When you need to hide your guns in plain sight.
[ This content originated at Musings Over a Pint ]

Though written 100 years ago, these words should serve as a reminder, and as a warning, to the Christians in America and throughout the world today.Christianity is not the creed of Asia and Africa at this moment solely because the seventh century Chris…

Last month I attended the monthly IDPA match at Sanner’s Lake for the first time and had a blast. Even though it means spending a total of about four hours on the road, it’s a fun match and I was excited to go back. I rendezvoused with a friend at about the halfway point of the trip and we rode to the match together. It was happy to share the ride with another shooter. Stuart’s company and the interesting conversation made for a fun trip.

The match was a lot of fun, well-run and went very quickly. The facility is large enough that each stage is in it’s own bay, which allows the match to flow with little or no waiting between stages. We finished all six stages in less than three hours and the summer heat didn’t really become a factor until the last two stages. Adding to the fun, at Stuart’s suggestion we made a brief stop at a local liquor store on the way home where I picked up a couple beers I can’t find in Virginia. I’m looking forward to enjoying them in the coming days.

Somebody left non-threats behind the steel

Sanner’s Lake has been improving and adding shooting pits over the past year. The bay pictured above wasn’t even there last month. I’m looking forward to shooting more matches at the club in the future.

I’ve not had a lot of time to blog do anything interesting recently, which may be obvious from the lack of posting. I am not sure how much that will change much in coming weeks. However, I do have some shooting matches on the schedule, so there’s that. For that reason, an impromptu range trip this week was most welcome. I was at work when the text from Checkered Flag came in, “Will shooting fit?” Well, twist my arm.

I finished up at work, and since I already had most of the range gear in the car, from an unfulfilled plan to shoot earlier in the week, Colleen, CF, and I were soon at the range. Keeping within the local range rules, most of our shooting was slow(ish) fire while standing still. We did get in some practice shooting on the move, as well as SHO and WHO, which I try to do each time I hit the range.

Near the end of our time, and ammo, we were shooting at 15-17 yards, and using the 5.5″ splatter targets to help see our hits. I was hitting the target, but often just barely, and not in any good groups. Chalking some of that up to being tired after an hour of steady shooting, I started taking my shots a bit faster, spending less time staring at the sight alignment. Suddenly I started seeing yellow splats appear in the center of the target. Isn’t that interesting, I thought.

For an August afternoon in Virginia, the 77° temp was also a welcome treat and made for a pleasant time. Soon we were home, enjoying some good beer and ranting about democrats and apostates, which aren’t always mutually exclusive. Colleen cooked up a fantastic dinner featuring some flavorful filet mignon done just right. It was indeed a wonderful evening and a great way to relax after a busy day.

For weeks we’ve been seeing the result of open borders and allowing non-vetted “refugees” into Germany and France. In the United States, we’ve seen numerous attacks tied to “lone wolf” muslim terrorists. This morning we wake up to the horrific news tha…

July. In Virginia. The weather is expected to be hot. Very hot. For Sunday’s Cavalier IDPA Match, that condition was met, in the extreme. I hadn’t shot a match in three weeks, so I sure wasn’t going to let a bit of oppressive summer weather and a heat advisory stand in the way of the fun.

I came across this display the other day. It made me sad.

Given that president Obama’s greatest legacy may be that flags are perpetually at half-staff, we’ll probably see even more of this. Knowledge of how to properly display our nation’s flags seems to be a lost art.

The opportunities to try out new craft beers have been few of late, other activities taking priority. However, as hinted at in previous posts, during our travels to Montana last week I had the chance to try out a decent selection of craft beers.

The “vacation beer” list kicked of with a Virginia beer, Satan’s Pony from South Street Brewery in Charlottesville, while eating lunch at the Dulles Airport. The easy-drinking Red Ale was a good way to prep for the rigors of air travel.

