Tag Archives: Handguns

The Great Teddybear Massacre

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A group of burners (Burning Man junkies, not pot smokers) extended an invitation to me to come to their “Cute Shoot”. This is a wholesome family event that features exploding teddy bears. These bears are unstuffed and restuffed with Tannerite (a legal impact sensitive explosive compound), 1lb propane cannisters, cans of V8, and numerous combinations of the above items. The animals are bought for about a dollar a pound at the Goodwill bins distribution centers. After stuffing, the animals are placed a safe distance downrange and engaged with high velocity rifles. Rimfire rounds and pistol rounds will not usually detonate Tannerite. One exception is my friend Anne. She detonated a bear with a Glock 17 (9mm) pistol. That’s not an easy shot with a 5.5 inch barreled handgun fired from an unsupported position at 30 meters. Nice shooting Anne!

I rigged up a portable flamethrower with a tank that you strap on like a backpack. I made it specifically to help with the cleanup of the bits of fluff generated by exploding teddy bears. It worked nicely and the land owner was pleased with how it burned up the scraps. I was originally going to drop a 20lb propane tank into an REI expedition backpack but it wouldn’t fit through the top entry! Then I figured I’d buy a smaller diameter 10lb tank that would fit into the pack. I spotted a hank of rope I had in the back of my truck and decided to use it to rig up shoulder straps and save 90 bucks by not buying a new tank. I used an 8 foot long piece of that rope, fit each end with hot melt adhesive lined heat shrink tubing, doubled the rope, looped it through the collar handle on top of the tank, passed the ends through a gardening kneeling pad, and threaded the rope through holes in the tank’s base ring. I also made a 90 degree adapter for the propane tank to ease mechanical stresses on the tank valve. An 8 foot hose leading to the Manchester Power Jet hand burner completed the rig. It’s easy and cheap and really works well. You can also use this setup for walking your driveway, logging road, or cow pasture to burn weeds and it’s a dandy and fun way to get your burn piles lit up in the fall when they’re a bit wet. I have removed the gas orifice from the top tube which is the burner gas delivery tube. This allows a longer and fuller bodied flame. If you’re only burning weeds, you can leave the orifice in place to conserve propane.

Mixing 1 pound Tannerite charges to stuff the bears with.

Mixing 1 pound Tannerite charges to stuff the bears with.

A Tannerite stuffed teddybear ready for the firing squad...

A Tannerite stuffed teddybear ready for the firing squad...

He shoots, he scores!

No more teddybear...

Teaching a panda bear to defend herself from propane crazed teddybears.

Teaching a panda bear to defend herself from habitat destroying teddybears.

Another rabid teddybear taken out of action!

Another rabid teddybear taken out of action!

I was a little heartbroken by this one...

I was a little heartbroken by this one...

Cleanup is always more fun with a flamethrower!

Cleanup is always more fun with a flamethrower!

 

Concealed Carry Handguns – Foxfur’s Picks

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Here’s a subject that I’ve been wanting to blog about for a while now. Self defense. Specifically, the most effective self defense option: Handguns. I am a gun lover plain and simple. I was a gunsmith and federally licensed firearms dealer and manufacturer. I was a unit armorer in the United States Army, a military gunsmith, serving with the field artillery, “King of Battle”. I have been collecting firearms for more than 20 years. I live in the forest where I, and my friends, can shoot on the property at any time we like. I met my wife in the Army on a firing range. She can outshoot me with many of the weapons we own. We are up to five gunsafes now and really need a sixth. We likes our guns!

Handguns are an effective means of self defense that can be employed by anyone. I have trained a wheelchair bound woman, who is darned close to quadraplegic, to use, and use well, a revolver. The only person I can’t train is one who refuses, for whatever reason, to touch a firearm. Good luck with that pepper spray… The first rule of a gunfight is to bring a gun. Nuff said?

It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or woman, straight, gay, or bi, we all are potential victims of violent crimes. Steps can, and should, be taken to reduce our exposure to these crimes but there is always the chance of a random encounter that might just put your life on the line.

Carrying a firearm for self defense carries great responsibility. I won’t go into this as there are many who are more qualified to give you that information better than I could ever could. A quick google search will return many options. I may post some links on this in a future post.

This post is simply to share what works for me and Sweetpea. Handguns that suit our tastes and needs. Here are a couple of handguns that we own and carry for defensive purposes.

My preferred piece is the Taurus Millenium Pro PT-145 in .45ACP (.45 Auto). It is lightweight, ultra compact, has a high capacity (10 rounds), can fit in the waistband of virtually everything I wear, and has a cavernous bore that can throw a very big bullet at very bad people. 

Taurus Millenium Pro PT-145 Sub-Compact .45 Automatic

Taurus Millenium Pro PT-145 on the Taurus website                                   It’s about the largest caliber in the smallest package that you can carry. 10 rounds is a lot. I hope I never even have to fire one round, but it’s good to know that round has 9 brothers to back him up if he needs it. This is not designed to be a target grade handgun but it can hold its own. It will shoot a 3 inch group at 25 yards if I do my part. 

Another handgun we carry is the Ruger LCP in .380ACP (.380 Auto). LCP stands for Lightweight Compact Pistol though I like to call it the “Little Cute Pistol”. Cute but effective… Some debate the effectiveness of the .380 Auto as a defensive round. I don’t know about your tolerance but I don’t function well with any size holes in me and would quickly lose my motivation after the first hole was installed in me. Chances are that bad people have similar preferences to mine with regard to close range lead poisoning. This handgun is incredibly small, small enough to be entirely concealed behind my open hand, super lightweight, I can carry it in a shirt pocket quite easily, and has a capacity of seven rounds.

