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If It Weren't For Bad Luck...

May 7, 2015, 5:15 pm
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I'd have no luck at all.

Reatta was shipped to the FFL the buyer suggested...

Who is closed for a whole week!

Oh come on!

I fervently pray that UPS has some procedure for this and can reschedule delivery for when they reopen.
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No Ocho

May 8, 2015, 10:15 am
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Between us, I think we could have gotten to "Once de Mosin"...  Maybe "Trece de Mosin."

The problems are that we'd run out of room to make a decent photograph of the collection and we're just adding additional M91/30 to the stack.

Maybe next year...

Do one a day all month!

Send me a picture of your Mosin's dear readers.  An overall shot and one of the barrel shank markings so we can do a write up of which version it is.  With notes for low wall round, high wall round or hex receivers for the 91/30's.

This is a case where you don't get to say, "I don't have a Mosin," there's no excuse to not have one!  If recoil averse Marv and perennially impoverished Erin can afford one, you can too!

My plan will be to order them by the date on the barrel shank.

Send your pics to McThag at gmail for El proyecto Mosin.
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Carbine Class

May 8, 2015, 11:49 am
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Saw one advertised on Arfcom.

They mention all the classes you should have had before you could sign up for this one as prerequisites.

I can take the recommended classes or buy a new car.

Wow.

The odds that I'll need the car are much higher than needing anything they teach in the class.

Times like this is when I realize that while I am managing to pay my bills, I am by no means rich.

OK, it's not quite that bad...

But the ammo adds up fast.

You need to take the advanced versions of both handgun and carbine ($200 each), which have the basic versions as prerequisites ($150 each).  500 rounds of ammo per gun per class for a total of 2,000.

Once you clear the prerequisites class itself is $400 and you're going to need 1,000 rounds of carbine and 400 for your handgun.

Never mind all the tactical gear for carrying the guns and ammo during the classes.

Then travel and lodging...

For what?

I still am grappling with what niche these classes fill.  Get me ready for warre?

Willard just giggles when he watches the videos these places put on YouTube to drum up business.

I've been to war.  It's not even remotely like anything I've seen in any class I've ever taken.  I did feel very prepared for the carbine version of IPSC though.  Some of what I learned did come in handy at a three gun match I attended where my times could have been clocked on a sundial.  I timed out on all three heats, but they let me finish the last stages just to see how long it took me to limp through it.

Hire the handicapped, they're fun to watch.

But what I learned in those classes that applied to three gun would also have came from just attending a couple more matches.  My performance is more affected by my gimpy leg than lack of shooting skills, thankfully; but should warre come I'm going to have to play pillbox because I can't run and gun.
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Arrrrgh

May 8, 2015, 12:07 pm
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Ever hit "Publish" instead of "Save" while you're still composing?

Mutter mutter damn kids grumble technology mumble mumble lawn...
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I Must Have Fallen Down The Stairs

May 8, 2015, 7:06 pm
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Microsoft was right to treat me this way...

Crispy was set to run updates automatically.

Then she started rebooting at random.

Turns out it was Windows Update attempting to install a Critical Cumulative Security Update to Internet Explorer 11.

SIGH

I don't even USE IE.  But I've learned from my adventures with Bootcamp on The Beast that if you ever need to manually download a patch from MS, you have to use their browser.

First thing was to set the updates to "inform and ask" instead of "have your way with me".

Next was to check the update history where I noticed the same patch kept failing.

Googling the patch number led me to several missteps and finally to MS's own site where I got instructions on checking to see if the patch had actually installed, but was not reporting success.  It had, it wasn't.  Now I can safely ignore this patch while they come up with a fix for the reporting.

Anglave is constantly amazed at my poor luck with updates and patches.
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Women And Minorities Most Affected

May 10, 2015, 12:25 pm
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When I started shooting the only time you'd see a woman at a range was if she was there with her boyfriend.

And she didn't look happy and she wasn't there to shoot.

If she did shoot it was either a joke made by the boyfriend or a barely tolerated, "ok if this will make you happy canwegosoon?" thing.

Starting a few years ago, I started seeing more girls at ranges.  Then I noticed they were shooting like it was why they'd come to the range.  Then I noticed a lack of male accompaniment.

OUTstanding!

It's doubtlessly sexist of me to notice that we've more female shooters and being happy about it.

I don't care.

More women shooting means more people shooting and that means more shooters.  That's a good thing!

My best shooting moment in a long time is having one of these women come up and ask me what my Finn Kv/28/30 was.  A fellow geek wanted to geek on the guns as an equal!  HUZZAH!

I've noticed more black people at the ranges lately too.  There've long been the occasional group of black people shooting, but it's different now.  Before it had a bachelor party feel as several guys would bang away with an AK clone or SKS all laughing and fooling around.  Now it's alone or in pairs and shooting "with a purpose".  Trying to make smaller groups or get faster times.

