Friday, March 30, 2012

Sad, sad, news


I've been trying to come up with a way to blog this ever since I read the news on OldNFO's site yesterday.  

I didn't meet Newbius in person and to be honest I didn't even chat with him regularly.  However, the times when our paths did cross (mainly in GBC, occasionally on Facebook) I found him to be a real gentleman.  He was always interesting to chat to and will be missed.

My thoughts are with his family at this time.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Scouts

As some of you know, Miss 10 moved from Cubs to Scouts this year.  In doing so she became eligible to attend the Australian Jamboree that is going to be held in January next year.

She expressed an interest in going and even though we were a bit nervous about her being on the other side of the country with 13,000 other scouts we agreed to it.  However, I was still nervous about it and have spoken to a few people who have been in similar positions over the years.  Most have tried to reassure me that it will be fine but one mother said "well if you're concerned why don't you go as an adult helper?".  Um, I can do that???

Now registrations close tomorrow and I had this discussion on Tuesday!  In the last couple of days I've spoken with Miss 10's Scout Leader, the Group Leader and the Cub Leader and all of the discussion have lead to the result that I'm now signing up not only to go to Jamboree but also to become a Scout Leader.

Apparently, if you go to Jamboree as a 'parent helper' or even a 'Cub Leader' you're more than likely to be assigned to a non-direct kid thing (souvenir shop, first aid post etc).  If I actually want to be involved with the kids (and hopefully Miss 10), I need to be a Scout Leader.

Unfortunately the state Scout website is down so I've not been able to download the forms yet, but it seems that for leaders it doesn't matter if you register late - so I've got a bit of breathing space.

Now I just need to fill in the forms, do the training and find $5k for the Jamboree .....

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Weekend Wrap Up

Is tiredness a sign of a good weekend?  I think so!  I mean I'm sitting here at 8:15pm feeling absolutely exhausted from the weekend.

What did I get up to?  Well ... SCOUT FAMILY CAMP!!!

It started Friday night.  I did have Friday off work (I only work part-time) but for some reason I didn't get as much done as I should have, so after picking the girls up from school we rushed around like headless chooks doing everything you need to do after school and before camping - with the added activity of reloading 200 9mm rounds as I needed to shoot on Saturday and had used up all my ammo on Thursday at the range!

The campsite was at Guilderton which is a lovely spot and great for the kids.  I took the girls in my car and hubby took all the stuff in his car.  It is about a 2hr drive north of our place - well going the way my GPS took me anyway (1.5hrs if you ignore the GPS).

We got up there just before 8pm and hubby arrived about 1/2hr later.  Through a 'misunderstanding' we ended up not having any dinner :(  (I had packed some emergency rations, so the girls had a small can of tuna each for dinner and some nacho chips).  Anyway, we got the tent up and sat down to chat to the other leaders / parents who had come.  Shooting buddy had also driven down from his place (4hrs north) to spend the weekend with us too.

Eventually the kids went to bed and we had a drink or three.  We were waiting for one other family who were due to come that evening.  Most people eventually toddled off to bed, but we decided to wait up until they arrived.  I think they got in about midnight (mmm, not 100% sure of this).

After they had put up their tent, we had a drink with them and a chat and then all hit the sack.

The plans for Saturday were pretty flexible but one of the leaders had said that he would be up early to look after the kids so the other adults could have a sleep-in AND the person who was bringing the bread was due to arrive early for brekky.

WELL ... plans being plans ... Mr "I'll get up early" was the second last person out of bed :) and Mr "I'll bring the bread in time for brekky" got there about mid-day :) ... No one starved though (they had cereals and I had packed cereals for the girls and us anyway).  The most important thing for me on the Sat morning was coffee and water anyway (maybe I had a bit too much to drink the night before).

One of the other fathers had brought a canoe, well a couple of families had, but this guy volunteered to take Miss 8 with his kids out canoeing.  Miss 10 was hanging around with a variety of people and seemed happy to do this.  So they soon disappeared.

Because Shooting Buddy and I needed to shoot this weekend (to keep our handgun licences) we headed back down to Perth to the shooting range about about 11am.  We got back in time to stop at a restaurant for lunch (lasagna yummy) and then headed up to the range - neither of us were particularly feeling like shooting.

