New Link

I'm putting up a new link to the Southside Sportsman Club / Freedom Firearms in Battle Creek, MI. This is where I do all of my shooting and where I bought my new Springfield Armory XD .45. They have a fair selection of guns and accessories in stock for being a small shop and they usually have a good supply of the most common calibers of handgun ammo in stock.

The owners, Joel and Jared Fulton are NRA certified instructors and teach Michigan CPL courses at regular and frequent intervals. They are also very involved the RKBA issues both in Michigan and Nationally. Now that I have them linked, I'll try to get them to post more, but they're pretty busy guys.

And they also have the world's coolest mailbox, shown here with (hopefully) future Governor of Michigan, Mike Cox and the creator of the mailbox, Steve Horihan.

For Memorial Day

Since Memorial Day Is Almost Here

I found this on Facebook. It was posted by Remember November.

Who's The Sad Panda?

This just in, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner Dave Workman has posted the latest FBI crime data which shows that violent crime rates have dropped for the 3rd consecutive year while gun ownership has increased. These are the facts which try liberals souls.

Book Review

I recently read "Have You Seen My Country Lately" by Jerry Doyle. I read this book for 2 reasons, first because I have listened to Jerry's show on the radio many times and I like what he has to say and second because, for those of you who don't know this, Jerry played Security Chief Michael Garibaldi on Babylon 5 and I loved that show. This led me to want to read his book, the moment I saw it in my local store.

To learn a little more about him, here is a link to his bio.

To the book. I love someone who writes in a way that both entertains and educates. That's how I pick up on information best, when I'm having some fun with the subject matter. Jerry hits this dead on with several personal stories and many vivid descriptions of current events based upon his life experience. Were I to list favorite chapters, I would have to say all of them, the book is well written and thought out. Jerry takes the time to explain each of his points and show the time line of exactly how our Republic got to where it is now.

I am not asking you to agree with Jerry Doyle, I'm saying that I think it would be well worth your time to read his book and then take a long hard look at how things are and think about it. You may choose to agree or to disagree, but at least the book makes you think.

Just for the record, I happen to agree. I enjoyed the book and I think you will too. You can check out Jerry's website at: www.jerrydoyle.com and don't be shy about ordering a copy. I think you'll like it.

Again, I have to say that I decided to do this on my own and Jerry has no idea I even exist.

Here We Go Again

As most of you know by now...Ronnie James Dio passed away from cancer back on the 16th. His public memorial service will be held on May 30th. The updates to his website seem to indicate that most of his family believed he was actually winning his cancer battle and then passed away although it is stated by his wife Wendy that he passed peacefully and most of his friends and family had a chance to say goodbye.

I have long believed that you can never prepare yourself for the passing of a loved one.

Now, to throw gas on that fire, the loonies at Fred Phelps WBC have stated their intention to picket RJD's memorial service.

Many metal head discussion boards are calling for a galactic level ass whoopin. If it doesn't go that way then Freddy has but one person to thank for it.....please pass the irony

Wendy Dio.

This, from ronniejamesdio.com:

Statement From Wendy Dio	5/21/2010 4:31:59 PM
Ronnie hates prejudice and violence! We need to turn the other cheek on these people that only know how to hate someone they didn't know. We only know how to love someone we know!- Wendy Dio

Wendy, stay classy \m/

Fred, DIAF

Look What I Missed

Sucks when your internet is down for a few days, you miss some really stunning stuff.

Let me start by saying R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio. I loved your music and you will be missed.

Now, here's a bit of turnabout that I encountered while reading over at the Anti Idiotarian Rottweiler.

I think it would be very cool for everyone to write a letter of support to the State of Arizona and let them know we support their efforts to actually enforce the law and that we think they should stand fast against the panty wetting liberals. In fact...here's the contact information from the Governor's website:

The Governor's Office is located in the
Executive Tower at the State Capitol

The full mailing address is:
The Honorable Jan Brewer
Governor of Arizona
1700 West Washington
Phoenix, Arizona 85007

Telephone (602) 542-4331
Toll Free 1-(800) 253-0883
Fax (602) 542-1381


Brigid has a great post up shooting holes (pun intended) in the "wild west" hysteria that the anti gun crowd likes to try to sell.

Well hell, there's good stuff on all of my links and I hope you take the time to click and read all of them.

Review

Since my internet connection seems to be cooperating today, I shall post the review of the new addition to the arsenal here at Casa de Warthog, the Springfield XD .45 ACP pistol.



This is the 4" with 13 round magazines. It comes with all the XD gear. I have used the magazine holder and it is a very solid piece which I do like. The holster? Well, not so much. The belt loop it has is tall enough for my belt, but too narrow for it to be real stable on the belt. So if anyone from Springfield Armory reads this, you need a wider and more stable belt attachment on your holsters. The secret is, the same type of holster came with my 1911 and I never use it. It's just too damn floppy on the belt. The one thing that has never made sense to me is why Springfield only sends you 2 magazines, but they send you a magazine holder that holds 2 magazines. Oh, I know it just makes you buy another magazine, but if they want to bill this as a complete package, they should just send 3 off the bat.

The grip angle is exactly the same as my 1911. The trigger is A LOT nicer than the Glock 17. I like the sights quite a bit. Easy to pick up. This fits my hand pretty well and was pretty fun to shoot too. Overall...WIN.

What I'm getting used to: Well, this thing has a 4" barrel and I was taken by surprise by how sharp the recoil is for only 1" less barrel than the 1911. I also have a sneaking suspicion that my 1911 is a tad heavier and eats the recoil better. I was also pretty shocked at how stiff the recoil spring is in this. It takes a little beef to rack the slide. I haven't looked it up to be certain but I'm guessing it's a 20 or 22 lb recoil spring vs. the 18.5 in my 1911. This has a double captive spring system. I think it's a bit harder to clean, but not quite as much chance you lose it and it shoots across the room. Internally, it sets up almost exactly like a Glock. Externally, the grip safety makes it much safer in my opinion and it also has a take down lever instead of Glock's little girly button.

So...how does it shoot? Take a peek:



At 15 feet and I'm more than a little stale. Yes, I know I pulled a bunch to the left. Oddly, I do that with my 1911 too, so it's me, not the gun. The stuff that got scattered around were from a couple strings of rapid fire I did just to see the recoil. Overall, that's a pretty dead critter. Well, if you're paying attention to the holes...dead and nutless, kinda like your average liberal, LOL.

Here's the deal...if you like the 1911, you should like the XD .45 provided you can work with it enough to get past the fact that the grip is a little fatter and the barrel is shorter resulting in a sharper recoil and muzzle rise. Once you get past that, I think you'll fall in love with it. It won't replace my 1911, which remains my daily carry gun, but once I've got a few hundred more rounds through it, it will be one I will have confidence in and not be afraid to carry whenever or wherever.

As a special note, this is all my opinion and was done strictly on my own. I am not affiliated in any way with Springfield Armory nor do they even know I exist. I just love their products.

Lunch

I may not be quite the kitchen whiz that Brigid is, but I tend to think I do pretty well for a bachelor who dabbles. someone on my Facebook page made mention of the impending Cinco de Mayo fest and I thought, Nachos...I haven't made nachos in a while. Since I'm still playing with the camera on my Samsung Moment, here they are just before the sprinkling of the green onion.




Simple yet tasty.