The "them" of the bachelor party youth has morphed into the "us" of recreational shooter.

It's been interesting to see the transition.

One demographic that seems to have fallen off is the "loud and proud" of both white trash and Latinos.  Both subsets seem to have decided to dress and talk like everyone else at the range and blend in rather than be in people's faces about their ethnic pride.

The shooting range as a melting pot?
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Didja Know

May 10, 2015, 1:45 pm
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The V in VKT doesn't mean Valmet?

VKT stands for Valtion Kivääritehdas or State Rifle Factory.  Kivääri is Finnish for rifle, by the way.

Valmet comes from Valtion Metallitehaat or State Metalworks.

VKT was absorbed by Valmet in a 1951 merger.

Likewise the T in VKT has nothing to do with Tikka.

Tikka was a brand name of Oy Tikkakoski Ab and was absorbed by SAKO in 1983.

Speaking of SAKO...  SAKO is an acronym for Suojeluskuntain Ase ja Konepaja Oy or Civil Guard Gun and Machineingworks.

Valmet and SAKO have been merged and separated several times, Nokia (yes the cell phone company) has owned half of SAKO at one time, but Beretta is the present owner.

Also, it's not really Finnish.  They'd say Suomi for the people, language and nation.
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Czech Vz 52/57 Rifle

May 10, 2015, 2:48 pm
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Ask WHO?

May 10, 2015, 6:37 pm
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Tam says, "Ask Pat; he's on Facebook..."

Pat...

Pat ROGERS.

Like it's just someone she casually knows... not someone famous or anything.

That's right up there with, "my good friend Oleg."

Making fun of some testosterone club named after a Webelos badge activity is one thing... actually speaking to THE Pat Rogers?

My self worth doesn't allow for it.
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It's How You Say It

May 10, 2015, 9:35 pm
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One of the reasons I really hate our media, and that includes Fox, is the recent reporting of an explosion of a transformer at a power plant.

Every article I've seen so far emphasizes that it was a nuclear power plant but doesn't mention that transformers of that type and size are present at hydroelectric facilities.

How the power is generated is irrelevant to the situation.
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Nope

May 10, 2015, 9:50 pm
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If you have a Finnish Kiv/91 made by SAKO you don't have a Kiv/91.

That's a Kiv/24, with or without a stepped barrel.  Sometimes a Kiv/24 with a 91 profile barrel is called a Kiv/91/24 but it's unusual.

If you have one with a stepped barrel made by anyone else, it's a Kiv/91.

Finn Mosin collecting is fascinating and occasionally confusing.

By the way, there's soon to be a VKT Kiv/91 in the house.  Thanks Willard!
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Nice NEW Mosin

May 11, 2015, 10:10 am
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New England Westinghouse M1915 marked Model 1891 Mosin-Nagant.



Intact Imperial Crest
English Agent mark.

The buttplate is really the only place showing damage instead of honest wear.


US Acceptance Mark


Arshins.

We don't need no stinking metric system!

Still a lot of shine left in that bore.



Just $1,899 from Deer Hunter Guns in Clearwater, FL.  If you have the means, and are collecting Mosins, this is one of the rare examples you hear about but never actually see.
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Cash Flow

May 12, 2015, 5:00 am
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As I ease into mooring and dock fees I keep having to expand on the givens.

Money.

Imperial currency is elaborately designed to prevent counterfeiting; but cash has many disadvantages.  Not least of which is a requirement for physical transfer of the funds.  You might notice that we don't do much of that even today at TL8...

Imperial currency, like the US dollar, is a fiat currency.  Its value is really based on a mind game:

A credit is worth something because the seller will accept it in exchange for the goods I want to buy.  Their acceptance is predicated on the belief that they too will be able to exchange it for goods they want later.

The credit transactor makes this electronic, and must be "loaded" with cash at a bank or imperial credit kiosk (think ATM machine) or with secure funds from a direct transfer.

Direct transfers occur by linking transactors through any number of communications systems.  The encryption is robust and trusted.  Trusted is the important part here.

While the computers would be amazing by our GURPS TL8 standard, they're kind of clunky compared to what the state of the art could build if unfettered by backwards compatibility and parts interchange.

The GURPS TL10 (LBB TL: C) computer is the Imperium wide standard.  The reason for this ossification of computer technology is there's a real need to be able get parts for your Type A Free Trader at any place in the Imperium from The Rim to Behind the Claw.  Some of these ships are hundreds of years old!  And people today think a B-52H is a dated design!

These "clunky" centuries old designs are far beyond anything we have today.  The distance technologically is the same as between what you're reading this on and a difference engine.  The state of Traveller art at GURPS TL12 (LBB TL: F) is as advanced again that far from the average.

The handshake for financial transactions is standardized with this in mind.  It's as secure as secure can be, and the only people who really have the hardware to readily crack it are the same people who've a vested interest in seeing it remain secure.

