I haven't died. Not yet, anyway. ;)

Well, the good news is a good place to start.  The Mrs and I closed on our house yesterday (yay!) so now we're busy turning it into a livable space (boo?).  The good news is that I can finally start reloading!  Well, once we're completely moved in and I set up my workspace, that is.

Finally done!  Wait, no - still need a sling.

There's been a lot of acquisitions lately.  Let's see.  The AR finally has the YHM smooth midlength quad rail installed.  It was a fantastic addition, and the rifle balances really well with it installed.  Big thanks go out to my buddy Alex of Dreadnaught Industries for the work!  Speaking of Alex, he also hooked me up with a new Aimpoint CompM4S red dot, which replaced the Primary Arms CompM4 clone which was sitting on the AR for about a month.  Never had the opportunity to shoot the PA red dot, but it felt solid and was nice and bright.  I'm sure I would have enjoyed it if I didn't decide on the Aimpoint instead.
I was able to take the Beretta 92FS Compact Type-M out a few times, and put 100 rounds downrange with it.  It's an absolutely fantastic, beautiful and slick firearm.  Handles just like its big brother, just in a smaller, more easily managed package.  First 5 rounds I shot out of it, I cleaned the Texas Star that Alex installed at his private range.  Did I mention that it was the first time I'd ever attempted to shoot the Texas Star?  Wish I got video, the students at that CHL class couldn't believe I was able to hit 5/5 on something no one else was able to hit on a reliable basis.  It was as addicting as crack, and I want to go back for more!

Oh yes, the Beretta. Sorry.  Honestly, aside from it being a hard to find pistol and the "cool factor" of it being a single stack, I feel I could be better served by a full sized 92FS.  This firearm is just too nice for me to shoot on a constant basis, and I'd feel really guilty if I did.  So, I'm going to trade it off.  Not sure what I want, but I think it's time for me to get another nice 1911.  I'm still contemplating a fullsize Rock Island G.I. 9mm for a project gun, or a Springfield Armory Loaded model.  Talk about both ends of the spectrum when it comes to features, huh?

The 'ol uglystick, Savage Mark II.

Lately I've been on the hunt for a new training rifle to take a bit of the sting out of the cost of ammo.  After a bit of hunting around on Texas Gun Trader, I found a used Savage Mark II .22LR bolt action.  Perfect!  She isn't pretty, but she was cheap.  $175, including the cheapie BSA 3-9x32 scope with Butler Creek lens covers.

I've been hunting around for a solution to the horrid (and please keep in mind I'm not a trigger snob!) stock trigger.  There's a shimming trick that's pretty popular on Rimfire Central that I may try.  However, reports of bumpfires are being made after modding the triggergroup in this manner.  A safer way of improving the trigger appears to be the Rifle Basix SAV-R sear, which is user adjustible from aaprox 10oz to 1.5lbs, and has an overtravel adjustment.  There are many happy users with both trigger job methods, so I figure I'll start with the cheap triggerjob (shimming), and if I'm unhappy with it I'll move up to the Rifle Basix kit.  I'm not too particularly worried about the bumpfire issue, since this is going to be a benchrest range toy.

Delicious OD Green goodness!

I also picked up a new Springfield Armory XDm-9 with the 4.5" barrel in OD Green.  It's a classy looking pistol, and goes great with my custom AR with Magpul OD Green furniture.  Why'd I get it?  Well, for $509 out the door, brand new, how could I resist?  Also, this is a pistol that I can shoot the snot out of and not feel guilty about, unlike the Beretta.  I'll likely use this pistol for IDPA once I get the time to join up and participate on a regular basis.  I haven't yet shot this pistol, even though it's been in my hands for almost a month now, but a full range report will be forthcoming when I get the time.


So, there you have it.  A bit of a backlog (and that's not everything!), but I'm relatively caught up.  Shoot me an email or post up a comment and let me know what's on your mind.  It's always a pleasure talking with like-minded individuals.