Overheard in the War Machine

(during a conversation about what to name our new-to-us boat)

Me:  Floating Divorce?  To go with the Divorce on Wheels?

Bex: You are SO never allowed to divorce me!

L:  So I have to kill you first? *wink*

B:  Yeah, pretty much.  Or I'll kill you.

L:  I'm faster on the draw.

B:  Who says I can't set an ambush?

L:  I love you honey!

Seriously, my wife is awesome.

Lokidude

This just in...

A determined grasshopper can hold on to the hood of an old Ford at 35 mph for about as long as he feels like.

Lokidude

Top Shot: Finale

This week is the finale.  The final four consist of Peter Palma, JJ Racaza, Chris Cerino, and Iain Harrison.

Elimination Challenge #1:  Dueling flipper targets, using a Beretta 92.  The competitors have 60 seconds and 40 rounds to flip as many targets as possible to their designated color.

The first matchup is JJ and Chris.  JJ, as expected, dominates Chris, leaving only one target scored for Chris.

The second matchup is Pete vs Iain.  Iain beats Pete 7-3.  That makes the elimination round Peter vs Chris.  In the elimination round, Pete got out to an early lead, but was soundly beaten by Chris in the end.

Elimination Challenge #2:  The competitors are allowed to pick between 3 pistols and 3 rifles, and are basically playing HORSE with their shots.  JJ starts with an 8" pane of glass, at 50 yards, standing, one handed, with the Schofield revolver, and misses, hitting the target frame.  Iain hits JJ's shot, and Chris hits the frame and doesn't break the pane.  Iain takes the lead, and calls the next shot.  S&W double action revolver, shot glasses, 50 yards, and drills the shot.  Chris also nails his shot, and JJ misses again.  Chris takes the HK rifle, 2 hands, standing, beer mugs at 100 yards.  Chris misses his shot, giving JJ a chance to stay in.  JJ also misses his shot, and is eliminated.

Elimination Challenge #3:  As Iain and Chris walk up to the final range, all of the "Green Team" members are there to greet them and watch the final challenge.  The final challenge is a composite.  Thrown knives, longbows, Colt single actions, the Winchester and rope challenge, a Beretta 92 and a 1.5" tube, an AR-15 and a plate array, and an M-14 with two exploding targets.

Iain jumps  out to an early lead on the knife, and extends it on the bow.  Chris quickly closes the gap and takes the lead, as Iain has trouble early on the Peacemaker.  The two are virtually tied going into the Winchester rope shot.  Chris severs the rope first, but Iain is only two shots behind.  Iain's first shot on the Beretta breaks the glass in the tube, and he reclaims the lead, but not by much.  Iain extends his lead on the AR-15, and shortly after, Chris follows him to the M-14.   Iain hits his 100 yard target quickly, and Chris ties it up, but Iain beats him on the 300 yard bull and wins the competition.

Congratulations, sir, and to all the competitors, you put on one hell of a show.

Lokidude

Food is love

The house currently smells like bacon, garlic, and cilantro.  Bex and I are making chili, and the smell alone is worth it.

I come from a family where food is love.  If we feed you, it means we like you.  And we like a lot of people, so I pretty much lack the ability to cook for 2 people.  Hence the 3 gallon pot of chili currently on the stove.  Not my fault, blame Mom and Dad, they taught me that way.  I'll try to put together some semblance of a recipe later (we cook to taste around here, not to some crazy measurement),  but as a preliminary, it has north of 5 pounds of meat, 2 1 pound bags of beans, and a full head of garlic.  And one more ingredient.  Our secret ingredient.  (Yes, I've been wanting to use that line for YEARS.)

Yes, Texas, it has beans.  As proper chili should.

Lokidude

Making with the stabby

I need information on bayonet mounting.  If I wanted to mount a bayonet on a rifle that has no bayonet lug, how would I go about it?  I'd rather not try and weld on the bottom of my barrel.  The gun in question is a Remington 760, so some 870 parts will fit on it.  WECSOG is fine, as are modifications, as this rifle is going to be exceptionally custom when I'm done.

Also, what bayonets would be a good fit on a rifle like this?  I'd like something in a 4-6" blade, quick-detach would be nice, and interchangeability with an AR would be a big plus, but not a dealbreaker.

Lokidude

Why I love junkyards

I'm gonna get myself in trouble, not be allowed to go to the junkyard anymore. Stopped in today, made a purchase, and found myself a set of mirrors for my truck, for $20. I didn't have that much cash on hand, so I'll be picking up the mirrors tomorrow. As for the purchase?

Online, they go for $12 each, plus shipping, which isn't cheap on a 20 pound can.  Plus, mine came with a very good rubber seal, which many of the online ones don't have.  It's completely rust free, the dark spots are where the red overspray has worn down to the OD paint underneath.