It turns out it's relatively simple to keep ahead of SOTA brute force decryption with an older machine, just keep adding bits to your key until the solution time falls below the level where you're comfortable.  If the people cracking your encryption have resorted to brute force, you've 80% won the match already.

Yes, there is counterfeiting.  Some.  It never gets very big and it never gets very far.  In addition to the black, The Imperium owns the currency.  Because there's a high degree of personal freedom and egalitarianism present in The Third Imperium we tend to forget that it's not a representative democratic republic.  It is a feudal monarchy.  There are several places in Imperial law where the process is very abbreviated; counterfeiting is one such place.  It has zero tolerance for counterfeiters and less sense of humor about it.  Imperial Warrants are issued with, "find them and kill them, do whatever it takes," orders.  Open ended warrants like that are taken very seriously indeed.  In addition, the real organized criminals have come to recognize that devaluing the currency with fake money is too short a con to bother with, and it only hurts their long game.
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The Finnish Army Was Mexican?

May 12, 2015, 9:51 am
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All of the guns are marked esé...


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Ancient Wisdom

May 12, 2015, 3:24 pm
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If you lose something, buy a replacement.

As soon as the original is replaced, it will be found.

I found my Mosin oil bottle.


Three Mosin-Nagant cleaning kits.

The least complete kit came with Katerina.

The one in the middle I bought from a gun shop's bargain bin because I couldn't find my oil bottle.

The kit on the right came with Svetlana, and I didn't include it when I gave her to Anglave.
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Dissonance

May 12, 2015, 5:35 pm
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Efate:  One of my favorite destinations in The Spinward Marches.

LBB Supplement 3 gives in year 1105.

Regina 0105 A646930 D N Non-industrial.  Imperial Way Station.

Starport A, 6,000 mi dia, Thin-tainted atmo, 60% surface water, billions of people, self-perpetuating oligarchy, no laws affecting weapons possession or ownership, above imperial average TL, Navy Base.  With a population code of 9, it's not supposed to be non-industrial...

LBB The Spinward Marches Campaign gives in 1111.

1705 A646930-D B Hi In 800lm K4 V

Starport A, 9,600km dia, thin-tainted atmo, 60% surface water, billions of people, self-perpetuating oligarchy, no laws affecting weapons possession or ownership, above imperial average TL, Navy Base and Way-Station.  High population.  Industrial.

GURPS: Traveller give in 1120.

Starport: Class V.  Way station and naval base.
Diameter: 6,339 miles.  Atmosphere: Thin oxygen-nitrogen, tainted by a low oxygen content.  Surface Water: 60%.  Climate: Cold.  Population: 8,373,000,000.  Government: Military (naval governor).  Control Rating: 4.  TL: 10.

Even considering the differences in game systems...  The government, law and tech levels have changed.

GURPS TL10 is Imperial average, a B or C in LBB terms.

Control rating of 4 which allows "hunting weapons like single-shot laser rifles, knives and other low-tech weapons.  That's more like Traveller law level of 5!

Efate being controlled by the military kinda-sorta fits self-perpetuating oligarchy...

Since the differences aren't in the same year, one could come up with why there was a crack-down on personal armaments.  It's just the place was so handy for the players to stock up on high-tech military small arms and get better warheads for the missile racks.
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Ominous

May 13, 2015, 10:21 am
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Nothing quite like winning a gunbroker auction, performing all of the required steps on my end and getting silence from the seller.
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Inflation

May 13, 2015, 10:45 am
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My first Mosin-Nagant was an Izhevsk M91/30 I bought at a gun show for $70 that was around 2004.

Less than a year ago the going price on a 91/30 was $150.

Now I am seeing them for $225.

Finns are doing the same thing.

The $400 kiv/91 I was just drooling on was a $250 gun five years ago.

The 28/30 I stole from Willard was a $500 gun then and they are running $800 now.

Even the ubiquitous kiv/39 went from $300 in 2012 to $450 today.
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Semi-Precious Green Stone Head Protection*

May 13, 2015, 10:57 am
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Just for paranoia's sake...

There's very little training our troops undertake that cannot be used against the citizenry should evil orders be issued and obeyed.

*Jade Helm.
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On That $1,900 Mosin

May 13, 2015, 11:06 am
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I am amused at how many people on arfcom feel that it's not worth the money.

I'm watching a Remington in better shape creep up on $1,500 on Gunbroker...

A couple of people claim to have nicer ones.  But aren't posting pics, so...

At least one guy has sent a pic where the arsenal rework square is clearly visible along with Tula markings on the bolt.

Another is equating the unaltered NEW gun with his minty Finnish gun.  Not the same thing considering the Finn is definitely reworked and probably doesn't have many parts that were original to that barrel (it might not even be the same receiver that barrel left East Springfield attached to); not to mention all the extra proofs and stamps the SA would add.
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