Posted By matt on June 15, 2007

Well, I hope folks enjoyed the Zombie Invasion.

In other news, I managed to get the large pile of trees and limbs from cleaning up the property all burned and disposed of. There are still more fallen limbs to drag out of the woods and a bunch which need to be trimmed back, but it's a start. There is also some old fencing which needs to come down, and some other misc bits of metal which need to be collected and checked to see if they are worth keeping. Most of the new steel will be – there's some angle iron, some thin sheets, and a couple of massive posts. However, there's also some rusty old car parts and such which I probably won't keep. I also need to pull out a bunch of 4×4 posts which were used as fence posts. We have about a dozen of them, all good pressure-treated stuff, so that's going in the garage for later. You never know what you might need those for.

We've also (sortof) scored a 6HP Troy-Bilt Horse model rototiller. It is in nearly immaculate condition, needs new oil and some carburetor cleaning, but the parts for this are minimal (some rubber tubing and gasket material) and it's mostly just a bit of work. The only big thing it needs are new tines, as these are very worn down. That will be like $100. However, we're not going to do it until we buy it (hence the sortof). See, it needed a home, so it's here and in our garage. We can fix it and use it how we please, and if we want it at the end of the summer we can make an offer. Now, for those of you that know these tillers, they need no explanation. For those of you that don't they basically run forever if properly maintained. The engines are cast-iron blocks, really heavy duty stuff, and the rest of the tiller is mostly steel and iron as well. They literally go forever. The new ones, however, are not the same thing. They are made from stamped steel and, while the engine isn't that bad (they're using Honda engines, I think), it's not really the same “beefiness” as the previous method of manufacture (Troy-Bilt was bought by MTD, who used the name to brand a completely different machine). It's no wonder that a vintage Troy-Bilt in good condition will command prices nearly as high as a new one. The one we have, for example, with new tines would go for perhaps $500. New ones can be had for $570 at the low end and $750 as you get more towards the high end.

Mikey has decided that he likes to hunt, and has been doing his best to control the local Chipmunk population. Ever the gourmand, he's not restricting himself just to chipmunks. Yesterday he got a garden snake, a chipmunk, a mole, and a field mouse. He likes to bring them (usually mostly unharmed) to the glass door by the basement where he plays with them in the shade for the amusement of the humans.

The folks from Abraham Heating and Cooling are here installing my A/C unit. It is about the size of a Volkswagen. I will post pictures.

I am still arguing with the state of NY about gun stuff. For those not in the know, it breaks down like this:
$30 per gun to bring into the state (need to pay FFL transfer fees to transfer it from myself to myself) * 9 guns = $270
$?? shipping (ship from RI to dealer in NY)
$99 fingerprint fee
$5 permit application fee

$374

Now, the thing is, the “bring the guns into the state” deal isn't really law – it's just the judge's discretion, and he won't issue me a permit if I don't do it. I think this is silly, so I'm arguing with him about it. However, the argument will basically end with his next letter – I was building up to my “I can't find this anywhere in the law so I conclude it is your discretionary authority in this matter. Given the issue if tremendous cost here, might you reconsider”. If he says no, there's not much more I can do (though I have a letter from him saying no), and if there is some matter of law, I have asked him to cite the law so that I can send a letter to my Senator asking it to be changed. Of course, this will not change me getting the guns (because it takes too long for the law to get changed anyway), and since the $30 per gun goes to a dealer not the state, you can't realistically expect to get it back. I'm also considering selling my 1911. If I end up having to bring all the guns here through a dealer, then I will need the money to pay for it, and it will be $30 less. At first, I balked because “well, I won't have a home defense handgun”, but I'll still have the .357 Magnum. Then I thought “but it's my first 1911″, which is also not true. I had one of the polymer framed Kimber 1911's, and sold it to get this one because the checkering was way too hard and it tended to bite me. Since it was plastic, you couldn't really “dehorn” it like you could with a metal one. So, the idea here is that I sell this 1911, save money by shooting lots of .22. I won't have to worry about reloading because that was mainly to feed the 1911. Then, in a year when things have settled out, I can go out and buy a nice 1911 by way of Springfield Armory, Kimber, STI or Ed Brown (full size, metal frame, single stack, maybe with the light rail on it, and then chuck some Crimson Trace Lasergrips on it).

I also need to find a range. Many of them around here are “bubba” ranges (no rapid fire, no jacketed ammo, etc.). Sure, the guys are nice and all that, but I can't do what I want to do. I found a range where they shoot IDPA, but they require factory lead-free ammo, which means $18/50 of .45. Considering I reload for less than half that, and money is tight, I can't really afford to do that (and if I sell the 1911, I wouldn't have a proper gun anyway (yes, I know I could use the .357. No, I probably don't want to), so then it gets real cheap). I just need one where I can shoot the guns I have as fast as I want. There are a couple more ranges, and I have a couple more folks to contact, I've just been being lazy about it (inasmuch as “being lazy” means “working in the yard while it's not so hot”).

Anyway, time to go to work.

Edit: I should also note that I would still have the Colt SAA reproduction, and nothing says “piss off” like a 250gr Hornady XTP JHP in a factory hunting load. This is Liz's home defense gun (she likes the revolvers better than the autos) and I'm on the fence as to which is a better goblin-stopper round… Furthermore, there's the intimidation factor. The .357Mag makes people think Dirty Harry, and the SAA makes people think Good the Bad and the Ugly (both Clint Eastwood, actually), but what does the 1911 give you? I think goblins are more impressed/scared by revolvers than autos for some reason…

Category: LJ Import
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