The History Channel had a show on called After Armageddon. It is about what happens with a small family in southern California after a flu pandemic wipes out 80-90% of the human population. They show them making plenty of mistakes. There are also some good tips put in the show by experts. And, I can tell when they decided to stop listening to the experts. They had humanity choosing to shun technology and live a more peaceful and satisfying agrarian lifestyle with much knowledge being “lost.” I call bullshit on this. There will be a massive drop in technology. But, there will also be a rise back. There are still plenty of libraries, and it is not like people will have forgotten that these things are possible. Will there be groups that for whatever reason choose to shun technology? Yes. And, they will be outproduced and find themselves subsumed into the groups that successfully bring back technology.
Category Archives: review
Discussion on The Best Defense, Season 2, Episode 2
Tonight’s episode talked about what should your family do if you have a someone break in. Do you have a place set to retreat to? Does this place have a phone? Does it have a means to defend yourself and/or you loved ones? If you tell family members to head there, will they just head there without questions until everyone gets there? What if you have someone coming in through other home entrances (any window or door)? What is your plan?
Review of Harrington & Richardson 30-06 Handirifle
(I know there are no pictures, and this post is worthless without them. I might have pictures this weekend.)
With trading in a rifle and pistol I don’t particularly care for, I found myself able to purchase a Harrington & Richardson Handi-Rifle combination package with both a 30.06 and a 20 guage barrel from Davidson’s. This is a single shot rifle that I can easily convert switch out calibers by changing barrels.
First thing – Davidson’s needs to check their pictures and descriptions. They had this pictured so that you think the 20 guage barrel has a scope mount, it does not. Because of this, I am looking at mounting a scope rail on the 20 guage barrel. H&R says to not drill & tap their shotgun barrels. So, I am thinking I will try what Have seen others on a forum have done, glueing the rail to the barrel where H&R normally drills& taps for scope mounts.
Second thing – Fit & finish. I own another Handi-Rifle from before Remington bought H&R and moved their production facilities. IMNSHO, it is a better made rifle. The new rifle has a lot of visible machine marks and the extractor on the 30.06 barrel does not always work properly. I understand the people at the new factory might have ramp-up time to learn. However, I expect the same quality since I am paying the same price.
I was a little worried about the recoil, since this rifle has a synthetic stock. The recoil is the same as every other 30.06 I have ever fired. I fired 60 rounds before I decided to stop shooting.
Accuracy is something I’m still not sure on. Toward the end, I was getting better groupings. However, due to the low mass of the barrel, I would have to let the barrel cool for a few minutes ever 4-5 rounds.
Overall, I am giving the rifle a 7 out of 10 stars.
Gran Torino
My wife and I went to see Gran Torino today. This is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. The entire audience was nearly rolling on the floor laughing at times, at other times there was not a dry eye in the house. Clint East wood has said that this is the last movie he will act in. If this is true, he is going out on a high note. Mr. East wood portrays a bitter old man who has just lost his wife, his kids and grandkids do not respect or appreciate him, and he bears scars on his soul from his time in the Korean war. From the previews, you think this would be another vigilante picture, but it is not. It is a movie about a man recovering his soul.
As a firearm afficianodo, I was happy to see the realistic portrayal of firearms handling and safety.
I recommend everyone see this film. I think Mr. Eastwood deserves Oscars for acting and directing.
BTW, if anyone wants to know what my father was like, look to Mr. Eastwood’s Walt Kowalski with racism and language toned down just a little bit.
30 Days: Gun Culture
I finished watching this, and was deeply impressed with the episode. They took a woman from Brockton, Mass. who was vehemently anti-gun and immersed her in the gun culture in Ohio. They had her live with a father and son who are gun collectors and enthusiasts She believed that only soldiers and police officers should be allowed access to them. She started out being so scared of firearms that she cried the first time she fired one. She attempted to persuade others to her view, but her (and the people she brought in) arguements were not logical, only based on emotion.
Part of her immersion was to work in a gun store. She learned that they do have to do background checks, even at a gun show. She met a man who had used a firearm to defend his family. She even learned to shoot a pistol and shotgun well. She ended up learning that firearms are not for her, but the the heavy regulation she had been advocating was not necessarily the way to go. All-in-all, I was very pleased with the way this show handled the issues.
3:10 to Yuma
Last weekend a friend, my wife and I went to see the remake of 3:10 to Yuma. I really enjoyed it and think it is a tale of what true courage is. On some of the online forums I read, I’ve seen complaints of people saying they had a hard time to telling who the hero or good huy is. I had no problem with that. It was Christian Bale’s character (Dan Evans). He epitomizes character and moral fortitude. At times he waivers, but he remains on the path of what is right.
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Dan Evans example actually redeems the character of Ben Wade (Russel Crowe) at the end of the movie. Wade was a heartless killer, who, after seeing Dan Evans repeatedly do what was right, chose to do the right thing at the end. This is despite the fact that Wade will most likely face the hangman at the end of the movie.
