Spider Tractor

We may not be close to the days of giant mechas like those in Patlabor (or the Starship Troopers novel depending on your point of reference), but this looks like a step in the right direction- Defense Tech reports that a Finnish company is manufacturing a six legged lumber carrying machine. It's been designed to minimise damage to forest soils and is capable of stepping over obstacles. I haven't checked out the videos of the machine walking yet but it's on my to-do list.

All we need to do now is up-armour the beast and add in some chain guns, automatic grenade launchers and perhaps a giant robotic arm.

Hogzilla

I'd intended to post on this yesterday after the story showed up on FARK but it totally slipped my mind- but I couldn't let it lie. Seems that the picture which did the rounds on the internet last year of Hogzilla- a Georgia hog rumoured to measure 12 feet in length and weigh 1,000lbs with 9inch tusks- was not a trick of perspective or Photoshop; it's real.

Seems that National Geographic got interested in the story and they did a bit of sleuthing. Hogzilla was a real feral hog, shot and killed by a hunter last year (wonder what he was packing?). The measurements the hunter gave were, however, a little on the generous side. NG put Hogzilla at seven and a half feet long and weighing about 800lbs. According to this Snopes article when a hog is hung it can add up to five feet to the length, perhaps explaining the difference. The 1,000lbs figure was of course an estimate and I don't think anyone could blame these guys for guessing a hog that big to weight that much. NG also tested Hogzilla's DNA and it turns out he had wild boar somewhere in his ancestry. I wonder if there are any more examples of the Hogzilla clan out there?

Bulldog Enfield

I've written a fair bit lately about the 7.62mm Russian version of the Enfield rifle, the Ogre Scout. One of the models that caught my eye is the SIA Tanker model- a very fine looking rifle indeed, and certainly much more shootable than the .303 Jungle Carbine.

Well, I had a look around and came across this example of the Tanker or Bulldog Enfield. It's not a calibre conversion, merely a chopped rifle, but it's a rather nice example of what can be done with the Enfield. An item like this chambered for 7.62mm Russian would be very nice indeed. No doubt more will follow on the topic as I do more Googling.

Students killed for having picnic

One site that I visit every day is Charles Johnson's Little Green Footballs- it's pretty much essential reading for me. Today's standout story is the attack on a group of students having a picnic in Basra by a man dressed in the garb of a Muslim cleric leading a group of Sadr's Mehdi Army. At least two were left dead by the attack. The attack was carried out because the Mehdis claimed that they had a duty to prevent the students from "dancing, sexy dress and corruption". They are evil bastards and it's a damn shame that they weren't all killed when they were fighting the American forces- yet more evidence, if we needed it, that appeasement does not work.

I wonder what the Moonbats would have to say about this? How many of them are students who like to hang out with the opposite sex and *gasp* listen to music? The Times adds this detail to the story- when the students at the university tried to organise protest demonstrations (ring any bells, Moonbats?) the Mehdi Army threatened to mortar bomb the campus. Perhaps some of the Moonbats would like to adjust their view of the world and appreciate the fact that they have the freedom to protest without having their universities bombed? Somehow I can't see it happening- I also can't envision any demonstrations being organised to support the Basra students.

LGF makes for pretty scary reading a lot of the time and there are some days when it just seems too depressing- kids are being killed because they wanted to have a f**king picnic? Bookmark it now. Go and read every day.

More Russian Enfields

MadOgre's scout rifle of choice- a bolt action 7.62mm Russian- has apparently been accepted by the Horde, with many- myself included- suggesting the Enfield rifle converted to fire the commie round. My own preference for this type of weapon in the previously posted on AIA M10-A2, an entirely brand new weapon rather than a conversion. Ogre's own suggestion was the Special Interest Arms Enfield K- a conversion of existing Enfields to the shorter 'jungle' configuration. This seems to be a very good choice and SIA offer a number of options including synthetic stocks and match grade barrels.

Of the SIA range the "Tanker" model- so named because of the impression that the cut down weapons were issued to tank crews (they never were)- caught my eye. It's an Enfield converted to 7.62 Russian with a barrel cut to 16" or 18" and with original sights and modified stock. It's a very handy looking item indeed and my interest in the Russian Enfield concept has been piqued even more by this example.

