Arizona 2014

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Safe arrival at the Arizona Renaissance Festival campground.  Let the new chapter begin!

Kev

[Stripe]

Groovy!!

[ClydesdaleKevin]

We have an excellent campsite this year!  Our only neighbor is only here on weekends and there is plenty of room for our workshop, etc.

Gotta set up the pavilion tent today, then go to the post office and mail out a trebuchet and mousetrap catapult...and that's pretty much it!

Camp is all set up, stock is already built, so all we really have to do this week if set up the tent and tables.  Excellent!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Got the tent all set up, then went to the post office to mail out the internet order.

Then I stopped at the local junkyard.  They have the doors I need for the K5 for 125 each complete, and 50 bucks for the fender.  If they still have them after the weekend I'll pick them up.

Tomorrow we'll set up the tables and stock and get ready to open!

Opening day this coming weekend.  Time to make some money again!  Down to our last 400 bucks...lol!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Patti's booster seat...LMFAO!!!



Kev

[M & J]

Finally.... pictures... Thanks Kevin!

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL!  I'm a picture hoor...if they are appropriate.

Kev

[Stripe]

I plead the fifth. 

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Oops!  My bad!  Faire opens NEXT weekend, so we get a nice long rest before opening.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Looks like its going to be a frugal and quiet almost 2 weeks!  Down to about 400 bucks, but the cabinets and fridge are well stocked.  Puppy food getting low, so I'll have to make a run tomorrow.

And note to self:  Don't pour your wifey who barely drinks a drink at the strength you'd drink it at, or you'll be cooking dinner yourself...lol!

Kev

[Stripe]

All I can say to that is,  :)rotflmao

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL!  Patti was a little green around the gills this morning, but she's feeling fine now.

I didn't add THAT much Fireball whiskey to her Rum Chatta!

Super lazy day today.  Played with the pups for most of it on the porch.  Smart pups...they learned what wireless fences are right quick, and stay right where they are supposed to.  Faire owner was cool with the electric fence as well, so we won't have to erect a solid fence, which is great!

Tomorrow I have to make a dogfood run, stop by the gun shop and maybe trade my Savage 30/06 in on a Ruger 30/06, and then try to troubleshoot the horn wiring on the Blazer, and maybe fix the wipers while I'm at it.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Went to the gun shop and lucked out on trading my Savage 110 30/06 for a beautiful Ruger M77 30/06...just 60 bucks out of pocket, payable after opening weekend...SWEET!  What an awesome upgrade!

Awesome gunshop.  Fully stocked up again after last year's scare...although .22 longrifle is still hard to find.

Going to take Patti to the flea market today, and that's pretty much it.

Kev

[bigoak54]

http://www.thecmp.org/Sales/ammo.htm
www.the-armory.com

Hi, thanks for taking the time to make your posts every day.  i always look forward to reading them and imagine myself with a working winnabago on vacation.
try the two sites above for ammo.  the cmp is a government site for amature shooters.  a six month wait, but $300 for 5000 rounds.  the armory puts you on  a waiting list when the ammo you pick becomes available.  keep writing.

thanks, Steve

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Thanks Steve!

So while at the gunshop a couple of days ago, I noticed he had a lot of the new Ruger LCR revolvers.  Well heck...I'm not much for plastic guns, but its a Ruger.

I went home and read every forum and review of the new revolver and couldn't really find one negative thing about it, so I made my decision.  My 2 3/4" Ruger Service Six was just collecting dust in my drawer, since its almost as big as my 4" Stainless Security Six.  I took it to the gun shop, he gave me a GREAT trade in, and I walked out of the store with my new to me Ruger M77 30/06, and a hefty deposit on the LCR in .357 Magnum.

Long story short, Patti went to the gun shop with me today, took one look at the LCR in .38 special +P, and decided she wanted one too!  She traded in her Colt Agent, and again the gun shop gave us a great trade in value.  She ended up walking out the door with her new Ruger LCR, more money was added to mine on layaway, and it was a done deal.  I should be able to pick it up after the weekend.

For anyone looking for a conceal carry gun, I have to highly recommend the Ruger LCR!  Even in .357 its fun to shoot, although it kicks.  In .38, its unbelievably light on the felt recoil! Same with +P ammo.  Its polymer grip frame and aluminum and stainless steel main components make it a super light gun, but the Hogue tamer grips and polymer grip frame reduce felt recoil amazingly!  The hottest +P rounds feel less harsh than light .38 specials through her Agent.  Trigger breaks around 8 lbs, and is smooth as butter right out of the box...and because of its cam design, it feels more like 4-5 lbs on double action!  This is pretty much a zero maintenance gun, except cleaning it after shooting it.  You don't have to keep wiping it down and oiling it, you can't scratch the finish unless you run over it with snow tires and chains, and its a Ruger!  Accurate and strong...and now light as all getout!  If you want a carry gun, this is it!  Great gun to take out camping too...don't matter if it gets wet or dirty or sandy or dusty...won't hurt it!  Perfect pocket gun, around 13 ounces.  With one of these you can always be armed (where legal), without having to figure out what to wear or which holster to use.

