Viper's OC log

[twency]

it looks they have a pic of your 1911 on their site.

And that they've been taking photography lessons from a certain member here. (Resting on/in gravel.)

[alpacaheat]

Thank these guys.

http://www.scorpionhpc.com/

That's the best pricing I've seen on Cerakoting. (handgun slide $50)

I'm only 2 hours away too.

[ViperGTS19801]

I took that picture. Shush, you all. :-p

This afternoon I met the MOST adorable little girl since my own daughter. I was in line at Wendy's for lunch when three ladies came in - a daughter with her mother and grandmother. They got in line behind me while we waited.

After a couple moments of them talking amongst themselves about what they were going to order, I saw, out of the corner of my eye, the little girl motion to her grandmother to get her attention. Grammy leaned over and the little girl said something into her ear, while pointing at the 1911 on my hip. Grammy looked over at me, turned back to her granddaughter and chuckled, saying nothing other to her than simply acknowledging that I was there and that it was a firearm.

I smiled down at the little one, waved, and said "Hi!" Her face turned BRIGHT red, she grinned, and buried her face in her mom's leg, hiding behind her.

"Ohh, now why would you pretend to be shy?? My daughter is 10 and she still does that, too, yanno." Her family all grinned, nudging her gently.
Her grammy looked over at me and said, "Yeah, she noticed you because of your gun." That was the only mention if of it at all.
"And what's your name, sweetie?" She wouldn't answer, since she was too busy blushing her face off and grinning. Her grammy told me her name was, and I held out my hand for a shake. "It's nice to meet you!"
She held out her hand and shook, saying in a very small voice, "Nice to meet you, too." She couldn't stop smiling.

[alpacaheat]

You stud.

Stop showing off so much.

[jthrelf]

I took that picture. Shush, you all. :-p

This afternoon I met the MOST adorable little girl since my own daughter. I was in line at Wendy's for lunch when three ladies came in - a daughter with her mother and grandmother. They got in line behind me while we waited.

After a couple moments of them talking amongst themselves about what they were going to order, I saw, out of the corner of my eye, the little girl motion to her grandmother to get her attention. Grammy leaned over and the little girl said something into her ear, while pointing at the 1911 on my hip. Grammy looked over at me, turned back to her granddaughter and chuckled, saying nothing other to her than simply acknowledging that I was there and that it was a firearm.

I smiled down at the little one, waved, and said "Hi!" Her face turned BRIGHT red, she grinned, and buried her face in her mom's leg, hiding behind her.

"Ohh, now why would you pretend to be shy?? My daughter is 10 and she still does that, too, yanno." Her family all grinned, nudging her gently.
Her grammy looked over at me and said, "Yeah, she noticed you because of your gun." That was the only mention if of it at all.
"And what's your name, sweetie?" She wouldn't answer, since she was too busy blushing her face off and grinning. Her grammy told me her name was, and I held out my hand for a shake. "It's nice to meet you!"
She held out her hand and shook, saying in a very small voice, "Nice to meet you, too." She couldn't stop smiling.

Any liberal watching probably would have thought there was a 100% chance you'd have shot her

[ViperGTS19801]

Something really cool happened to me today.

First of all, I took the 1911 out for a spin at Higher Ground Tactical up here in Emmaus. She fired flawlessly with the new sights and extractor, and my by-hand sights installation was dead on. I lined them up as best I could with my punch and installed them by hand, and they are perfectly aligned, first try. I am very proud of myself.

Secondly - this is the first of two cool parts - I got to take a first-time gun owner to the range to pop his cherry on his first pistol. SO. FREAKING. COOL. He's a buddy of mine who just turned 21, filed for his LTCF, and bought his first gun (a 9mm S&W Shield). He fired the first rounds through it with me, under my "instruction," so to speak. He had invited me to his 21st birthday party and asked me to impart some of my experience to him, which I am happy and proud to do. He did very well for his first trip to the range, and we identified a few things that he needs to work on. We'll be cleaning guns and talking about what he learned tomorrow morning, too.

Finally - here's my favorite part of the trip, aside from my 1911 being smooth as silk and as accurate as a spectroscope - as my buddy and I were cleaning and packing up, one of the older gentlemen from the end of the range came over and asked me, "Hey, how much do you charge for your lessons?" His question came from the assumption that I was a professional instructor with a student. I told him that I was thoroughly flattered with his request, but that I could not in good conscious charge him for lessons from me, since I was not only lacking accreditation, but insurance as well. I'd never mind simply teaching for the sake of teaching, but I couldn't ask people to pay me for it until I have both of those things.

Either way, it was very flattering and exciting to have someone assume that I was a professional with no prior reason to believe so other than seeing me on the range.

[CB57]

Radio Shack wasn't open for fifteen more minutes after I got there this morning to pick up a battery charger for my camera, and when I got to the front door, another guy was waiting as well.

"So, are you a cop, or do you just carry for protection?"
"Just for myself."
"Good for you, man."

Oh, for those who are interested, my 1911 has now been properly diagnosed. I took her apart (all the way) and found the claw on the extractor to have been sheared off. I don't know when it happened, but it seems like this is a problem that other Taurus owners have had to deal with - cheap metal and all. A new one from Wilson Combat is on order, so after that comes in and I get my hands on a new set of sights (which I have been putting off), I will be good to switch back from the Glock to the 1911.

The 1911 is much prettier, anyway.

Speaking of extractors, do you feel there's risk of damage by inserting rounds directly into the chamber, as opposed to simply letting them feed from the magazine?

[ViperGTS19801]

I have heard rumors that you are supposed to rack the slide with a round in the mag to get that chambered, then either leave the mag in, one short, or drop it and refill it. I don't understand the why of it, though.

[scruff]

I have heard rumors that you are supposed to rack the slide with a round in the mag to get that chambered, then either leave the mag in, one short, or drop it and refill it. I don't understand the why of it, though.

The only recommendation I've heard is to download AR mags if that brand of mag is difficult to seat during a tactical reload when the bolt is closed and the mag is at full capacity. I've never heard of anyone downloading pistol mags.

[CB57]

I have heard rumors that you are supposed to rack the slide with a round in the mag to get that chambered, then either leave the mag in, one short, or drop it and refill it. I don't understand the why of it, though.

I'm not a gunsmith, so I won't try to be technical about it, but it has something to do about interference that occurs with the extractor and the rear of the casing when the slide closes if the round is inserted with the slide back.