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Good News for a change!

Well I for one am very impressed by her skills

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Good News for a change!

What I think that a Fighter Jet should look like – The F-86

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Good News for a change!

Some solid advice for the times we live in! Grumpy

 Take a good look at this picture, and then think back to when you did this yourself as a kid. Of course you did – every one of us did.

Now hold that image of yourself – capture the spirit of that memory and keep that image in your heart, because that one image of yourself will get you through any bullshit that may come your way. Works for me.

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A Victory! Good News for a change! Well I thought it was neat!

Want to see some Greatness?

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A Victory! Good News for a change! I am so grateful!! Leadership of the highest kind Some Red Hot Gospel there! Stand & Deliver This great Nation & Its People

Sing it Brother!

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Good News for a change! Hard Nosed Folks Both Good & Bad Leadership of the highest kind Some Red Hot Gospel there! This great Nation & Its People

This seems like a very long time ago about our Country that seems long gone

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All About Guns California Good News for a change!

Hog Hunting on the California Coast (Some of the Prettiest Areas in the USofA!)

If you get the chance, go down the Pacific Coast highway in Big Sur. Because it is easily one of the best places to go to get in touch with nature. For me at least it also helps my Soul and Heart to go there just to unwind.

Also while it is getting expensive just like everything in this crazy state of mine. The cost of doing a Hog Hunt is not as bad as you would think. Just do a proper job of research and you will find the right Hunting Outfit for you and your Pocketbook.

The other Good News is that on Thursday. San Luis Obispo has a farmers market. Which is a whole lot of fun. Plus SLO as the locals call it has some of the best Tri Tip steak sandwich’s around.

Grumpy

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Born again Cynic! Darwin would of approved of this! Good News for a change!

A Public Service Announcement

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All About Guns Good News for a change! Gun Info for Rookies

How to Make Your Lever-Action Rifle More Accurate Shrink groups and extend the range of a lever-action rifle or carbine BY DAVE EMARY

My love affair with lever guns started with a plastic Winchester M94—my first toy gun—and was cemented by my first real rifle, a Winchester 9422 Magnum that was a graduation present. Like me, countless other hunters have fallen under the lever-gun spell. But as we know, fine accuracy isn’t the forte of the platform. That said, there are ways to improve groups and increase the range of your beloved .30/30.

Design Peculiarities

Lever-action rifles are unique in a couple of ways. They use a tubular magazine below the barrel that feeds cartridges into the chamber, which gives them a large ammunition capacity while maintaining their slim lines. However, this system can compromise accuracy.

The magazine tube and fore-end on lever actions are tightly fitted to the barrel and receiver. This does not allow the barrel to vibrate freely and puts pressure on the barrel as it heats up, causing a loss of accuracy and a shifting point of impact.

Lever rifles are also unusually stocked. The buttstock is attached to the rear of the receiver and the fore-end to the front of the receiver. Thus, the receiver forms the backbone of the rifle instead of the stock, as is the case with bolt actions. Excessive or inconsistent pressure on the stock of a lever gun will also degrade accuracy.

Lever-Action Tuneup

Before modifying your lever gun, consider its vintage and condition. A rifle that is in good shape and was manufactured anywhere near the beginning of the last century should be treated very carefully, lest you destroy its value. With a rifle like that, I recommend sticking to just loosening screws and not permanently modifying parts. A later-model rifle—say, from the 1950s on—could warrant more aggressive alterations.

Tuning a lever action amounts to creating a small amount of movement between the magazine and the fore-end relative to the barrel. Loosen the screw at the front of the magazine tube and the screw on the barrel band on the fore-end (for a carbine) or the two screws on the fore-end cap on a rifle. Put a drop of blue thread locker on these screws and leave the screws a little loose. This allows the magazine tube a small amount of movement relative to the barrel. I wouldn’t do more than this with a valuable vintage rifle.

With a newer rifle, in addition to loosening the screws, you can also shorten the magazine tube by taking .010 inch to .015 inch off the end that inserts into the receiver. You’ll also want to remove a small amount of wood from the fore-end with a few strokes of a file or sandpaper. Do this along the barrel channel and where it fits into the receiver as well. You want the fore-end to slip into the recess in the receiver with minimal resistance. This prevents binding on the barrel as it heats up. These adjustments will improve the accuracy and consistency of the point of impact as the barrel gets hot.