Outstanding!

Okay...enough of the gun review...lol!  Would be a great camp gun though...and for those of you with kids, there is a built in lock under the grip.

I just can't rave enough about this new gun from Ruger...but I'll stop now.

Other than the gun shop and test firing, we went grocery shopping, played with the pups, and that was pretty much it.

Kev

[M & J]

Sorry Kevin, I'll still never own a plastic gun. A few months ago, Shotgun News had a mostly tongue and cheek article named "Why I'll Never Own A Plastic Gun". Although a little bit sarcastic, it did point out manufactures spend a fortune developing the molds but once done, they spit guns out as fast as Lego blocks. He talked alot about Glocks, and said the reason they were popular with law enforcement was because they were fail/foolproof. Very loose tolorances and little fine fitting components. My next gun? A Springfield EMP .40. However, congrats to you and Patty's new aquisitons! As long as it goes bang when needed its a keeper.

Sorry for the diversion Kevin and Mark.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

No need to be sorry!  This is a Travel blog, and as long as travel blogs don't get too heated or political, Mark is good with that.  Diverting is the nature of a travel blog...lol!

Let me reexplain a bit why we chose the LCRs as knock around almost zero maintenance CCR and travel guns.  Only the grip frame and trigger and lockworks housings are polymer plastics.  The main frame around the cylinder is one piece seamless metal...high strength aluminum in the case of the .38 that Patti has, and stainless steel in the case of my .357.  They are coated in a thick polymer coating, but the main frames of these guns are steel.  The cylinders, whether they are black or silvery looking, are stainless steel as well...heavily fluted to shave weight, which reminds me of Old West guns and I like the look of the extreme fluting.  The barrel on both are sleeved nicely rifled stainless steel, and every other component on the gun is stainless, including the screws and springs.  The internal components are electroless nickel PTTF Teflon coated, so they don't even recommending lubricating them except every 1000 rounds or so.  This gun was designed to throw in a drawer or glove box, a pocket or a purse, a holster or a backpack, and never have to worry about it not firing when needed.  You can ride it hard and put it away wet, and it won't corrode or even get a marred finish.\

Its a vastly different animal from a polymer plastic automatic pistol.  Again, the entire mainframe is one piece of metal...so the tolerances stay tight.  Cylinder gap is around .009, which is very respectable on any revolver.  There is a test gun on the internet that already has 12,500+ rounds of .357s put through it, and the cylinder gap is still .009.

This isn't the first gun with a steel mainframe and softer material grip frame...just look at the Ruger Blackhawk, which is one of the strongest guns ever made!  Steel mainframe, alloy grip frame.  Early ones had brass grip frames!  My customized .357 Blackhawk has a custom brass grip frame to match my Henry Big Boy lever action in .357.  Yeah, I like that caliber...lol!

So its not a plastic throw away guns...the important parts are good old metal.

And DANG they are nice!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Reminds me of something from Firefly!

Kev

[Stripe]

I dunno, Kevin, Mals is a bit longer and magazine fed Janes is nearly the same as Mals and Zoes is a cutoff lever action..


God, I'mma nerd.. 

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL Frederic!  Actually, Captain Mal's is a modified French LaMat revolver.  It was a neat cap and ball blackpowder revolver carried by Confederate calvary officers during the civil war.  It was a nine shot revolver, with a 20 gauge shotgun barrel underneath the main barrel.  It was a pretty neat gun!  For the Firefly series, they took a replica of one, still available from Pietta arms, and added some sheetmetal plates over the cylinder so it would look a little more space age/steam punk.





Who's the nerd?...lmao!

Kev

[M & J]

AND metal framed.....   LOL

[Stripe]

Lol, Oldrockandroller!
Kevin, boy do I know Pietta replicas, lol, I own one.. 



Colt Army 1858. Love it. I also got myself an extra cylinder and a nice leather holster.  I know during the development they at one point used a .38 model 85 Taurus Revolver.

I also have the same pants (frontier classic) from the company that made Mals less the brown piping down the side of the legs which I will add as soon as my sewing machine is fixed..




Who da nerd???

[M & J]

You da man..

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL!  Gotta love Frontier Classics!  I have a maroon calvary shirt from them, the pants, and a brown duster jacket.  Good prices on a quality garment.

Looking into Versacarry "holsters" for the LCRs...very promising so far.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Got the booth all set up with Patti today, we are fully stocked with marshmallows and snack bags and paper sales bags, and are ready to rock and roll!

Had to make a trip to town for dog food...they eat like horses!...and no salt greenbeans for Barnabas (he likes those, and decided he HATES pumpkin), and some libations of course.

One more day off tomorrow...besides getting all our costuming ready.  Then its game on for the next several weeks!  Back to work!  And its a busy show, so we'll be butt deep in all kinds of work!

Kev