Dusty Devil Dale

20230310_122349.mp4 20230310_122349.mp4 Unfortunately, California predictions by NOAA are running on the accurate side. We have an extremely heavy snow pack. Then, yesterday began a chain of warm tropical rain storms, extending up to the 8,000' elevation. The snow is melting out as I write this. Severe flooding has already begun as our badly needed water runs to the ocean, damaging property enroute. Below is my video this morning of the bridge over a usually aptly named "Dry Creek" which guards entry to our Club's range. The discharge through and over the bridge is well above 8,000 cu ft/sec. 20230310_122310_99.mp4

There's still time to sign up for this one. It promises to be fun and to live up to its reputation as a traditional Cowboy Action event. Come and ride the ore cart with us.

I like that approach. The problem may often be more about rule interpretation and ambiguity than about enforcement. Writing rules and regulations has never been an easy thing. Language is very difficult to craft such that it is comprehensive and only has one meaning. Realizing that, when enforcement disarray or disagreement is prevalent, you are probably right that we should begin by examining the language of the rule itself and understanding the reasoning and purpose behind it.

Do we really want an enforcement structure that assures that penalties get applied for ALL rule noncompliance? Be careful what you ask for. Get ready for matches to be delayed for many appeals that drag Posse Martials and Match Directors (and sometimes Territorial Governors or PWB) away from their own match concentration. And be ready for required pre-match inspections of things like holster position, holster construction/angle, boot soles, cartridge power factor testing, smoke testing, bullet chron testing, barrel length measurements, gun external mod inspections, belly button location checks, etc., etc. Insistence on very tight rule enforcement is what turned some other shooting sports into less fun, cutthroat contests that sent CAS many refugee shooters (because we are famous for being participant friendly). I agree that where safety is a factor, or a tangible play advantage is afforded, consistent enforcement becomes a necessity. But harsh enforcement of less critical issues like shotgun belt height or holster maldesign seem to me to warrant just a cordial, friendly warning. Failure to correct noncompliance is yet another set of issues; usually involving passage of time needed to make corrections. How long would they have to effect identified corrections? Would we want to turn shooters away from a match because their holsters were permanently attached 10 mm too close together? Would we give them multiple SDQs=MDQ for inability to correct it the same day? It gets subjective and pretty harsh. (Safety items like X-draw angle obviously warrant that level of attention) Most shooters try hard to be in compliance, and take pride in doing so. Sometimes they have a medical need that forces them to violate a rule to be able to keep competing. For example, a person wearing an Ostomy bag may not be able to wear his holsters or shotgun belt in a typical/legal location. But conversely, if rule variation is allowable for that competitor, then why is it so critical for everybody else to be in compliance? My point here is not to suggest a ruleless anarchy, but common sense can be a good common denominator. If somebody is tangibly harmed or disadvantaged by someone else having an an illegal apparel or equipment advantage, then yes-- enforce the rules tightly. But be aware that the judgment can become subjective between different self-appointed judges to the point that our shooters become disillusioned and simply stop CAS shooting. Everyone needs to be a safety officer, but my thinking is that we don't all want to walk around inspecting each other. JMHO.

Perhaps an attorney in our midst can answer this. Could an individual get a court to agree to their standing to sue for reparations, if that individual could show no tangible individual damage? I know of cases where class action standing was granted, such as Sierra Club v Morten, in which the club members established that their collective and individual loss and impairment of recreation at Mineral King in the (then) Sequoia National Forest warranted them being granted standing for a lawsuit against the USDA Forset Service permitting of a new ski resort. But in the present case, it seems like individual damage would be hard to argue, especially in states like California which geographically had no culpability for alleged damage due to enslavement of ancestors. Does just being disrespected or discriminated against by other citizens alone warrant standing for reparations to ostensibly be paid by the general taxed public, who may or may not have ever mistreated anybody, before, during or after slavery? Can you clarify? I realize that the legislative process in question here differs in procedures and standards to courtroom procedures, but the damage questions seem at least structurally parallel to me. Again, can you clarify?

just be thankful and PAY IT FORWARD !!!!!

Well stated. But keep in mind the people leaving are not the ones to be worried about. They are neither societal parasites, nor woke.

It will surely empty the rest of the productive people out of our state and leave it to the rest of the 'new money' folks to figure out. Ironically, they'll end up having to tax themselves to pay for the generous gift they received. And the votes the democrats bought will only result in laws that regulate them -- everyone else will be long gone. What a sad requiem for such a beautiful and once-great state. But watch out in all the other states. Here we come!

Actually, in a Community Property State, you both jointly own ALL of your posessions, except any for which you have made other legal arrangements to keep assets legally separated, such as through the ownership title of bank accounts, property deeds, vehicle pink slips, etc. So absent those separate asset arrangements, if one of you dies, ALL of the jointly owned assets are already considered to be the property of the surviving spouse, with no involvement by the State, such as having to be "inherited" or "distributed" via probate and therefore also taxed.

The walkouts can only go only so far before nobody is there. Then they'll have to stage sit-ins to make their idiotic political statements. Sadly, few kids would care about these issues, if not for the indoctrination they're daily receiving.