Arriving in Montana, I was soon relaxing with a St. Pauli Girl Lager. Not overly exciting, but it was in the fridge at my in-laws. Maybe it was the location, or the company, but it wasn’t horrible.

Soon the exploration of Montana-brewed beers was in full swing, kicking off with Irresistible Amber Ale by Madison River Brewing Company with lunch during a visit to Great Falls. On the return trip back to the Flathead Lake area, we stopped at the local grocery store to add a six pack of Highlander Devils Hump Red Ale from Missoula Brewing Company to the home base fridge options.

Another day found us eating lunch at Tamarack Brewing Company. With that feast I enjoyed pints of Lakeside Pale Ale and Rye Sally Rye PA.

We also paid a visit to Flathead Lake Brewing Company, where we started out with a flight of five beers; Bufflehead Brown Ale, Rising Sun Espresso Porter, Two Rivers Pale Ale, Centennial IPA, and Swimmer’s Itch Saison.

The final Montana beer of the trip was Copper John Scotch Ale, another one from Madison River Brewing, enjoyed during another lunch outing. (It seems we ate often too.)

What turned out to be the final beer of the trip was had at a Mexican restaurant. I opted to enjoy a couple pints of Dos Equis Special Lager — when in Rome, and all that.

We had a couple hour layover scheduled around dinner time in Minneapolis during the trip home. I was looking forward to relaxing with a some local beers at the airport. Alas, our Delta flight was delayed, meaning a quick run between gates to catch our connecting flight. As an aside, despite their claim of the best on time record for domestic airlines, three of our four Delta flight legs ran late. And two of those flights were further delayed at the gate for mechanical issues.

It certainly wasn’t the most prolific trip in regard to new beers, but the ones we tried were all quite good. I enjoyed ten different beers from Montana breweries, plus a few sips stolen from the beers Colleen enjoyed. That’s not disappointing given the limited time, and it’s big state with lots to see. We drove over 1,000 miles during our visit. “Big Sky Country” offered amazing scenery, good food, and it’s not lacking in craft beer either.

From the 2016 Republican Party Platform, as adopted on July 18…

We uphold the right of individuals to keep and bear arms, a natural inalienable right that predates the Constitution and is secured by the Second Amendment. Lawful gun ownership enables Americans to exercise their God-given right of self- defense for the safety of their homes, their loved ones, and their communities.

We salute the Republican Congress for defending the right to keep and bear arms by preventing the President from installing a new liberal majority on the Supreme Court. The confirmation to the Court of additional anti-gun justices would eviscerate the Second Amendment’s fundamental protections. Already, local officials in the nation’s capital and elsewhere are defying the Court’s decisions upholding an individual right to bear arms as affirmed by the Supreme Court in Heller and McDonald. We support firearm reciprocity legislation to recognize the right of law-abiding Americans to carry firearms to protect themselves and their families in all 50 states. We support constitutional carry statutes and salute the states that have passed them. We oppose ill-conceived laws that would restrict magazine capacity or ban the sale of the most popular and common modern rifle. We also oppose any effort to deprive individuals of their right to keep and bear arms without due process of law.

We condemn frivolous lawsuits against gun manufacturers and the current Administration’s illegal harassment of firearm dealers. We oppose federal licensing or registration of law-abiding gun owners, registration of ammunition, and restoration of the ill-fated Clinton gun ban. We call for a thorough investigation — by a new Republican administration — of the deadly “Fast and Furious” operation perpetrated by Department of Justice officials who approved and allowed illegal sales of guns to known violent criminals.

Contrast that with Hillary’s view of the 2nd Amendment…

“If it is a constitutional right, then it, like every other constitutional right, is subject to reasonable regulation.”

As with most on the left, there’s no part of the Constitution she doesn’t seek to destroy.

This video from Brevard County, Florida Sheriff Wayne Ivey becomes more relevant with each passing day.As Lt. Colonel Jeff Cooper concluded in Principles of Personal Defense, “It is high time for society to stop worrying about the criminal, a…