However there were a couple of friends there who we enjoy shooting with and one of the guys who I had met on the Thursday afternoon when I took my work colleague up to the range.  So we put our names down as a squad.  Unfortunately a couple of other people joined our squad - unfortunate because I like smallish squads and we ended up with about 10 people :(

BUT the four stages were fun and there were no major incidents.  I still didn't really feel like shooting so I just took it easy and didn't bother too much about anything. My main aim was to complete the shoot with out getting DQed - which I did actually achieve :)

After we had finished the stages I had planned to shoot the fly targets. I had 10 copies of the target with me.  Shooting buddy & I were planning to shoot it with both our 9mms and my .22.  However, as I mentioned it to the squad while we were shooting the match a few others took up my invitation to try it.

So we set up a target and the first person had a go, then the 2nd, 3rd, I had a go next with the 9mm and none of us was getting anywhere particularly fast but we were having fun.  Shooting Buddy had a go next and he actually was doing okay, but we didn't realise he had hit a fly early on.  One of the guys in our squad had a friend come up and check out the range, so he had a go too.  While we were shooting there was a group training on another range - by this time the training had finished and one of the trainees came over to see what we were doing so we gave him a shot too.

He's only been shooting for two weeks and he was having "issues".  So Shooting Buddy (ex-trainer) and me ended up giving him (& the visitor) a few tips ... and then of course, they had to try out every different gun that anyone had to hand.  Then some of the other guys wanted to try my gun - and let me try theirs and then I pulled out my .22 so that had to go round the group too.

So basically by the time I got to try the .22 on the fly targets it was getting towards twilight and it was pretty hard to focus on the target.  So I think I'll go up the range again on Friday to give it another go.

By the end of the shooting I was actually feeling better.  So we popped home, put the guns away, refilled the water and headed back up to Guilderton - thankfully Shooting buddy was driving as I was very very tired.

We got back about 7:30pm - I think it took the girls about 1/2hr to realise we were actually back as they were still off having fun.  Apparently they had had a great day - swimming & canoeing.

Hubby had saved us a few pieces of meat so he cooked those up for us and we sat down and chatted to the group.  A couple of other people had arrived and I think we were up to about midnight drinking & talking and having a really nice time.

It is lovely to be able to sit and chat to people like this - don't do it enough.

During the chatting it was mentioned by a couple of people that they would like to come up to the range again (a few of them had come up last year when we did a shoot with the scouts) and there were a couple of people who missed out on that.  So we've chosen a date in April for a shoot.

Sunday morning saw us up again about 6:30.  Brekky and packing up and driving back home finished off a really, really nice weekend.
  

Friday, March 23, 2012

Newbie on the range

As most of you know I've started a new job.  Unlike my last one, where I mentioned that I shoot in the interview, I didn't really tell anyone.  However when I was in Brisbane for the induction my boss found out that I shoot as he offered to drive me back to my hotel, when I really needed to go and visit Queensland Gun Exchange.

He was fine with the fact that I shoot - he's done some clay target shooting in the past.  What I didn't realise though was that he told others in the team about my hobby.

Fast forward to this week.  My boss and another team member came to Perth for the JuiceIT (an IT convention sponsored by my company).  During the day I was chatting to the team member and she in a round about way asked me a question which ended up with me saying that I shoot.  She then mentioned that our boss had told her and then she asked to come to the range!

(Um, okay, sure!  I was a bit concerned because I thought I was out of 9mm ammo - however, luckily there were a 100 rounds still in the safe.)

We organised to go after work yesterday and I had asked hubby to bring the guns up to the range for me.  We got to the range before he got there and I was actually surprised to see 5 other people on the range (it's normally quite quiet during the week).  Luckily one of the guys had some spare earplugs that we could use.

We went over to the group that he was shooting in and discovered a wide range of firearms.  When we got there one of them was shooting a (now I might get this wrong - let me know in comments) S & W 460 revolver.  I think the size, noise and recoil scared my colleague a bit but I reassured her that she wouldn't be shooting anything like that.  I however took up their offer to have a go.  I was actually surprised to find that the recoil wasn't that bad.

They then offered my colleague a go with a .22 magnum revolver.  So I showed her how to hold it - explained that it would be nothing like the one she has just seen - and she pulled the trigger ... 7 times :) .  She seemed to enjoy it, but the guys didn't have any targets up so she wasn't aiming at anything which made her feel a bit unsettled.

By this time my hubby had arrived with my guns etc.  So we got them out the car and headed off to a spare range.  We put some targets up and then I started her off with my Ruger 22/45, then my Springfield 9mm.  She seemed to enjoy both of those guns.