Moonbats a global phenomenon

It seems that the moonbats, those prime examples of cognitive dissonance, just won't go away. Preferring to stick their heads in the sand rather than face the reality of two totalitarian regimes being toppled and millions of people liberated, they continue to protest the war in Iraq- that would be the war which one could say ended some time ago when free elections took place for the first time in a generation. No, the moonbats would prefer to believe that there is such a thing as an "Iraqi resistance"- a terrorist movement made up of fighters from many different countries who have committed atrocity after atrocity against Allied troops, foreign citizens working in Iraq and, let's not forget, the Iraqi people themselves. Somehow the Moonbats would like to believe that these are freedom fighters- since Iraq has already held free elections and elected its own government, I'm not quite clear what freedoms they believe these terrorist thugs are fighting for. True to their nature, they are blithely ignoring current events and continuing to protest Bush's war- the fact that Bush has succeeded in Afghanistan and the "quagmire" of Iraq and has spread the seeds of freedom to the Middle East is, apparently, not taken into consideration.

The latest display of a rather serious case of Moonbattery can found right here in the UK in the "ten good reasons to vote Liberal Democrat". It's a bizarre list- of the problems facing the UK right now opposing Bush and Blair on the war in Iraq would seem to be curiously redundant. Perhaps they are opposed to liberating oppressed peoples and would prefer it if homicidal dictators were still in power?

The rest of the Lib Dems list doesn't make for any better reading. Strangely, while they confront the absolutely essential election issue of student tuition fees, they make no mention of immigration or the War on Terrorism (perhaps their stance on Iraq is their position in the WoT?)

Flight of Fancy

A female Indiana Jones as imagined by Adam Hughes. Many more examples of his superb artwork can be found at the Comic Art Community Adam Hughes Archive.

Interesting Website

Thanks to a link at Kim du Toit's site today, here's an interesting site called Box o' Truth- the page in question involves testing the effects of clothing on bullet expansion. The results are more than a little surprising with the .45 ACP Black Talon performing poorly, amongst others. Makes for a good read, particularly if you carry a concealed weapon. The moral of the tale is that heavy clothing can seriously inhibit hollow points from expanding.

Lever Guns

ACE posts today on the great idea of the new .460 S&W magnum in a lever gun. I've already posted (a few days back) on Wild West Guns' Model 04 in .500 S&W magnum- well, that lever gun is also available in .500 Linebaugh, .480 Ruger and .475 Linebaugh, and .454 Casull. Though it only mentions 500 and 454 on the WWG homepage, this site mentions the other calibre offerings. I'm sure it will not be long before the 04 is also available in .460 S&W magnum. In fact, WWG will probably be one of the first gunmakers to do so.

Other manufacturers seems to be pretty slow to jump on the big bore lever-gun bandwagon. Marlin offer the Model 1895RL in .480 Ruger/.475 Linebaugh, but other than that big-bore lever guns are sparse. Puma have the M92 in .480 Ruger and .454 Casull but that's about it as far as I can tell. It's a pretty odd situation considering the popularity of big-bore handguns- surely the market is calling out for companion lever guns to go with them?

Now that's what I call BIG bore

The muzzle of an A-10 Warthog gatling gun and the 30mm shell it fires.

AIA M10 Enfield

I've really got to get used to the idea that I can post pictures now. Here's today's gun of choice- the Australian M10A1 in 7.62mm Russian. This has an eighteen inch barrel. The A2 variant comes with a sixteen inch barrel.

AIA M10 "Russian" Enfield

I wrote a while back about the Australian International Arms M10-A1 rifle- a 'jungle' Enfield chambered for 7.62 Russian. This compact bolt action will not only fire the commie round, it'll take AK magazines. I thought of it instantly when MadOgre wrote about a scout rifle for the Horde. While the CZ he suggested is a great rifle, I think I'd have to go for the M10- mainly for the standard 10-round magazine capacity and the added bonus of taking 20 and 30-round AK magazines. The only adjustment this weapon would need for the scout rifle role I think, would be to mount the scope forward of the receiver.

The Gun Mart review (UK magazine) of this rifle pointed out that this is not a surplus adaption- it's a brand new gun, with the magazine well designed specifically for the AK magazines, and capable of fast magazine changes. The extractor has also been modified from the original screw type to a plunger type. Accuracy using quality ammo was only 2-3" at 100 yards but recoil was pleasant compared to the .303 Jungle carbine- when the semi-auto rifle ban was put in place in the UK jungle carbines became popular items for practical shooting contests. The reviewer states that the M10 shoots better than other straight pull rifles in the 7.62 Russian calibre.

Bourne Ultimatum

Word is that, not surprisingly, Matt Damon et al have signed for a third Bourne movie, the Bourne Ultimatum. I'm a big fan of the first two movies but I've got to admit that I've never read the books that they are based on- something I'll have to rectify soon. This article makes it clear that while the third film will have the same title as the book, the plot will be different- they're waiting for a script to be written and Damon says that if they can't make it as good as the first two movies, then they won't make it at all. That's an attitude which seems to be sadly lacking in Hollywood these days.

