March e-Postal Scores Are Up at Mr. Completely!

Mr. Completely has posted the scores for March.  Go have a look.  There was good participation, and some very good scores.  Ol' Rich made 89 points shooting a .45 auto, which is downright astounding!  The target for this contest held great disadvantages for big bullets, and I believe Ol' Rich could teach us all a thing or two.  It is good to see that EJ found time between his trips to make it to the range.  The 35 he shot with his .44 Super Blackhawk (photo by The Packing Rat; GBR-IV, Day 2) is nothing to sneeze at, either.  I believe my kid can out-shoot me now.

Russell is a first time pistol shooter, and used Bea's Ruger 22/45 Hunter.  It was a cold, windy day, I shot fast, and my score with Mom's pistol was well under Russell's.  I hope we see Russell and Bea in future contests.

Mr. Completely's monthly e-Postal match is open to everyone, whether you are a blogger or not, and you don't need any fancy equipment.  Bea shot the March target with a Crosman pellet pistol, which you can buy online and have delivered to your door for under sixty bucks. Mom built a pellet trap out of cardboard all by herself, and she can now shoot in her basement whenever the mood strikes her.  You should join in on the fun!  You know you need the practice; I sure do.

Crankin' It Up

Billy Murray recorded this old Vaudeville favorite in November of 1920.  I think the basic rule for copyright on old records right now is that anything from 1923 and back is safe.  This record went into YouTube with no problem, but last fall I uploaded the same song performed by Al Jolson in 1921, and YouTube claimed it was violating someone's claim to copyright.  I guess Billy Murray doesn't have as many people fighting over his old records as Jolson does.  Artists that are less well known than Jolson cause no trouble up until about 1930, but I watch out whenever I post an electrically recorded record in case YouTube wants to have a cow about it.  Electrical recording began in late 1925, so it is important to watch out for that.  I keep all the mp3 files backed up from these recordings, just in case YouTube cancels me over a copyright claim one day.  These recordings sure save a bunch of phonograph needles.

Fire Fun

One of my neighbors called Saturday morning to see if I could come over and help him burn off a patch of prairie grass.  I fired up the ATV,  topped off the water tank, and grabbed the camera before I went.  This was a low stress burn.  The edges were either bean stubble, or mowed grass, and controlling the lines was a piece of cake.  Here we see George lighting the downwind side against a firebreak of soybean stubble, which required only watching, and no work in the smoke.

The flanks were mowed prairie grass, which was damp, and did not burn aggressively.  After the fire has some degree of separation you wet the line and snuff it with a flapper, or run over it with your ATV to kill it.

The upwind side was against green grass in a farm lane, and it was easier than the flanks.  Here we see some nice action along the flank of the fire.  I was back home in two hours, and hadn't broken a sweat.  Way back before we had ATV's, you had to carry a five gallon can of water on your back while you patrolled the line, and you would have bruised shoulders and had a sore back, even if you had an easy day.

Put That Camera Away...

...so these guys will get back to work.  Is this a real "Hi, Mom!" moment, or what?

This photo was shot by a brand new True Blue team member and shooting buddy, Russell L, one of Bea's neighbors.  Bea and I took Russell to the Washington County shooting range a couple weeks ago, where he promptly beat me shooting the March e-Postal match.  We saw this practice fire on the way back into town, and Russell has kindly allowed me to post it on the blog.  Thank You, Russell, and welcome to the Blogosphere!

Learn To Shoot The Steel Challenge With Mr. Completely

Mr. Completely has an excellent post up now with all the information you need to participate in your first Steel Challenge match.  I recommend that you bookmark this post and read it a few times, or copy it so you will have it for future reference. 

This video of Mr. Completely and KeeWee was shot at the 2010 Gun Blogger Rendezvous.  Mr. C is an excellent teacher, and everyone who shot at the Rendezvous went away richer for the experience.  You can join in on the fun just by registering to attend, and then make your reservations and travel plans.  The 2011 Rendezvous will be September 8-11 at the Silver Legacy Hotel in Reno, Nevada.

Everybody Has To Do It

Back To The Old Grind!

Not My Victrola: Don't Throw Your Back Out Edition

I went looking for "The Boy In The Boat," by Charlie Johnson's Paradise Orchestra. I not only found the tune; I found a very talented fan of 1920's jazz performing a great dance routine that could have come right out of a Jazz Age speakeasy. The young lady is JazzGirl1920s on YouTube, and if you check out her channel you will see that she likes this old music, well about as much as does old True Blue Sam.  Remain firmly seated during this performance, or you may hurt yourself.

Ruger's Tactical Carbine Tips, Episode 10: Use of Cover

In this episode Dave Spaulding discusses different uses of cover when using a carbine. This video is very similar to Tactical Tips, Part 6, which covered the same basic information while using a pistol.

April e-Postal Is Up!

The Conservative UAW Guy is hosting Mr. Completely's April e-Postal Match.  Just in case you haven't shot the March contest, Mr. C tells us that he won't be able to process entries until next week, so you can submit targets for March through the weekend.  Click on the UAW Guy's link to go to his site, read the rules, and download the target.  Load up your range bag, and load up the car with family and friends, and go shooting this weekend!

Weekend Steam

Here's a fresh video from Oklahoma which was made at the Pawnee Steam School. No other information was included with this video, but it is still interesting to watch.