It was at this point I noticed that they guys on the range next to us (not the ones we had spoken to earlier) were running stages (IPSC).  So I asked if they minded if we watched.  So we did that and then decided to go and see how the other guys were going and offer them a shot of my Tuffy (.410).

We had another bit of a chat to them and they offered us a shoot of whatever guns were there.  So my colleague shot a 9mm Glock, 38 super Kimber, 9mm Tanfoglio and another 9mm.  She really like the Tan (? - well at least it wasn't the Glock!).

We then went back to the range we were set up on and the three guys had a go with the Tuffy! ... I then convinced my colleague to give it a go ... which she did ... I think she was glad that that was the last round I had for it (note to self: buy Tuffy ammo).  The guys had also brought across with them a 12ga pump action shotty.  Which, of course, I had to have a go with - great fun!  We also convinced her to have a go with it too.  She seemed to enjoy it as well.  Found out later that the guys had put solids in it for me (thanks! ... Did I mention two of the three guys were ex-trainees of mine!).  We then took turns shooting whatever.  The guys quite liked the trigger on my gun and the guy with the Kimber had to test out my 10 round mags as he was looking for some.  One of the guys hadn't shot a .22 in a long time so he put a couple of mags through my Ruger.  I also got my colleague to shoot off the last of my 9mm and the .22 ammo.



By this time it was nearly dark and I was out of ammo so we packed up and I dropped my colleague back at her hotel!

Now I MUST remember to reload some 9mm before Saturday's shoot!

I think she's going to want to come shooting again when she's next in Perth.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Internet hassles

Anyone who has tried to talk to me on GBC lately will know that I've been having hassles with my internet connection since the server, access point and a couple of other things were taken out by lightening about 6 weeks back. It's all been replaced but my internet connection has never been the same.

My internet hassles are now expanding to other areas of my internet usage.  For the first time since I got internet (which, if I recall correctly, was 1996) I've had problems with an on-line order I made.  I've ordered from this company multiple times before, without issue, however this time I received a nice big box full of stuff that I didn't order.  It had my name & order number on it but different contents.  I'm currently having an email exchange with them which is driving me mad.  So far I've sent them photos of the label on the box and the contents.  Now they've asked me to jump through another dozen hoops to get a request for return authorised.  The thing that really annoyed me about these dozen hoops is that I'm supposed to do it for each item on my order?!? Huh? ... I didn't get the items I ordered.  They haven't mentioned when I'll actually get the items I did order.  Grrrr

AND then there's another company where I have an online subscription for the girls to do additional learning.  Something has got screwed up in the marking system and Miss 10 didn't received a record of results for a couple of things she's done.  She also has the system showing that she did the same thing four times all simultaneous when she only did it once.  I emailed them about this, so one of the testers went in and did one of the activities (got a shocking mark) and then said 'see it works' - leaving the 'fail' result on my daughters account.  And then ask me to provide information about what I'ld like the results section to show in future upgrades!  HUH?!? Nothing about removing the 'fail' mark and putting her actual marks in or anything actually addressing my concerns.

EEEKKKKK ....





Monday, March 19, 2012

Girls Movie Update #3

It's been along time since we watched DVDs, but this weekend in lieu of camping (sick hubby & Miss 10) we decided to watch some.  So I dragged out this list and chose the "The Gods Must Be Crazy".  The girls LOVED it.  They thought it was hilarious.  We've still got "The Gods Must Be Crazy 2" to see.
MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS

Paint Your Wagon - 20 Jan 2011: Watched it with the girls. Might be best to avoid with young kids unless you want a discussion on prostitution :). Oh and a woman being married to two men can also raise questions. The girls however enjoyed it
The Black Hole (12+?)
Oklahoma
The Shootist
Silent Running
The Final Countdown
Hawk The Slayer
Original Star Wars Trilogy
Tron (original)
Quigley Down Under
Flight of the Navigator - 29 Jan 2011: Watched it with Miss 9. Miss 7 occassionally took notice of it but preferred playing with her sister's DS. Miss 9 enjoyed it.
White Fang
The Princess Bride
The Never Ending Story
War Games
Greystoke: The Legend Of Tarzan
Willow
The Labyrinth
The Dark Crystal
Back to the Future
The Gods Must Be Crazy - 17th Jan 2012: Both girls LOVED it.
The Gods Must Be Crazy 2
Hallelujah Trail
Pete's Dragon
The Ugly Dachshund
The Boatniks
They call me Trinity - 9th Jan 2011: Girls laughed a lot
Trinity is Still My Name
Snowball Express
Midnight Madness
Scavenger Hunt
Condorman
Ghost in the Noonday Sun
Swiss Family Robinson
No Deposit, No Return
Candleshoe
Dragonslayer
The Last Flight of Noah's Ark
The Journey of Natty Gann
The Man From Snowy River
Return to Snowy River
The Cowboys
McClintock
Rio Bravo
El Dorado
Big Jake
Fortress(?)
The Watcher in the Woods(?)
My Name is Nobody
Short Circuit - Jan 2011: Girls enjoyed it
Short Circuit 2 - Jan 2011: Girls enjoyed it