Been busy

Not many posts lately because I've been swamped just writing- I've discovered that my movie title writing exercise is horrendously addictive but rewarding- I've got a ton of new material out of it. The problem now is finding time to write the blasted stories!

Also, I've been been keeping at the Kettlebell (KB) training. As I've said before using the KB is great fun- it's also a lot easier to ad lib workouts- no weights to change, no swapping dumbbells for bars- just one bit of kit. My strength is building and my CV fitness is also much improved- I feel like I've got a lot more energy now than since I was about eighteen. Yeah, they're that good.

I've all but stopped the military press though, as my shoulders are getting strong enough without them. I prefer now to stick to the swing, clean and jerk and the snatch. A few sets of each is more than enough to get the heart thumping and to bring on a good sweat. It also takes very little time. I also stick on a set or two of squats at the end of the workout. I've binned the box squats in favour of a plain ass-to-ground squat with the kettebell held by the horns in front of me- adds a bit of resistance and also helps me to keep my balance. I've discovered that squats aren't really necessary with KB training as the exercises above are great for your legs- my hamstrings have NEVER been this powerful before- but I'm hoping to start doing pistols soon and this seems to be a pretty good way to get my legs prepared. A pistol, BTW, is a one legged squat that goes very deep. Also, the advantage of the KB squat is that you can get down really low- none of this thighs parallel to the ground nonsense (which is necessary with a bar across your shoulders). Again, my thighs are in better shape now than when I was doing leg extensions, legs presses, calf raises,leg curls and deadlifts- my thighs are showing good development all over. It sounds crazy that a fairly light weight like a KB should do all this but it does work.

I've also realised that I would have been a thousand times better prepared for the rigours of Marine training had I been using a KB. If you are in the service or want to join up, or know someone who is planning to, then get a KB. It's a real strength training tool and is much more effective than going to the gym to lift weights. Muscle mass might look good but military service calls for strength- and KBs deliver. The type of fitness they develop is also very suitable for military training- explosive power for all the sprinting and dashing around, endurance, raised energy levels to cope with the rigours of service life, and a strong back and hamstrings for yomping in full kit. All without the extra mass of gym muscle. I'm hooked.

Flight of Fancy

Savage Pellucidar by Frank Frazetta. Just because.

Department of the Bleeding Obvious

Stunning news just in! During the run-up to the US presidential election the press, according to a Columbia University watchdog, was three times more likely to be negative towards President Bush than to Kerry.

What a surprise. But what happened to the all-powerful right-wing media I hear moonbats complaining about all the time? Could it be that the media is actually biased towards the left-wing? I'm shocked.

Wild West Guns

Wild West Guns Model 04 .500 Smith and Wesson Magnum.

500 Smith and Wesson Magnum

The Smith and Wesson .500 Magnum might be the new big guy on the block, but I'm not overly taken by the Model 500 revolvers. The 10 and a half inch barrelled model seems over large for a handgun and the four inch model is more suited to a back-up gun, rather than a hunting handgun. And the eight inch model- well, it just doesn't seem right. When I think of a hunting handgun, a single action Ruger (with maybe a seven inch barrel) comes to mind. Perhaps that's just my Ruger bias showing but I'd always rate a Smith and Wesson second to a Ruger.

That's not to say that I'm not intrigued by the cartridge- I am. And what I'd like to shoot it in is this- the Wild West Guns Model 04. The sixteen inch barrel version is surely packable enough and it would seem preferable to me to hunt with a light and handy carbine than with a massive 10 and a half inch revolver. Maybe that's just me. I'm certainly not opposed to handgun hunting- I'd love to go after some hogs with a revolver- but when it comes to the .500 Magnum, I'd like to be packing the four inch Model 500 on my hip- and the Model 04 in my hands.

A bit of sad news

I just noticed this bit of news when I was on HK's site- they are no longer producing the G3 rifle, the HK33, the HK53 compact carbine or the HK23E and HK13E machine guns.

Of them all the G3 is perhaps the biggest loss. It's pretty telling that their current catalogue of military weapons is almost exclusively 5.56mm- 7.62mm only appears in their sniper rifles, the PSG1 and the MSG90A1, and in the HK21E. Odd considering that US Special Forces have just selected the FN SCAR in 7.62mm and there's widespread dissatisfaction with the 5.56mm . The SAS also uses the G3 family of weapons and at a time when you'd think that Special Forces from various nations would be seeing an increase in deployments, one of the world's biggest military arms manufacturers ceases production on weapons favoured by such units.

New Army Rifle

According to this Army Times article, the competition for a replacement weapon system is now open. No news on others weapons being put forward for the contest but I reckon that Heckler and Koch has the competition all but sown up with the XM8. It'll be interesting to see what else is put up against it.

And the bad news is that the Army is going to (predictably) stick with the 5.56mm round.