As a side note, these modifications were incorporated into Marlin’s XLR series of rifles to improve their accuracy and take maximum advantage of the LeverEvolution line of ammunition, which I helped develop. Tests done by editors at Outdoor Life and other publications in 2006 demonstrated the accuracy gains of these alterations.

hunter in an orange hunting vest while holding a rifle
No repeater handles as nicely as an open-sighted lever gun. Bill Buckley

Sight Options

Lever rifles have had buckhorn sights since the first 1860 Henry rifle. These sights work well for shooters with good eyesight and at modest ranges. Of course, the most effective sight for any rifle is an optical sight—a red-dot or scope. But if you want to maintain a lever gun’s elegant lines and handling qualities, the best option is a peep sight. Among the benefits of a peep sight are the increased sight radius—the distance between the front and rear sights— which improves accuracy, and the fact that they give a clearer view of the target than buckhorns.

There are two types of peep sights available for lever rifles: receiver-mounted or tang-mounted. Williams Sight Company and Lyman offer different types of receiver sights, while Lyman and Marbles make tang sights for most lever-gun models.

Shooting Techniques

If a lever rifle is shot off bags underneath the fore-end and buttstock while the shooter presses his cheek on the stock, the rifle will flex and the point of impact will shift. My suggestion is to not use a rear bag at all. Instead, just pull the rifle in to your shoulder, as you would if you were in the field, while supporting the fore-end on a rest.

For bench shooting, fire only three-shot groups and let the gun cool for five minutes between strings. This prevents the gun from getting excessively hot and the point of impact from moving.

hornady ftx bullet
On Point: The flexible polymer tip on Hornady’s FTX bullets improves BC, making them flatter-shooting and safe to use in tubular magazines. Hornady

Optimized Ammunition

Hornady LeverEvolution ammunition, which allows you to use spitzer-style bullets in tubular magazines, and the Marlin XLR rifles dramatically improved the performance of lever guns right out of the box. Because LeverEvolution ammunition shoots much flatter than traditional lever-gun ammo, you’ll need to put a taller front sight on the rifle.

Read Next: The Top 10 Lever-Action Rifles of All Time

Basic Mods for a Lever-Action Rifle

diagram of mods for a lever-action rifle
1. Shorten the magazine tube at this end by .010 inch to .015 inch. 2. Replace the stock sights with an aperture peep sight. 3. Remove a little wood where the fore-end slides into the receiver and along the barrel channel. 4. Back the screws off about 3⁄4 of a turn at (A) the fore-end barrel band, (B) the front barrel band, and (C) the front of the magazine tube. Add a drop of Loctite to each to secure. Bill Buckley

To tighten up the groups on a lever gun, the answer lies, ironically, in loosening some of the screws and relieving pressure on tight-fitting spots where the stock joins the receiver. All of these modifications are done in order to minimize the external influences on the barrel. The closer we can get to allowing the barrel to free-float, the better.

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Dear Grumpy Advice on Teaching in Today's Classroom Good News for a change! Hard Nosed Folks Both Good & Bad Leadership of the highest kind War Well I thought it was neat!

LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP: From a Janitor

By Colonel James E. Moschgat, Commander of the 12th Operations Group, 12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas

