was the standard pistol of the Polish army and air force before W.W.II. Germany restarted the production of Vis in the middle of 1940 after their occupation of Poland. Pistols were manufactured in Radom but were assembled in Steyr factory in Austria. The Germans issued their pistols to Waffen SS and SS Police.

The Vis is is a recoil operated, single-action pistol. It looks and functions like a Browning Hi-Power. When fired, the barrel and slide recoil together for a short distance until the barrel cam catches the lug in the frame forcing it down and unlocking it from the slide. Slide continues to travel rearwards cocking the hammer then returns stripping of a fresh round out of the magazine. The forward movement continues until the barrel and slide are again locked together.

Vis is made from carbon-steel with a rust-blue finish. Controls consist of a slide stop, a magazine catch, a decocker and a take-down latch. The decocking lever, when depressed, draws the firing pin in its tunnel then hammer is then released. A grip safety is also present.

So, now all that history gobbledygook is out of the way - how does it shoot?

Short answer: Pretty good.

Long answer: This gun rides well in my hand. It's point of aim feels natural to me, the same way a 1911 or Hi-Power feels. The grip safety is easier to grip fully than a few 1911's I've shot and with the round hammer it doesn't bite. The recoil is a bit on the snappy side, but not abusive by a long shot. I did have a few ejection/feeding problems but I think it was because I didn't clean the extractor good enough after it had been sitting in the safe for 20 years. I think that the extractor was a little gummed up and slipping off of the case rim for ejection problems and I think the same cause made a few rounds jam on the feed ramp. Outside of those few problems, the Vis is a pretty accurate pistol. It's not match grade, but for a 60+ year old combat pistol, it hit where I pointed it.

The Vis is a pretty cool military surplus piece. If you dig military history and guns, I don't think you'd be disappointed in it.

1911 flu

I've been bitten by the 1911 bug. I want one bad.

I'm pretty much set on getting a Rock Island Standard GI. Everything I've read points to it being a good entry-level 1911, and just a good 1911 in general.

I'm even going so far as thinking I'll start carrying it. Cocked and locked is a little intimidating, but so was the idea of carrying with a round in the chamber - but I got over that quick. As soon as I get my 1911, I'll play with it and feel how positive the safety is and that'll be that. I've even found a good place to order one from.


Now all I need is some money to buy one...

"Blogging Again" or "The Makarov as a CCW"

So this time I mean it when I say I'm going to start blogging again. No, seriously...


I've gotten so much advice (some good, some bad) from blogs that I've decided to start the blogging off right by giving my thoughts on the Makarov as a CCW piece.


The Makarov is a semi-auto pistol designed the the late 40's by Nikolai Makarov. It came from a competition to replace the Tokarev TT-33. Rather than use an existing cartridge, Nikolai designed a new one - the 9x18mm or 9mm Makarov. He did this for two main reasons: One, the 9x18 is the strongest cartridge that can be safely fired from the straight blowback action of the Makarov ; Two, it was a totally new round that NATO forces could not use if captured from Soviet soldiers. The U.S.S.R. adopted the Makarov as it's military and police sidearm in 1951, and it stayed until the fall of the U.S.S.R. in 1991.

The Makarov has an 8 round magazine, 3.83" barrel, all steel construction, and a bakelite grip. It has been made by several countries like Russia, East Germany, China, Bulgaria, and Germany. Since the Russians went and set up all of the factories, all the specs and tooling are pretty universal. There are differences in price, fit, and finish - but they're basically identical. There are some variations, such as a high capacity version (10 or 12 rounds) as well as aftermarket kits that change it's caliber to .380acp.

-Pros-

The Makarov is a good size for concealed carry. It's a bit too big for pocket carry for most people but fits nicely on the hip. The barrel is short enough that carrying OWB is easy with just a long shirt. IWB it just disappears. It has a long enough grip so you can get a good hold on it and with it's all steel construction, it's practically indestructible.

Some say the 9x18 cartridge is too small to be effective for self defense. I believe that the best gun is the gun you have with you, and the Makarov gives you no excuse to not carry it. I'll leave it up to the reader to decide whether the 9mm Makarov is enough bullet.

Another plus to the Mak is the price tag. I know you shouldn't put a price tag on your safety but in the real world money is a factor. While Makarovs have been increasing in price, you can still get your grubby little paws on a Bulgarian Mak for about $200 - $250.

The trigger isn't the best trigger on the planet, but it never fails. It has a safety/de-cocker that prevents the hammer from hitting the firing pin when activated, so carrying with a round in the chamber is totally safe. If you practice drawing just abit, you can flick off the safety with your thumb before you're ready to fire quite easily.

It's also super easy to take down and clean.

-cons-

With the all steel construction comes weight. The Mak is heavy! Weight is not that big of a deal to some (like myself) but to others it's a deal breaker. Another problem is the finish. It's a blued gun and requires some maintenance to prevent rust, especially if you're in a climate like me in South Louisiana. A wipe down with CLPwipes and a silicon cloth once or twice a week does the trick. Carrying in a good (i.e. not nylon) holster with a high back goes a long way as well. I carry in a Bianchi Professional IWB and I only really have to pay attention to the grip.

