Neanderpundit

yeah, that’s about my feeling about it too.

Look, I know LEO’s and Military want/need firearms that RUN. I get that. I also get that the ergonomics and quality of these pieces is (supposedly) exceptional. And that’s fine! if you rely, every minute of every day, on your duty piece to protect your life, it should be easy to carry, easy to use, easy to secure and remove from securement when needed. And the glocks fit that to a tee, and are pretty damned reliable.

But IMHO they have no soul.

Tam has firmly cemented her place in the halls of Curmudgeonii, with this post, which made me choke a bit on my coffee as I was breaking the new Illinois ordinance of surfing while driving.

She’s dead on. Now, I’m not a huge “Black rifle” fan- though I admit to wanting an AR clone just because they look like so damned much fun to shoot, and I’m all about fun shooting. I may even be able to do something about that after the Oglet has been through school.

On the other hand I’m a BIG fan of firearms with soul. The kind of soul you find in an original condition but used Springer 03. Or a nice broomie mauser. You look at the scars and dents and scratches and you cast your mind back to the moment the scar was received; the rifle speaks to you, and if you understand the language, it’s a compelling story.

My old marlin lever action had been through hell when I bought it, it had been used as the prop rod for a motor home for over twelve years and I ressurrected it in a new caliber. It now has a little scratch- barely noticeable- on the left side of the receiver where I leaned it against the bumper of the truck and it slipped, while I was getting my deer into the Exploder this season. I am a little annoyed at myself, but I will always look at that scratch as a reminder of the first whitetail I got with an actual modern cartridge rifle.

When i was hunting in Zambia I shot an enormous Kudu with a Winnie 70 in 30-06. This rifle had been patched and cobbled over the years, and was still in good running form despite a glued and screwed stock and a welded-on front scope mount (the screws long since stripped) I asked our host Mike Fisher about it, and he smiled and said, with his wonderful british accent, “I dropped it when a hippo charged me and he stepped on it” I have to tell you, if that were my rifle, I wouldn’t ever have let another human being touch it forever.

I have a double now. I look forward to hunting dangerous game with it. I will do my level best to take care of it but I secretly eagerly anticipate it’s first war wounds, because of the story they’ll tell me, and maybe some descendant of mine years hence.

In honor of Tam’s post, I’m gonna do some channeling here and see if I can explore the history of the progression of weapons.

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Reccomended to me by Firehand.

I have to tell you, if you have an oil finished rifle stock you need to try some of this on it. I have never seen a finish as nice from oil- I’ve been using Tung and boiled linseed for ages, and I don’t know how (if at all) this departs from Linseed, but the finish is mind boggling. I cannot take a picture that will do it justice. Just get some and try it.

Tam posts about monday’s ‘Bill of rights’ day. And she dials up the snark. As is her wont.

The thread has a great deal of merit in it’s very contentiousness. The variety of reactions in the thread and the way people act when confronted with this concept beg the question: What is your line?

Tam talks about popping people (as she says) in the Snot Locker. Well, I’ve popped a few people in the snot locker myself, for a variety of reasons- thankfully, not too recently. In this millenia, though, now I think of it. She has drawn a line on a subject, and I believe she’s not kidding. I’m damned sure I’m not gonna tweak her on the specific subject.

That headed my thoughts in the direction of lines in the sand.

There is a line in the sand, that the federal, local, and state governments can cross, that will cause me to take immediate action regarding my safety and the safety of members of my household. Violent action, if need be.

I know Tam has that line. I know a lot of people have a line in the sand that they have placed their toe on, and they will allow movement to that line, and no further.

I also know people who have drawn lines in the sand, and when they have been crossed, erased them and redrawn a line a little futher along. “Now this line, if they cross it, I’ll be pissed”

Alger has spoken about the creeping, incrimental victories of the left. And when they make very very small movements, the tendency to erase your line in the sand and redraw it a little futher on is great. And maybe, sometimes, a good idea.

The problem with incrementalism is that you suddenly find yourself disarmed, broke, and alone, forty yards behind the line you drew in the sand thirty years ago.

We need to have a line that we will not erase. A point at which the creeping incrementalism must stop, or else. And that is what I’m thinking about now. It may not be a good idea to talk about it on the interweb. But think about it, for yourself, for your family. Where is YOUR line? Will you erase it and move it back an inch or two if need be?