We had a nor'easter come through and dump about 2 feet of snow on us today. While that is a substantial amount of snow, it really was a non-event. I suppose I can say that since it was a weekend and I didn't have anywhere to go.

I spent about an hour clearing the cars, driveway and sidewalks. It made for a pretty nice day, and reminded me why winter is my favorite time of year. A thick blanket of snow just quiets the world down, and makes it easier to think. The only thing that could have made it better was sitting in the woods while the snow fell around me. Can't beat that.

One of these things is not like the others....

Click the pictures to embiggen!

One of those muzzles is more than twice the size of the other. That is my new AR-15 upper from Rock River Arms, chambered in .458 SOCOM. You may recall I posted on Nov 2 my thought process on choosing this round over the .50 Beowulf, the other contender to scratch my "Big Bore" itch. After an 11-week wait, it was delivered.

I've not had a chance to haul this to the range, but once I do y'all be the first to know. However, my initial impressions are favorable. It came with a single rail gas block and a free float aluminum handguard, as well as an oversized A2 style flash hider. Mounted on an A2-stocked lower, the gun is a little muzzle heavy, but not as much so as my 24" stainless barreled AR. The barrel looks like a 3/4" water pipe - very solid and impressive.

I did purchase a couple of boxes of commercial ammo to get some immediate gratification before I start cooking up my own. Loading recipes for this caliber are few and far between despite the vast selection of projectiles available. I've gathered a few from the internets, but will have to be careful about working up a good load. The commercial stuff should help by serving as a baseline.

I've already got a nice selection of components in hand, including a couple hundred of the the 500 gr Barnes TSX-DG solid shown above, in case I need to put down a charging cape buffalo in southeastern Pennsylvania. I've also got a few 300, 325, and 350 grain hollow points and "Flex-Tip" on hand or en-route to play with. I fully expect this to be a blast to shoot!

To one and all!

Hermit wrote a great post on building a rural home - go read it!

I got out to the range again on Sunday along with one of my regular training partners. Primary goal was to get some optics sighted in, and generally have a good time. Mission accomplished.

I re-zeroed the match AR after re-mounting the scope on risers and Leupold rings. It was absolutely dialed in, and I'm not concerned about the rings coming loose like the Weaver rings did. I also re-zeroed the EOTech that I moved back to my Stag homebuild. I think that will be my "primary" rifle, and I like the EOTech much better than the Aimpoint.

I got the opportunity to try out my buddy's TA11, which is an absolutely awesome optic.

I did learn that swinging steel rated for rimfire doesn't hold up well to 10mm rounds.

I hope you all enjoyed the holiday with family and friends, as I did.

I decided to use my vacation time today to venture to the rifle range. I spent 3 hours shooting in 32 degree weather, with snow falling most of the time. The range was covered with snow about 3 inches deep, which caused me no issues. For the most part, I had the place to myself - a couple of guys spent about 30 minutes playing with muzzleloaders before leaving.

I finally got around to sighting in the scope I purchased in July. It's mounted on my PBR, and is a damn nice piece of glass. I sighted in at 100 yards, so now I need to go print off a ballistic drop chart, and figure out the finer points of MilDot sighting.

I also ran a couple through the match AR, which ran like a top. The groups weren't as tight as I would have liked, but more than accurate enough for any sort of practical shooting. I did notice that the scope is mounted WAY too low to be comfortable. I needed to lay my head sideways to see anything. I've got a set of risers around here somewhere, along with the original Leupold rings the scope was mounted in, although an ARMS mount might be a better (if not more expensive) option. I'll get that re-mounted and hope for better luck next time.

Then I pulled out the 10/22 and some swinging steel targets and went to town at 50 yards. That is such a blast. I put about 100 rounds into the thing just running the swingers. Great fun. I was also impressed with how quiet the Ruger is. I decided to shoot it with just ear plugs, and all I heard was the click of the firing pin and the bullet impact. No significant muzzle blast to speak of.

More cold weather shooting planned for next week!

I've actually got a couple of posts banging around in draft, but in the meantime... Here's the dog enjoying 15 inches of Global Warming.

Stolen from ARFCOM because it kicked over my gigglebox:

Just a quick note to say (once again) that this blog is not yet defunct.

We had a pleasant holiday with the wife's family last week, and are now beginning preparations for the annual gift giving holiday just around the corner.

I had opportunity a few weeks ago to visit with a friend I don't get to see often enough, and spend some time turning money into noise with a nice variety of handguns. Further, I have plans to do the same with another friend in a few weeks, only with rifles. All of us are attempting to identify the proper shooty school Firearms Training Academy to attend in 2010.

My boss is strongly encouraging me to use the little vacation time I have left before I lose it to the end of the year, while simultaneously blocking my efforts by throwing me into a year-end audit and requiring several weekends of off-hours maintenance work. Ah, the glorious life of a professional computer geek.

And a link: If I ever get around to building a home, I still think something like Quad-Lock ICF is the way to go!