Alright, so it's not nearly as sexy as a new rifle, but it's taken me a long time to convince the wife we needed one. Largely, I did so by keeping the kitchen freezer so full we couldn't find anything. ;^) However, her friends helped by organizing a cow buy - we have 1/8 of a free range, grass fed, organic, no hormone, no antibiotic hippie cow coming our way in the near future; hopefully vacuum sealed in serving size portions! Next step is to get a dedicated outlet in place to make it cold now, and then the generator to keep it cold.

I also picked up a pair of glove liners, and a set of sling swivels for my bolt gun... I'm going to stick my 3-point sling on there for hunting this weekend. I expect some funny looks from the folks I'll be hunting with - they're a bit traditional!

Still I'm worried, so (10) more 15rd Glock 19 mags, and (20) more 30rd AR mags are on order. That will max out my goal on AR mags, and put me in a pretty happy place for G19 mags. Like Commander Zero points out, do I have enough to last a lifetime if I can never again buy another magazine?

Probably not what you expected... Thirty Bulgarian 30-round magazines for the AK-47 arrived today. Some go into storage, some are otherwise spoken for. As always, AmmoMan gets top marks for speedy delivery.

Sorry I've not been posting much lately. I'm working longer hours with the new job, and knocking around the house trying to get everything that needs to be taken care of before winter addressed. I'm also trying to address some of the recent economic & political woes - as always, I feel way behind the curve.

Let's see... I've started a small home remodel that the wife wants completed this winter. One bedroom has had wood paneling since we bought the house. We've managed to ignore it for the last 5 years, but now it's time to do something about it. Underneath the paneling is plaster, in bad condition from having hundreds of nails driven into it. I'm going to take all of that down to the studs, replace and upgrade the electrical, insulate the exterior walls, then put up sheetrock. At the rate I work, this should take me into January. At any rate, I will slightly increase my home's value, gain some much needed energy efficiency, and add a couple of tools to the workshop.

I've got some of the Hermit-recommended canned butter and some other stuff on order from MREDepot. Placing the order made me realize I need to update my storage food inventory - it is badly out of date.

I've also got an order of AK magazines coming in this week. I don't own (or plan to own) an AK rifle at this time, but I figured having some on hand before I can't buy them any more isn't a bad thing.

I now have a training class at Suarez scheduled for next year. It's a Force on Force class - all scenario based, and performed with AirSoft guns. I expect it to be eye-opening and painful.

I did get the varminter upper from Bushmaster last week. I still need optics, and a dedicated bipod (I only have one that gets passed around at the moment). I think I'm going to take the 3.5-10x40mm scope from my PBR, mount it on this gun, and get a slightly stronger scope with MilDots for the .308. This will happen after deer season, since a) I think I'm actually going to get some hunt time this year, and b) I doubt I'll have time to sight in new optics in the coming months. If you're interested, I think tomorrow starts the last week of Bushmaster's Fall Sale. The (mostly) completed gun:

I made the trip up to the range today. The trip was a disappointment - the pistol pit was reserved for a pistol team practice (unpublished on the club schedule), there were a lot of people there, and it was cold and raining. I don't mind the cold or rain, but the other two points bothered me. I put a few hundred rounds through my 10/22, and a couple of mags through an AR. The batteries on the AR EOTech crapped out while I was shooting. I carry spare lithium AA batteries in my GHB, but don't have any dedicated to my range bag, which will soon be remedied. I do carry a set of CR123s (for flashlights) and a 9v (for my electronic hearing protection) in my range bag.

The requisite trip to Cabela's was acceptably fruitful - I picked up some more reloading components, shown here with some other items delivered during the week.

From Cabela's I picked up:

• 100 rds loaded .223 - $23 / 50 rds. This was some of the cheaper stuff.
• 250 Berry 124gr 9mm FP bullets - I've loaded some of the Rainier bullets I've been getting, and was disappointed with how much they deform in the process.
• 100 Barnes TSX 63gr .223 bullets
• 50 Barnes TSX 165gr .308 bullets
• 200 55gr .223 FMJ bullets - these have gone up $3 per 100 since the last time I bought them.
• 100 new .308 brass cases

Deliveries earlier in the week brought:

