Here are the pics that best turned out from the NRA Annual Meeting.

First Category – Pimp My Gun!

Don’t you wish your SKS was hot like me?

Son, that’s old school gangsta right there

Next, guns that made me homesick for Southeastern Arizona.  I haven’t seen this many six shooters since the last time I was in Tombstone.

Colt Navy revolver

Colt Navy revolver

A half dozen of gunfighter goodness

I think this is the collection of .357 Magnum revolvers that Frank W. James wrote about.  Lots of history on that wall.

Mossberg had their new AR-15 style gun on display.  I would have gathered more information from the Mossberg guys when I spoke to them, but I didn’t see the display until I was getting ready to leave on Sunday.  My main question would have been “For the love of Heston, why!!!!!”  I guess all the cool kids were doing it, so they made a “Me too!” carbine.

I really tried to find an AR that felt right at this show, and had ample opportunity to look at them.  From DPMS to Mossberg to Armalite to Colt and everything in between, I checked them out.  None of them reached out to me and said “Hey, I’d be fun and useful to shoot!”.  Even with an extended stock stretched out as far as it would go, or a traditional fixed stock, they all felt short and uncomfortable to shoulder.  Some day, I may find an AR that I like, but for now, I’ll leave them to those who enjoy them.

These were the two things from Thompson Center that caught my eye:

TC Hot Shot Single Shot Rifles

The Hot Shot is a single shot trainer aimed primarily at the youth market.  That might come in handy if I decide to get Girlie Bear a dedicated .22 for her to practice with once she’s gotten as good as she’s going to get with the Rossi CombiRifle. 

TC Hawken Flintlock Rifle

This lovely thing is their Hawken flintlock muzzleloader.  I’ve seen several percussion cap ignited Hawkins at gunshops and at the range, but this is the first one I’ve seen in a flintlock.  Overall, the rifle is a little shorter than my Omega and was surprisingly lightweight.  The craftsmanship on it was beautiful for a mass-produced firearm.  The wood on the stock alone made me want to own this one.  Not quite a Kentucky Long Rifle, but getting there.  I will definitely keep this on on my list of guns to covet.

One thing I noticed in the TC display was a lack of an entry level muzzleloader.  Every Thompson Center muzzleloader I picked up felt just right both in carry position and at the shoulder, but they were all much nicer than my Omega when it came to finish and features.  I asked the rep if TC was abandoning the lower-cost segment of the market, and never got a good answer.  I definitely need to follow up on that one a bit more, as decision time for what to buy Girlie Bear for deer season is approaching.

Speaking of muzzleloaders, several of the non-vendor booths had wonderful examples of Pennsylvania and Kentucky Long Rifles, some from the pre-Revolutionary period, but none of my pictures turned out.  Breda and Alan, on the other hand, had the good fortune of getting to handle one.

There were lots and lots of displays of military firearms around, but this one was my favorite:

I am SOOOOO looking forward to Knoxville

And last but not least, some random gunny goodness that I caught in the lens aperture:

Ask not for whom the bell tolls

This is your brain on heinous looking shotgun slugs, any questions?

Someday, I will need this safe.  This promise I make to myself

The Simunition guys thought it was humorous when I told them about how effective their rounds were against Norwegians

I have a few pictures of the gunblogger crowd, but I’ll wait until I have permission to put them up before posting.  Watch this space!

Larry Correia has sold the rights to Monster Hunter International to a company that may turn it into a TV series!

That sound you just heard was me clicking around looking for a DVR, just in case.

While discussing the news of the death of Osama bin Laden with one of my co-workers today, she made the point that all of the Bush era interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding, had not led our forces directly to bin Laden.  Her point seemed to be that all of the “torture” that occurred didn’t stack up to “real” intelligence, that apparently all came after January 2009.

I tried, and failed to convince her that intelligence work, especially against a target as dedicated to security as al Qaeda, takes years, and you have to take information from wherever you can get it.

When I was in intelligence, we were always looking for the Big Break:  the enemy orders wrapped around a couple of cigars, or the break in code that let us decrypt everything. 

But for the most part, we were looking for needles in haystacks.  Find a needle, see if it fits with the needles you already have, and then start looking again.  If it doesn’t fit with any of your needles, start another pile and hope you find more.  Repeat for as long as you have information to sift through.