William “Bill” Crawford certainly was an unimpressive figure, one you could easily overlook  during a hectic day at the U.S. Air Force Academy.  Mr. Crawford, as most of us referred to him back in the late 1970s, was our squadron janitor.
While we cadets busied ourselves preparing for academic exams, athletic events, Saturday morning parades and room inspections, or never-ending leadership classes, Bill quietly moved about the squadron mopping and buffing floors, emptying trash cans, cleaning toilets, or just tidying up the mess 100 college-age kids can leave in a dormitory.  Sadly, and for many years, few of us gave him much notice, rendering little more than a passing nod or throwing a curt, “G’morning!” in his direction as we hurried off to our daily duties.
Why?  Perhaps it was because of the way he did his job-he always kept the squadron area spotlessly clean, even the toilets and showers gleamed.  Frankly, he did his job so well, none of us had to notice or get involved.  After all, cleaning toilets was his job, not ours.  Maybe it was is physical appearance that made him disappear into the background.  Bill didn’t move very quickly and, in fact, you could say he even shuffled a bit, as if he suffered from some sort of injury.  His gray hair and wrinkled face made him appear ancient to a group of young cadets.  And his crooked smile, well, it looked a little funny.  Face it, Bill was an old man working in a young person’s world.  What did he have to offer us on a personal level?
Finally, maybe it was Mr. Crawford’s personality that rendered him almost invisible to the young people around him.  Bill was shy, almost painfully so.  He seldom spoke to a cadet unless they addressed him first, and that didn’t happen very often.  Our janitor always buried himself in his work, moving about with stooped shoulders, a quiet gait, and an averted gaze.  If he noticed the hustle and bustle of cadet life around him, it was hard to tell.  So, for whatever reason, Bill blended into the woodwork and became just another fixture around the squadron.  The Academy, one of our nation’s premier leadership laboratories, kept us busy from dawn till dusk.  And Mr. Crawford…well, he was just a janitor.
That changed one fall Saturday afternoon in 1976.  I was reading a book about World War II and the tough Allied ground campaign in Italy, when I stumbled across an incredible story.  On September 13, 1943, a Private William Crawford from Colorado, assigned to the 36th Infantry Division, had been involved in some bloody fighting on Hill 424 near Altavilla, Italy. The words on the page leapt out at me: “in the face of intense and overwhelming hostile fire … with no regard for personal safety …  on his own initiative, Private Crawford single-handedly attacked fortified enemy positions.” It continued, “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, the President of the United States …”
“Holy cow,” I said to my roommate, “you’re not going to believe this, but I think our janitor is a Medal of Honor winner.” We all knew Mr. Crawford was a WWII Army vet, but that didn’t keep my friend from looking at me as if I was some sort of alien being.  Nonetheless, we couldn’t wait to ask Bill about the story on Monday.  We met Mr. Crawford bright and early Monday and showed him the page in question from the book, anticipation and doubt in our faces.  He starred at it for a few silent moments and then quietly uttered something like, “Yep, that’s me.”
Mouths agape, my roommate and I looked at one another, then at the book, and quickly back at our janitor.  Almost at once we both stuttered, “Why didn’t you ever tell us about it?”  He slowly replied after some thought,   “That was one day in my life and it happened a long time ago.”
I guess we were all at a loss for words after that.  We had to hurry off to class and Bill, well, he had chores to attend to.  However, after that brief exchange, things were never again the same around our squadron.  Word spread like wildfire among the cadets that we had a hero in our midst-Mr. Crawford, our janitor, had won the Medal!  Cadets who had once passed by Bill with hardly a glance, now greeted him with a smile and a respectful, “Good morning, Mr. Crawford.”
Those who had before left a mess for the “janitor” to clean up started taking it upon themselves to put things in order.  Most cadets routinely stopped to talk to Bill throughout the day and we even began inviting him to our formal squadron functions.  He’d show up dressed in a conservative dark suit and quietly talk to those who approached him, the only sign of his heroics being a simple blue, star-spangled lapel pin.
Almost overnight, Bill went from being a simple fixture in our squadron to one of our teammates.  Mr. Crawford changed too, but you had to look closely to notice the difference.  After that fall day in 1976, he seemed to move with more purpose, his shoulders didn’t seem to be as stooped, he met our greetings with a direct gaze and a stronger “good morning” in return, and he flashed his crooked smile more often.  The squadron gleamed as always, but everyone now seemed to notice it more.  Bill even got to know most of us by our first names, something that didn’t happen often at the Academy.  While no one ever formally acknowledged the change, I think we became Bill’s cadets and his squadron.
As often happens in life, events sweep us away from those in our past. The last time I saw Bill was on graduation day in June 1977.  As I walked out of the squadron for the last time, he shook my hand and simply said, “Good luck, young man.”  With that, I embarked on a career that has been truly lucky and blessed.  Mr. Crawford continued to work at the Academy and eventually retired in his native Colorado where he resides today, one of four Medal of Honor winners living in a small town.
A wise person once said, “It’s not life that’s important, but those you meet along the way that make the difference.” Bill was one who made a difference for me.  While I haven’t seen Mr.  Crawford in over twenty years, he’d probably be surprised to know I think of him often.  Bill Crawford, our janitor, taught me many valuable, unforgettable leadership lessons.  Here are ten I’d like to share with you.