The Ruger LCP in .380 Automatic

 The Ruger LCP on Ruger’s website

This is the one I drop in my pocket when I’m making a large cash withdrawl at the ATM, running into the quik-mart, or even just strolling around the property. It’s only a touch over 5 inches in length and a hair over 3/4 inch thick. Teensy.

Feel free to leave questions with the comment feature. I’d be happy to offer what advice I can to those interested. If there’s any interest, I may, in a future post, share some home defense options in the way of shotguns and rifles.

You’ll note that I do not refer to any “less than lethal” options for self defense. It’s because I don’t believe in them. Period. If you want to face down a desperate thug, someone desperate enough to pull a knife or a gun on you, with a can of Mace, a puny knife, or a flimsy baton, that’s your choice. I will do everything in my power to return home each day when I leave the house. It’s not a matter of killing, it’s a matter of surviving.

Foxfur plinking with a Professional Ordnance Carbon-15 pistol in .223 Remington. A Ruger Vaquero in .45 Long Colt is slung around his waist.

The Carbon-15 is a carbon fiber, instead of aluminum, AR-15 pistol that fires the .223 Remington / 5.56mm NATO rifle round, the same round as our soldiers fire in their M16 / M4's.

 This is another favorite pistol I carry when hiking around on our property. Fun!

Bad men chasing my hot ass

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A friend and I have been wearing our Burning Man outfits in public lately. Mostly we have gone to restaurants but also surplus stores and junkyards. There is nothing in the world like putting a smile on peoples faces when they least expect it. Last monday our theme was post-apocalyptic. Last night it was a bit less specific. My friend showed up looking like he was from the 17th century and with his hair and glasses he appeared to be a direct descendant of the Franklin family.  I am rather male in gender and showed up looking like I was ready for a night cruising the gay bars… My mannerisms have always been sort of gender neutral with some leaning towards the feminine side. Deal with it. Though not trying or meaning to be, I do believe that I came across to the crowd as the genuine article. (Oh fuck! / Yay me!) Do I care? Oh hell no.
Sweetpea is my female childcare provider (wife, ME being said child) of 14 years and recently has become my incredibly talented and eager accessorizer. How sweet is that?
_____
 
Note to self:
Do not wear tight shiny hiphugger bellbottom sweats with pink side stripes, silver bracelets and necklace, rabbit fur vest, and nosering into a shitkicker bar!
 
I met Minxy, Helga and eDude for dinner. I had said the Helvetia Tavern BUT what I meant was the Rock Creek Tavern. Sweetpea helped once again in accessorizing me and I looked great. (I am a mild narcisissist but completely harmless…)
I arrived at the Rock Creek Tavern and soon figured out my mistake. I asked the boy at the bar for directions to their competitor. He graciously obliged me and I departed directly. Upon arrival at the Helvetia Tavern I looked around and noticed the looks. Sweet! After enjoying a burger and what turned out to be the best onion rings that I’ve ever had, I realized that the looks (that had continued throughout the meal) were not as desirable as I’d have preferred. In fact, most were downright hostile. Well fuck me. I had to exit the tavern section and enter the “family” section to use the ATM. Those tight little sweats didn’t hold much besides my credit card and juicyfruit (take that any way you like it…). Evidently ladies don’t carry wallets in their back pockets! Who knew? I could feel the burning eyes of the hayseeds and the women ignorant enough to breed with them melting the silky nylon goodness that firmly contained my ass (I’m very proud of it as it has held up remarkably well over the years, unlike many other parts of my declining physique.) I held my hands tightly on the sides of the ATM being ready to mule-kick anyone who might have gotten too close for my comfort which was virtually nonexistent at that point. My $100 and my key to freedom had dropped into the pan. My paws scooped it up gratefully and I assumed that my speedy escape was virtually guaranteed. A mouth-breather in full motorcycle garb exited the restroom beside the ATM. In front of him was his dirt-headed mountain child, or his latest kidnap victim, hard to tell with that crowd. They made their way past me (I SHOULD have jumped in front of them while I had the chance) and walked slowly to the door. I emerged unscathed from the door and unconciously my hand fell to my back pocket. Imagine my surprise when I felt and remembered my little plush fox that I’d tucked in there with just its head and front paws poking out the top. Maybe they were simply admiring the overwhelming cuteness of him? I rather doubt it…
I reentered the tavern room and made my way to the register now fully aware of the unfriendly looks being gratuitously showered upon me. The cretin at the grill looked up at me with a sneer and then refocused on his greasy charges. (Does the health department really approve of a cheekful of chewing tobacco while Enos there cooks our food?) It took what seemed like an eternity for the waitress to make her way to the register. I was so glad to see her pretty face (a real cutie with an angelic smile and eyes to die for. What the fuck was she doing there? Run, girl, run!) The entire time my ass was pointing towards the patrons, er, fuckwits. I told her to keep the change, went to the table, and our party made a hasty exit. Sweetpea had said before I left the house that I’d have folks, ok, guys, chasing my ass.
Sure, they all wanted a piece of it but not in any way that I’d have found even remotely enjoyable… 
 
Before I left my truck to begin my big adventure, I really didn’t think the low waistband of the sleek sweats would have held, let alone supported, my concealed carry holster with my sub-compact .45 automatic. A quick fitting proved that indeed they would! Always a handy thing for a guy in ladies sweats to know. I had to stop at the PO box in my shitkicker sawmill town for the mail. I tied the waistband tight and they held my handgun quite securely. 
I learn something new everyday… 
 

Don't touch my ass, cowboy!