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Couldn't hit a fly - hopefully ....

Blogsurfing found me at Mr. Completely who has an e-postal shooting match up.

It looks fun - here's the target:


Lot of categories to choose from - I think there's probably something for everyone - except maybe shotguns ... I'ld be pretty impressed if you can shoot a shotgun at the target and MISS all the flies.  Yes, the challenge is to shoot 25 rounds at the target stopping when you hit a fly.

Closing date is midnight April 1st (not sure which timezone we're talking).

So who is going to give it a go?

I'm hoping to get up the range next Saturday and try it out with both my Springfield 9mm and the Ruger 22/45.

Full details here.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Earworm alert ...

In the comments section of a post of a unicorn with a rainbow (over at Random Nuclear Strikes)  Erin mentioned a "pony version of “Every Day I’m Shufflin’” video…" 
As this song and horses are two of Miss 8's favourite things I asked for the link - which she kindly provided:
I've also tried embedding it here - hopefully it will work.

Friday, March 16, 2012

This is for OldNFO (Not that I'm saying anything by this)


... and the rest of you might like it too ...

New Rules for Old Farts
  • If you think “Occupy” is a verb and not a noun, you are an old fart.
  • If you just want to be left alone, you are an old fart.
  • If you remember when only sailors had tattoos, you are an old fart.
  • If you know how to spell, you are an old fart.
  • If you know how to get there better than that GPS contraption, you are an old fart.
  • If you’ve ever felt shame, you are an old fart.
  • If you know how to fix mechanical devices, you are an old fart.
  • If you’ve ever gotten on an airplane without first being searched, you are an old fart.
  • If you remember when tech support answered without an accent, you are an old fart.
  • If you know what VHS stands for, you are an old fart.
  • If you ever smoked a cigarette on an airplane, you are an old fart.
  • If you still think there are only two genders, you are an old fart.

 More can be found here.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Shooters and Fishers Party to take on WA

Received this in my email yesterday:


This is a very positive situation in my opinion.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Infiltrating the school system :)

In Miss 8's class this term they have been given a specific date & topic for news and on the same day they also need to present a "word for the day".

Miss 8 decided that her word was going to be "camouflage" and she found some pictures of various things which demonstrated the word.

The news topic that she was given was "The best present I have received".  She has already done all of her "horse stuff" (Miss 8 lives for horse riding) in previous year's news sessions so she wasn't sure what to do.  So over the last couple of weeks we have been tossing ideas around.  Everything I suggested she has said no to.  So, pretty much in desperation, I suggested that she does news on her rifle (which was a Christmas present a couple of years back).  She agreed! 

Last week I doubled checked with the teacher if she was happy for her to do this for news - and no, we weren't planning to bring the rifle in.  The teacher agreed with this topic but asked Miss 8 to focus on the 'safety aspects' rather than the 'killing & maiming' aspects.  This is what Miss 8 had already planned.

Today was her news day - here is the poster she designed and made (with a little bit of help):


I was particularly impressed with the wording she put on the poster.  We discussed the main points to remember when handling / shooting firearms and these were the things she came up with.

When I went to collect her from school this afternoon, I asked her teacher how her news had gone.  The teacher gave her two thumbs up :)

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Public transport ...

I decided to take public transport today to my new job.  This was mainly based on the fact that parking in the area is $3.15/hr!?!

Now I've not taken public transport to work for at least 10 years, maybe more, and the aim of today was to see how challenging it would be and whether it was going to be a practical way of getting to work. My hope was for a 'yes' answer (see cost of parking above).

My plan was to drop the girls off at school, go to the library to pick up some reference books I had ordered, head to the train station to discuss the pros/cons/method of buying a 'smartrider' (multi travel ticket), catch train, go into city, catch bus, go to work.