The neighbors up within a few miles of my timber ranch were seriously snowed in and without power for six days. Some had horses and cattle standing out in 9 feet of snow, without access to food. They had stove wood, but most could not dig out the shelters where it was kept. Without electricity, water pumps and propane furnaces were useless. The neighbors all have free access to my Bobcat track loaders and other equipment, but they had no way to dig the machinery out or find implements under the snow. Yesterday, they pooled resources and hired a local logger to clear the 1.5-mile gravel access road and their individual driveways, and open livestock escape access with a D7 and two big front-end loaders. All 16 families then evacuated, driving out on the heels of the dozer in their 4wd vehicles, pulling livestock trailers. Everyone made it out OK, but it could be weeks before they can re-enter. This was at the 5,000 foot elevation in the Sierras east of Fresno. I am concerned how many families may be silently in need of assistance, buried in deep snow at remote, higher elevation locations. A friend lives full-time at Dinkey Creek (7,000' elev). He texted me a photo of his two story log house with only the weather vein at the top above snow -- he estimated 28' snow depth! It is the heaviest Sierra snow I've ever seen in 73 years living here. We can only pray that nobody is stranded and in trouble. The San Joaquin Valley is also being hit hard by rain and occasional snow and hail flurries. The culvert crossing we use to get access across Dry Creek to our Kings River Regulators cowboy range was overtopped and impassable until today. The attached photo was taken yesterday morning.

Gavin Nuisance is confused too. He's still insisting we are in a drought. It's a "drought" alright -- a logic and sensibility drought. But the media outlets still convince the gullible idiots to vote for these morons.

I feel much better after I gave up all hope. Giving up hope was easy in California, with Gavin Nuisance as governor (regulated guns, ammo, lawn mowers, chainsaws, sprinklers, paint, propane cylinders -- everything is restricted except illegal immigration, crime, homelessness, abortion and gender modification.) Watch out if Newsom comes your way in 2024. He's looking.

Recipe for a hard to remove broken bolt or stripped nut. Instead, use heat, a good impact wrench with adjustable torque, and a big dose of patience.

Through steady binoculars you can usually see four or five of Jupiter's 12 moons, arranged in a line extending out on both sides of the sphere.

Not everything. A quick spray of WD40 on a tuna trolling jig does wonders to cure short strikes, for some reason-- probably the fish oil it contains. I've never tried it on other fishing lures, but I bet it would improve them. WD40 also will help remove most paint from your skin and remove pitch, paint or bubble gum from your hair. You can also spray a little on dry concrete or tar splattered on a vehicle, then come back the next day and wipe it off with a wet rag. But as a penetrating lube, I agree it is way down the list. You are correct that it is formulated as a water displacer and using it for lubrication is really a misuse.

What ducks? Do we have any now? And are they suitable to go out against Chinese or Russian hypersonics? They've been setting this up and laughing at us for decades, while their young people all came here to be taught our technology at our universities. I personally don't see any good endings to the present situation

I've noticed the same thing, and agree with you. There is something in Dawn that reacts with the brass. If you wet brass in pure Dawn, and dry it beside the fireplace, the brass surface gets pasty with a blue precipitant, suggesting the copper is chemically reacting at the metal surface. I haven't yet tried wet tumbling without detergent. But I did try tossing in a dishwasher packet. It was much too abrasive. It scratched/dulled the brass surface. Has anyone tried wet tumbling in a baking soda solution? Baking soda (Bicarbonate) will buffer the liquid to near pH 7, and in solid form it is a good polishing agent. Just asking.

At the ULT, I am noticing a lot of shooters having seemingly more split case problems than what I noticed in the past. I dug out a couple jars of old Winchester and Federal .38 brass from the back of my cabinet. Just looking, without measuring, the wall thickness appears to be maybe 15% thicker than my new Starline brass. and the Starline brass cases I just received visually appear a bit thinner than some I bought three years ago. (with that said, I cannot imagine Starline retooling their plant to try to save on a bit of brass cost, but the cases do appear visually thinner -- at least at the case edge). But Ranger's OP was about older brass, so new brass certainly wasn't his problem. So the question comes back to what are we doing that we didn't used to do?

I'm confused (again). Shouldn't a high level of Sulphuric Acid make it more acidic, this LOWERING the pH? (pH being the NEGATIVE logrythm of the H+ ion concentration.)

Less than a second against a sanding disc or belt sander or a quick rub against sandpaper atop a flat surface will flatten the point enough to assure no primer detonations, and will not alter the ballistics or weight enough to matter in our kind of shooting. But check the COAL on the first few to be sure they will feed properly. Then you can quit worrying.

I know that sharpening from the back makes a much better snake chopper (the real reason the flat blade was invented). Most people think the flat shovel was invented for shoveling railroad ties level, but they're wrong.

If time permits, stop in Wickenburg and wander the streets, looking at the phenomenal bronze cowboy and old west sidewalk sculptures. Also a couple good ice cream shops.

Be prepared! The Western Regional vendors are always an attraction and you WILL find things that you want to buy!

Raffle tickets Gun oil, Mini flashlights, Logo towels, Logo sweat bands, Logo t-shirts or sweatshirts, SASS Shooters Handbooks with event logo cover, Event collector pins, Waterproof covers for match shooter's booklets, Lead removal soap, Ammo boxes.