The other main drawback to the Makarov is the lack of aftermarket accessories, mainly holsters. Some manufacturers do make holsters for the Mak specifically, but for the most part you'll have to get a holster that is for a range of pistols and see what works.

All in all, I love my Mak as a concealed carry weapon. It goes bang when I want it to go bang and is pretty easy to carry, and it didn't break the bank.

Helen Hill

(I wanted to re-start my blogging in the new year, but I never wanted to start out with this...)

I'll finally admit it, there is no hope for the city of New Orleans.

Yesterday morning at about 5 am, an aquaintance and fellow filmmaker awoke to some rabid peice of shit using her 2 year old son as a human shield. At some point, the piece of shit started shooting. Her husband was hit three times, once in the hand, forearm, and cheek. She was hit in the neck.

Her name was Helen Hill.

While I can't say that I was good friends with either of them, I can attest to their character. She was one of the nicest and most helpful people I met at any of the film screenings we both showed films. Paul is equally nice, he is a doctor who works in clinics that treat the poor in New Orleans.

I think that I feel so much form them because he and I are basically in the same points in our lives. We're both young, married men raising our first child. I try to put myself in his place and I can't even begin to realisticly think what I would do. I know there would have been one major difference if the encounter took place in my house:

That piece of shit would have met with an armed response.

But could I have taken the shot? I'm a pretty good shot, but I don't think that I could even bring myself to make that shot. An intruder using my son as a shield? I just don't know.

Helen and Paul were compassionate people always looking at how they could help. It's sad to say but that's probably what led to all of this. Myself, I'd sooner let someone I didn't know bleed to death right on my front porch then open the door for them, especially at 5 am.

I think, for me, the nails in Helen's coffin are the last nails in the coffin of the once great city of New Orleans.
Here's a link to the story

Range Report 6-11-06

There are two things I hate most about public ranges, Range Nazi's and Mall Ninjas, and today I was plauged by both.

First, the Range Nazi. The Range Nazi is a range officer who is just a plain pain in the ass. He's not really interested in safety, he's only interested in having the range under control... his control. The range I go to I've only found one Range Nazi and we crapped out and got him today.

Everytime this bastard passed me, he had to chime in about something I was doing wrong. Now, I'm a stickler for gun safety, but this guy was being rediculious! He was giving me a hard time about resting my revolver on the bench while I was loading the cylinders. "What if you have an accidental discharge?!" he asked. First off, there is no such thing as an "accidental discharge". If a gun goes off when you didn't mean it to, it's negligent. Secondly, how is a revolver going to fire if the cylinder is open? That'd be the neatest trick of the week.

I know that the range officers need to treat people abit like they're idiots, well, because most of them are. But this guy was just trying to be an asshole. Two or three times he decided to sweep by my feet while I was shooting! While I was shooting! I've got the gun in my hand, bellied up to the firing line, taking careful aim, and this fucker starts hitting me in the feet with a broom!

Next time I see him, I'm going to the pistol range. What an asshole.

Speaking of assholes, we had a pair of Mall Ninja's camp out next to us for awhile. I really hate Mall Ninjas. They we're obviously the type that they wanted to be in the millitary or be a cop but lack the testicular fortitude to actually join. The brought their AR-15 with the forward pistol grip and the Ak with the collapsable stock and rail system. One even mentioned how he wished he'd have brought his Glock.

The main thing these two did to piss me off was keep shooting at the gongs in our lane when they shot theirs down. One of them was trying to sight in the scope on his Ak-47. It looked like he spent more money on the crap he had attached to that gun than he spent on the actual gun
(too bad he didn't spend that money on ammo and range time because he needed the practice).

So they shoot down all of the gongs on our end of the range (including ours) so we have to wait until the Range Nazi finds it convienient for him to call range cold. The Mall Ninja's move not a muscle to set the gongs back up. We go out and set them all back up, even theirs. On the way back we see them huddled over our bench looking at what we've got. They don't look impressed. We've only got revolvers and a .22lr pistol. Don't we know that the .22 is a useless round?

The one with the scraggly goatee seems to be upset when he has trouble hitting the gong with 30 rounds when we hit it every third shot with our very un-tactical six shot revolvers. They proceed to shoot down their gongs, then shoot at ours again. This time they managed to knock ours so that it was tangled in the bungee cords, made a 90 degree turn, and is on it's edge.

They stop shooting at it because there's no way in hell that they can hit it.

My Stepdad tries to right it with his .22lr pistol, hits it afew times, but the .22 just isn't enough to budge it. Now I'm pissed off. I get the 7mm Magnum we brought and pull up a bench rest. With one shot, I nailed it, took off a big chunk, and righted it.

The Mall Ninja's packed up and left right after that. Good riddance.

All in all it wasn't the best range trip I've had but it wasn't all that bad. I did alittle shooting with that 7mm Mag. Other than the recoil, I really like that gun. It's got a beautiful walnut stock that has an unusual amout of burling in it and a really deep, rich brown color. It shimmers in the sun. It's lovely.

I also had another piece of brass stick in some wood. .22lr this time. I also noticed today that for such a small round with so little powder, .22 brass stays hot for a long time...