Well dropping off the girls went fine, as did the visit to the library.  However it was at this point that things started to go wrong.

You don't buy multi-travel tickets at the train station!?!  You buy them at local chemists or similar.  So, as I was already at the station I decided to buy a 'Day Tripper' pass (valid for travel after 9am - which it now was just) and AS IT WAS PRINTING OUT an announcement came over the PA that there was an issue with the Perth station and therefore the train was going to terminate at Cannington and we'ld all have to switch to buses.

Too late to change my plans now (well the "Day Tripper" was $9.30) so I hopped on the train and had a pleasant air-conditioned trip to Cannington.  Off the comfortable train (our trains are pretty nice) onto an old bus :( ... for a long and winding trip via all of the train stations into the city.  Now trains run very fast but buses don't.  It seemed to take forever to get into the city.

The bus driver then went 2 blocks passed the Perth train station, where he was supposed to drop us off, and then stopped in the middle lane of a three lane road for us to disembark.  Skirting around the cars I managed to get to the pavement.

I then walked back the two blocks to get to the bus stop I needed just as the bus was pulling out :(  However the electronic display indicated that the next bus was in 10mins - not bad.  Except that it counted nicely down 10 ... 9 ... 8 ... all the way to 2 and then stopped.  It stayed on 2 for 10 minutes ... then down to 1 for another 5 minutes.  Eventually the bus turned up.

The bus trip was quite pleasant and I reached my stop without incident (and a nice chat to a guy from a competitor of the company I'm working for).  It was then a short 700m walk to the office.

I think I got to the office around 11:30am (I didn't check my watch until 11:45 by which time I had sorted myself out).

I'm hoping that my next foray on public transport goes smoother ....

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Spiders anyone?

Interesting isn't it how the internet makes the world smaller?  I was blogsurfing tonight and ended up at Greg's place.  He had a post on misplaced spiders in Australia which I've not seen reported here.

Apparently the floods over east have unsettled a number of wolf spiders and they've taken up residence above ground in such numbers that their webs look like snow - 

Yes folks, that's spider webs that you can see there.  Anyone want to go for a walk? 

Full story and more amazing pictures can be found here.

Newbies - expected and unexpected

(Just for the purist among you, this is out of time sequence ...)

Last Monday I had arranged for a friend to bring his daughters and a couple of friends up to the range.  As the weather forecast was for a HOT day (37C) I suggested that they get there around 4pm.

We went up at 2pm as Miss 8 wanted to take some photos of her shooting her rifle as she is using it for news next Wednesday.  She (Dad & Miss 10) had to leave by 3pm to get to basketball.  This gave Shooting Buddy a me a break of an hour where we were planning to do some shooting ourselves ... However ...

A car drives into the parking lot.  I went across to see who it was and discovered two women and a kid in the car.  They were looking for some rock pools and had discovered the range instead.  (Apparently there used to be some rock pools up near our old range, but they had been filled in and were inaccessible due to the TRG now owing the area).

While chatting about rock pools they asked what we were doing and why there was red flags flying.  We explained that it was a shooting range and I offered them a walk around.  I showed them some of the ranges and they asked additional questions along with one about the boy having a shoot.

So I offered them the opportunity to have a go.  The kid started out with my Ruger 22/45 and did well with that.  Then the women asked if they could have a go too.  We let them use the Ruger and they loved it.  We then let the kid have a go with the 9mm Glock - which surprised him a bit.  Photos were taken all around and email addresses given.  They then headed off saying that it was the "best day they've had in a long time".

WOO HOO

By this time our "real" visitors had arrived.  Of the five expected only four were able to come (one guy & three gals).  Of these only one hadn't shot at all before.  The others had attended the Scouts shoot we had last year.  So again Ruger 22/45, 9mm Springfield & Glock and then the .22 rifles.  I also got the Tuffy out but only one person was willing to give it a go - and they only shot once :)

By this time it was getting quite late so we had to quickly pack up and head.  The lady who hadn't shot before LOVED it and wants to do it again!

So in one day we had 4 total newbies & 4 not-so-regular-shooters!!!!!!  And I think I only got to shoot about 10 rounds all up (and the Tuffy!).

Friday, March 9, 2012

I'm back

Well, I've just got back from Brisbane - with my magazine :)

For those who don't know, I went to Brisbane last Tuesday for a "meet & greet" and induction with my new job.  I'll be working here in Perth but reporting to a manager in Brisbane.