Total cost?  $6.55.  Yeah, some days you're the windshield.

Lokidude

Top Shot: The Shortest Fuse

This week's Top Shot opens with the end of team competition. Everybody dons their green shirts, and gets ready for the beginning of individual eliminations.

Challenge #1 this week is the famed "Fuse" shot. 10 rounds from a Beretta 92 to cut a burning fuse. The competitor with the shortest fuse at the end of the match loses. Blake, Iain, and Kelly miss the fuse entirely. JJ also misses all 10 rounds. Pete pops the fuse on his second shot, and dumps the other 8 rounds in rapid-fire celebration. Chris hit the fuse on his 4th shot, but it still burns through. Adam breaks the fuse as well, and imitates Pete's celebration.

The five shooters that missed their fuses have to shoot a tiebreaker. Chris shoots first, and hits his fuse. Kelly shoots second, runs dry, and misses his fuse. Blake misses his fuse. Iain pounds the fuse several times near the explosive at the end, and manages to cut it. JJ pops his fuse early on, but keeps shooting for insurance, and breaks his fuse. Kelly and Blake have a tiebreak, one bullet each on a standard bulls-eye, closest to the bull advances. Kelly puts a round touching the top edge of the bull. Blake pulls his round low and gets eliminated.

The second elimination challenge of the night is an endurance challenge, running and gunning. 3 rifles, one pistol. TT99 pistol, HK93, Mosin Nagant, and SVT-40, in that order, while running up a hill. The slowest 2 times get eliminated.

Kelly goes first, making short work of the course, hitting in one shot on all the guns, and scoring a time of 1:30.

Pete goes second, loading only one round in each weapon. He also one-shots everything, and gets a final time of 1:21.

Chris makes excellent time up the hill, one-shots the course, and ties Pete's time. Actually, he does it in .7 faster than Pete, and takes a slim lead.

Iain clears the course in 4 rounds, with a time of 1:25.

Adam has the first miss of the course, on his third target, but he hits with his second. He finishes with a time of 1:36, putting him in last place.

JJ runs a perfect course, with a time of 1:20, to win the course, and send Kelly and Adam home.

Next week, the finale.

Lokidude

Top Shot: The Razor's Edge

This episode starts with Red team returning, along with Kelly, after winning his second elimination challenge in a row. Kelly indicated to Denny that he was next, and the count is now 3 Red team members, and 6 Blue.

The teams head out to practice in a miserable downpour. The weapon this week is a throwing knife. Blue trains first, and JJ may have found his Kryptonite in the throwing knife, and Blake struggles as well. Iain, on the other hand, looks like he's throwing darts.

The rain has stopped by Red's practice. Denny struggles, Pete does relatively well, and Kelly once again proves the "no skills" crowd totally wrong, filling the target board with steel.

Tara gets a call that her father is quite ill, but at his urging, she decides to stay in the competition.

The team challenge is throwing knives at six targets along a progressively narrowing balance beam. Adam and JJ for Blue must play, as they sat out last week, and they pick Iain to throw with them.

Iain and Adam miss with their first two knives, but JJ hits with his first. The same story repeats itself on the second target. Iain drills his first knife on the third target. Adam misses 2 on the fourth board, and JJ repeats his perfect streak. Iain misses twice on 5, as does Adam. JJ extends his perfect streak, and then Iain hits his first knife on the final target. Final time, 3:05.

Red gets up on the line. Denny leads off, and misses his first two, and Kelly drills his first blade. Pete misses both on the second board, as do Denny and Kelly. After a couple passes through, Kelly finally hits the second board, and Pete nails the third on his first throw. Denny sticks one in the support on 4 that doesn't count, and Kelly clears it. Pete's first knife scores on 5, and Denny does the same on 6. Final time, 3:10. Blue wins again, and Red is off to the nomination range.

At the nomination range, Pete and Kelly vote for Denny, and Denny gets to pick his opponent, choosing Pete.

Tara gets another call about her father, and learns he has days to live. She bids farewell to her team and heads home to take care of her family.

The elimination challenge is going to involve slingshots. They'll be shooting at 8, 10, and 12" targets. 20 marbles, 60 seconds. Denny's targets are yellow, Pete's are orange, and a hit on the opposing target nets your opponent a point. Pete shows up rocking his lucky tie, which is just so stylish.

Denny hits the first target, but Pete jumps to the lead, and Denny is never able to catch up. The lucky tie pays off, and Pete beats Denny 7-5.

Two episodes left, and next week, it becomes an individual competition. Tune in, same Bat time, same Bat channel.

Lokidude