  1. Be Cautious of Labels.  Labels you place on people may define your relationship to them and bound their potential.  Sadly, and for a long time, we labeled Bill as just a janitor, but he was so much more.  Therefore, be cautious of a leader who callously says, “Hey, he’s just an Airman.”  Likewise, don’t tolerate the O-1, who says, “I can’t do that, I’m just a lieutenant.”
  2. Everyone Deserves Respect.  Because we hung the “janitor” label on Mr. Crawford, we often wrongly treated him with less respect than others around us. He deserved much more, and not just because he was a Medal of Honor winner. Bill deserved respect because he was a janitor, walked among us, and was a part of our team.
  3. Courtesy Makes a Difference.  Be courteous to all around you, regardless of rank or  position.  Military customs, as well as common courtesies, help bond a team.  When our daily words to Mr. Crawford turned from perfunctory “hellos” to heartfelt greetings, his demeanor and personality outwardly changed.  It made a difference for all of us.
  4. Take Time to Know Your People.  Life in the military is hectic, but that’s no excuse for not knowing the people you work for and with.  For years a hero walked among us at the Academy and we never knew it.  Who are the heroes that walk in your midst?
  5. Anyone Can Be a Hero.  Mr. Crawford certainly didn’t fit anyone’s standard definition of a hero.  Moreover, he was just a private on the day he won his Medal.  Don’t sell your people short, for any one of them may be the hero who rises to the occasion when duty calls.  On the other hand, it’s easy to turn to your proven performers when the chips are down, but don’t ignore the rest of the team.  Today’s rookie could and should be tomorrow’s superstar.
  6. Leaders Should Be Humble.  Most modern day heroes and some leaders are anything but humble, especially if you calibrate your “hero meter” on today’s athletic fields.  End zone celebrations and self-aggrandizement are what we’ve come to expect from sports greats.  Not Mr. Crawford-he was too busy working to celebrate his past heroics. Leaders would be well-served to do the same.
  7. Life Won’t Always Hand You What You Think You Deserve.  We in the military work hard and, dang it, we deserve recognition, right?  However, sometimes you just have to persevere, even when accolades don’t come your way. Perhaps you weren’t nominated for junior officer or airman of the quarter as you thought you should – don’t let that stop you.
  8. Don’t pursue glory; pursue excellence.  Private Bill Crawford didn’t pursue glory; he did his duty and then swept floors for a living. No job is beneath a Leader.  If Bill Crawford, a Medal of Honor winner, could clean latrines and smile, is there a job beneath your dignity?  Think about it.
  9. Pursue Excellence.  No matter what task life hands you, do it well. Dr. Martin Luther King  said, “If life makes you a street sweeper, be the best street sweeper you can be.” Mr. Crawford modeled that philosophy and helped make our dormitory area a home.
  10. Life is a Leadership Laboratory. All too often we look to some school or PME class to teach us about leadership when, in fact, life is a leadership laboratory.  Those you meet everyday will teach you enduring lessons if you just take time to stop, look and listen.  I spent four years at the Air Force Academy, took dozens of classes, read hundreds of books, and met thousands of great people.  I gleaned leadership skills from all of them, but one of the people I remember most is Mr. Bill Crawford and the lessons he unknowingly taught.  Don’t miss your opportunity to learn.

Bill Crawford was a janitor.  However, he was also a teacher, friend, role model and one great American hero.  Thanks, Mr. Crawford, for some valuable leadership lessons.
Dale Pyeatt, Executive Director of the National Guard Association of Texas, comments:  And now, for the “rest of the story”:  Pvt William John Crawford was a platoon scout for 3rd Platoon of Company L 1 42nd Regiment 36th Division (Texas National Guard) and won the Medal Of Honor for his actions on Hill 424, just 4 days after the invasion at Salerno.
On Hill 424, Pvt Crawford took out 3 enemy machine guns before darkness fell, halting the platoon’s advance.  Pvt Crawford could not be found and was assumed dead.  The request for his MOH was quickly approved.  Major General Terry Allen presented the posthumous MOH to Bill Crawford’s father, George, on 11 May 1944 in Camp (now Fort) Carson, near Pueblo.  Nearly two months after that, it was learned that Pvt Crawford was alive in a POW camp in Germany.  During his captivity, a German guard clubbed him with his rifle.  Bill overpowered him, took the rifle away, and beat the guard unconscious.  A German doctor’s testimony saved him from severe punishment, perhaps death.  To stay ahead of the advancing Russian army, the prisoners were marched 500 miles in 52 days in the middle of the German winter, subsisting on one potato a day.  An allied tank column liberated the camp in the spring of 1945, and Pvt Crawford took his first hot shower in 18 months on VE Day. Pvt Crawford stayed in the army before retiring as a MSG and becoming a janitor.  In 1984, President Ronald Reagan officially presented the MOH to Bill Crawford.
William Crawford passed away in 2000.  He is the only U.S. Army veteran and sole Medal of Honor winner to be buried in the cemetery of the U.S. Air Force Academy.