It was a good couple of days.  Met the manager & two team mates.  They all seem lovely and the work environment is very positive.  I'm looking forward to meeting the other members of the company who work in Perth next week.  I'll be working alongside the Perth team and from what I've heard they're really nice too.

Oh and I've got a new iPhone!  And I've almost figured out how to work it!

I did manage - thanks to my new boss, who gave me a lift out there - to get to Qld Gun Exchange before they closed on Thursday evening and I picked up the magazine.

It was funny at the airport as the guy who was checking me in hadn't checked in anyone with just a magazine before and he thought that it didn't need to be checked in as a "restricted item".  However when he rang the baggage handlers "out the back" they didn't know what to do either so it was decided that it was probably best to put it through as "restricted" rather than risk it.  He was fascinated that a female would be interested in shooting and was asking me heaps of questions.  He reckons he would like to give it a go - shame he's on the other side of the country, makes it difficult to take him to a range.

He didn't even charge me for checking luggage (my company hadn't booked any for me, although they were willing to reimburse me if I did check luggage).

The benefit with checking it in as an "restricted item" was that it was the first bag off the plane and hand-delivered to me at the "oversized baggage claim".

Anyway home now - after a 4 and a bit hour flight - at least I had an empty seat next to me so that I could stretch out.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Groan ...

Just heard on the news headlines tonight "Following a haul of firearms in Perth's south, police have called for a review of firearms licensing legislation."

So I went looking for the story.  From today's news:

THIRTEEN firearms, including pump action shotguns and assault rifles, several thousands of rounds of ammunition, cash and drugs were found at a home in Perth's southern suburbs yesterday.

A search of the Port Kennedy home yesterday allegedly uncovered the cache of firearms, methylamphetamine, knives, ninja stars, batons, machetes, laser pointers and just under $18,000 in cash.

Some of the ammunition allegedly found in the home was scattered all over the house police say, some of it in children's bedrooms.

A replica AK-47 assault trifle and four different kinds of pistol ammunition were also allegedly found inside the home.

A 36-year-old man, a former security guard, has been charged over the haul and will face court later this month.

This morning, police laid bare the massive haul of weapons, cash and drugs allegedly seized from the home.

Detective Sergeant Chris Turner from the Peel District Crime Team said although the firearms were licensed and locked away when police found them yesterday, they were seized because of the large amount of unlicensed ammunition allegedly found at the home.

Det. Sgt. Turner said two young children were home at the time police searched the house.

“None of the ammunition, all bar a few boxes were secured, it was all just lying in various areas around the house,” Det. Sgt. Turner said.

“It is frightening that someone who lives in a residential area should have that many firearms.

“All the other weapons were all located in his bedroom. The machete and the baton were all just sitting next to his bed.”

Det. Sgt. Turner said inquiries were still ongoing as to how the man had allegedly obtained the weapons.

The 36-year-old man faces 23 charges, including possessing a controlled weapon, possessing a prohibited weapon, drug possession with intent to sell or supply and unlicensed ammunition possession.

He will appear in the Rockingham Magistrates Court on March 30.



Emphasis mine.


I have bolded the sections of this which are of the most interest to me.  Firstly, the firearms were all licensed and stored in accordance with the legislation (well I'm assuming that what is meant by "locked away").  However they were sieved because of the unlicensed ammunition.


Here you can not possess ammunition (or components of ammunition) unless you have a caliber of that firearm on your licence.


Secondly, and this is the bit that concerns me most is the "it is frightening that someone who lives in a residential area should have that many firearms"!!!!


Why?  What difference does it make if someone has two or two hundred firearms?


I'm certainly hoping that this doesn't prompt a review of firearms legislation as I'ld like to get a new one in the very near future.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

New category ...

I've decided to create a new category for some of my blog posts, namely "Newbies on the Range".

I've not finished going through all my past posts yet to put them in this category but there are quite a few posts already in there - the newest addition is the post below this one ....

It's great getting folks who have never shot (or in most cases never seen a gun) up to the range.  Even better when they go onto become club members and shooters themselves.

Newbie on the range

Last year we took a group of scouts to the range.  One of the Leader's partners didn't come.  I didn't actually realise she wanted to, but couldn't, until a discussion last week.  Once I found out that she was interested I organised another trip - for tomorrow.  However, work intervened again so we went up yesterday.