• 5000 CCI small rifle primers for .223
• Barnes Reloading manual #4
• Speer Reloading manual #14
• RCBS primer pocket swaging kit - for reloading military brass with crimped primer pockets.
• (2) 2oz Fox OC spray - I usually keep one by the door as an option for unexpected visitors and to carry with me when taking the dogs for a walk. I also like to keep one in my coat pocket in the cooler seasons (only because that's when I wear a jacket). These things expire - they lose their propellant pressure over time. When I test fired the one I've had by the door for the last couple of years, it just dribbled down my hand. Oops!
• A Safariland 6004 drop leg holster for a Glock 19 w/ TLR-1 weaponlight. I acquired this in anticipation taking of a rifle class next year. A couple of things about it surprised me, which will eventually make it into a post of it's own.

I also treated and stored 10 gallons of gasoline. The shortages Hermit is experiencing in Georgia make me think I'm way behind on fuel storage, although prices here have dropped to $3.329 for regular.

This was an expensive week, but since my dollars will be worth much less in the coming weeks, it's like I'm making money with these purchases.

I probably shouldn't have, but I just ordered a KIDD Trigger for my 10/22. 1.5# pull - going to be so nice... Must stop spending money on gun parts.

As a "reward" for painting the family room & buying my wife's new furniture, I treated myself to a new Ruger 10/22 rifle. I chose the lowest of the low-end model, which cost me $199 NIB. First impressions are not bad - this is a light little rifle that mounts quickly. The stock is birch, and has a plastic buttcap. I measured the barrel at 18.5 inches, and weighted the trigger at 6# 1.5oz. The iron sights are pretty poor, at least for me - I can't make out the small brass insert in the front blade. This rifle will serve it's purpose, which is, of course, to serve as a host for some serious modifications.

First off will be a Leupold VX-1 2-7x scope, mounted in Leupold low PRW rings on a Power Custom 1-piece weaver base. These products were purchased a few days ago, and should be in my hands by Wednesday, and mounted on the rifle soon after. At that point, we'll head to the range for the inauguration.

In the maybe near future will be a Volquartsen Trigger Assembly to lighten the pull down to a friendly 2.5 pounds. Following that, I might like to replace the barrel with a Tactical Solutions fluted & threaded barrel, which will also require replacing the stock with a heavy barrel version, probably a Hogue Overmold. Attached to the bottom of that stock will be a Harris bipod.

And finally, the crowning glory, and the reason for a threaded barrel, will be an Advanced Armament Ranger suppressor, with ATF "sin tax" stamp.

Let's add these numbers up, just for fun.
Rifle - $199
Base - $16
Rings - $38
Scope - $220
Trigger - $213
Barrel - $220
Stock - $70
Bipod - $65
Suppressor - $595
Sin Tax - $200
Total = $1,836

Who knew such an inexpensive rifle could cost so much?? Looking at it broken down like this, this project is going to take some long time.

I haven't acquired much recently, so I thought it might be time for another influx of magazines. I now have five Glock 20 mags and 24 HK-91 mags inbound from Cope's, plus ten 30-rd AR magazines inbound from Bravo Company. Total cost about $230.

Stocking up on magazines still strikes me as a good idea.

I came home to find a few boxes on the door step. First, I received a RCBS ChargeMaster 1500 Powder scale & dispenser combo from Midway. Expensive, yes, but I have read nothing but great reviews. I'm a believer in the axiom "Buy quality and only cry once", so I did.

Second, I found a box of garden seeds for this year's garden. I decided to try mostly heirloom strains of vegetables this year. This shipment had spinach and an assortment of green, gold and purple bush beans. Also included were some free samples - marked as "experimental" varieties - of cucumbers, tomatos, sweet corn, beans and peas. I don't have room for the corn (maybe I'll make some...), and wasn't planning on growing the peas, but I'll see if I can get them in early enough.

My tomatos and peppers should be coming soon in another order, and my replacement horseradish is backordered.

Now I need to start thinking about getting the new raised bed in place, which means tearing down the old shed.

The holidays brought a few nice survival items. (We won't discuss the non-survival related.)

First, a 21 1/2 qt. pressure Canner/Cooker, along with a couple dozen Ball jars and accessory pack. I can't wait to fire this thing up. I'm going to have to increase the size of the garden.

Next, a few Cabela's gift cards, which I turned into a Lyman Turbo 1200 brass tumbler.

It's buzzing away in the basement right now, cleaning some .308 brass.