With the improvement in collection systems, this process has gone from looking for needles in haystacks to looking for diamonds on the beach.  Even with massive use of computers for initial analysis, it still takes a skilled, experienced human to look at something that appears to  be shiny and declare it a diamond. 

Sometimes you get lucky and it takes minutes to put together a picture.  Sometimes it takes years.  Sometimes it never happens, but you do what you can so that the next guy to work on it will have a chance to finish it.  But eventually the picture will take shape.  The trick is getting it into enough focus quickly enough that something can be done with it.

Apparently bin Laden was found because of a little information gained during interrogations of prisoners at Guantanamo.  This information, gathered years ago, was used to find other information, which led to leads, which led to new targets and new information, which ultimately led to two rounds of 5.56 causing massive head trauma to Osama bin Laden and a contribution of much needed protein to the deep sea region of the Indian Ocean.

Congratulations to the collectors, reporters, analysts, leaders and of course, the pilots and trigger pullers who brought this about.  With the exception of President Obama and his direct staff, most of these people will never see the light of day or receive what they deserve for their hard work.  Without their hard work, usually done with no knowledge of when it would bear fruit, we would live in a much more dangerous world.

Why do I have to walk through the pouring rain after parking the car, and then hold everyone elses wet umbrellas while they use the ladies room?

— Father of a small family at the middle school chorus recital, spoken in a keening, nasal whine.

Because you’re the dad, that’s why.  Life’s not fair.  If life was fair, it wouldn’t be as much fun.  Man up, STFU, and stop whining about looking after your wife’s things while she powders her nose.  Don’t look at it as holding your wife’s purse.  Look at it as safeguarding her possessions while she attends to important female business.

Rebels in western Libya are complaining that forces loyal to Qaddafi are shelling their supply lines.

Apparently General Faruk ibn Newbie hasn’t read his Napoleon:

Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics.

Qaddafi may not be Montgomery, but he’s no fool.  He knows that if the rebels keep bringing in supplies from outside the country, in addition to what NATO is handing them in both aid and airstrikes, he will eventually lose.  Losing for Qaddafi means he’s a dead man, since there aren’t too many places on the globe he can run to after a lifetime of pissing off the world in general.

So instead of letting himself be whittled away with the ammunition and guns that are coming across the border, he’s shelling the road and border crossing to discourage their use.  Sounds to me like he’s purchased a clue.

If the Libyan rebels want to start acting like soldiers, they might be able to do a little better against Qaddafi’s forces.  If they want to continue to act like a bunch of weenies who raided the National Guard armory, they’ll continue to be surprised when someone with a smidgeon more talent than them eats their lunch.

Lord of heaven and earth,
Thank you for giving me such a daughter
She brings me nothing but joy

She is strong and smart
She is kind and thoughtful
She is happy and full of life

Her smile fills the world with light
Her laughter is hearty and beautiful
Her mind is open to learning the wonders of Your world

But Lord, why did you make her so beautiful so early?
I am a young man yet, and am not ready for my baby girl to grow up
Grant me more time with my child before she becomes a young woman

Her bubble dresses have been traded for skirts and blouses
She has discovered my nightmare, boys
Squeals of laughter at cartoons have become giggles with girlfriends

Lord, for all the sins I committed as a young man
I am truly sorry and I humbly repent
Please do not punish me by giving me a beautiful girl in a world full of men such as I was

I know that I must let go, ever so carefully
She cannot always be my little girl
But keep her safe and make me strong as she grows up

Today my ensemble includes tan Eotech pants, brown NRA tee shirt, black gun belt and holster, and a dark blue Smithsonion Institute souvenir jacket as a cover garment.

It’s a wonder Irish Woman even gave me a second look.

“Calories don’t count when you’re carrying”

— Nancy R, eating brownies with Weer’d Beerd and wearing a sweet shoulder holster

Just got out of the car. Kept the car just under takeoff velocity on the way back. I had a great time at the convention. More on that to follow.

Now if you’ll excuse me, BooBoo and I have a date with Buzz Lightyear.

I spent Day 2 revisiting booths that caught my eye on Day 1.