After watching the ICORE competition that was running, for about half an hour, we found an unoccupied range, set up two targets and got the guns out.  Now she had shot as a young adult but hadn't touched a gun in years so I started with my Ruger 22/45.  We then moved onto my 9mm Springfield and then as the ICORE guys were packing up I asked a friend if she could have a try of his "fully decked out and worked" 38 super Revolver.  She had a lot of fun with all of the guns (and her partner also had a few shots - he is annoyingly accurate).



We then put the handguns away and got out the rifles.  I had two with me, a single shot Stirling (.22lr) and a lever action Winchester.  The Stirling had iron sights, the Winchester had a scope.  Unfortunately, she didn't feel comfortable with either rifle - we tried freehand and resting - but it just didn't work for her.

I then got out my Tuffy .410 shotgun and she had a shot of that off the shoulder.  I did tell her to told it tight and pull it in but she did get quite a kick :(  She enjoyed it more shooting at arms length.

By this time the range was empty, but luckily the stages had been left up.  So we went down to an all steel range which was quite a challenging shoot and used up the rest of my 9mm (unfortunately I only took a 100 rounds with me).  I then shot the steel with the .22.

All in all a fun day.  Will have to get her up to the range again with a few different rifles to see if we can find one that she's happy to shoot.

Oh, and I'm still going up the range on Monday - with more newbies - so stay tuned!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

I like this kid ...

Discussion with Miss 8 in the kitchen this morning, she's (very competently) helping me cook.  Dad walks in ...

Me: "Dad, isn't it good that Miss 8 is so competent in the kitchen"

Dad: "It is, she'll be able to look after us when we're old."

Miss 8: "That's not long off."

Me: "Gee, thanks!"

Miss 8: "I was talking to dad!"

Me: "Lol, thanks."

Miss 8: "Yes, Dad wants me to push his wheelchair for him ... " pause "into a ditch."


Friday, March 2, 2012

I certainly hope there's more to this story ....

From today's news:

A 27-YEAR-OLD woman was stabbed with a screwdriver and bitten during an attack in Cooloongup overnight.


A police spokeswoman said the woman was sitting in her car in a friend's driveway in Park Drive chatting at about 12.30am when a group of juveniles approached her and asked for money.
When the woman said she did not have any money, her friend went inside the house to get some and, upon returning, discovered the 27-year-old had been stabbed in the face, arms, chest and leg, and had been bitten several times.
The police spokeswoman said the woman managed to escape from the car and run inside the house to call the police.
When police arrived at the home, they saw the car being stolen and after a short chase the car was stopped in Calista Road, Wellard.
The police spokeswoman said four juveniles, three females and one male, were taken into custody and are assisting police with inquiries but that no charges have yet been laid.
*Emphasis mine
I sure hope there's more to the story as this absolutely amazes me - "her friend went inside the house to get some [money]" - they were in a CAR, why didn't they just start the engine and drive away? or lock the car when they saw the bunch of kids approaching (I mean it was 12.30am) ... must be more to this than is reported ...

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Not sure whether I should be proud or concerned ..

When my girls ask "What calibre for this?" while walking through the clothes section at the local department store whenever they spotted an animal print / "fur" item.


[Update]Horrific grammar corrected somewhat[/Update]

Miss 10's Letter

As part of Miss 10's homework this week she had to write a letter to the author of the book she's reading.  As I previously posted she is current hooked on "Eats, Shites and Leaves".  Here is her letter:


Mr A. Parody
Author: “Eats, Shites and Leaves”

February 29, 2012

Dear Mr Parody

I have taken your advise and I will not never use double negatives.  I will not repeat myself and avoid being repetitive.  I will no indulge in sesquipedalian lexical constructions.  I will not over use exclamation marks!!! And again I will not repeat myself or say again what I have said before.

I know a man with a wooden leg named Smith too!!!

Have you ever asked yourself “Why when the stars are out they can be seen but when the lights are out they can’t be seen?”

The Inglish language iz annoying that’s a guarantee becoz it cause koass for foreners and not foreners.

Has it ever occurred to you … that feet smell and noses run?  Why the human race will not win the race against time?

Why is it that you can walk down a road even if it does uphill? Why people sit down in the day and sit up in the night?

Yes, exaggerating is a million times worse than understatement.

Always employ the vernacular!!!
Regards your loyal reader,



[Redacted]
(Note: All misspellings and incorrect grammar are from the book)

I was impressed.