Gunshow

My partner Doc was in town and he and I went to the gun show today. Let me tell you a bit about Doc. I met him long ago when someone told me he knew how to "start fires with sticks". Well long story short, he is the guy who taught me to make fire with a bow drill. I have since passed on the knowledge to countless others. But, I originally learned from Doc and he is the true Master of the Fire. As you might well imagine, being a friend, he is also just mildly interested in firearms. Okay, more than mildly.

So we went to the show. It was well attended. In fact we got there just 45 minutes after opening and the lot was already full so we had to drive through mud and crud and grass and park in a “non-designated spot”. Well, that’s what 4x4 is for. We were not alone in our choice for parking space and it all turned out fine (no tickets).

It’s been awhile since I attended a gun show and I had forgotten how much I like them. I really didn’t plan on buying anything but you know how that goes. You can see my purchases there in the photo.

I was walking down an aisle and a guy said, “Did you know Ron Paul is the only gun-friendly candidate?” Now this is not a political blog so bear with me… I told him the four voters of my household would be voting for Ron Paul. That surprised him and made him happy and he said, “Do you have a Ron Paul yard sign?” I told him I did not and he handed me one and then asked if I could donate five bucks for it. Sure, no problem.

Hey, if you are planning on voting for someone else – we can still be friends. It’s your right as an American to vote – for whom you please. And that’s about as political as I intend to get today.

I plan on “getting my wife” an under-folder AK when Uncle Sugar sends us some of our tax money back – if he does. I don’t want to spend money I have allocated for other things for one right now but you know what? She is going to need magazines and they aren’t getting any cheaper. So I found two for $10 bucks each (actually, Doc found them) and three for $15 each. They are Chinese but Doc assured me they will work just fine. He ought to know. ‘nuff said there. I said it before, I’m not an AK guy but I saw an under-folder last weekend and it was just so sweet. I really think my wife will like it. Despite the fact she told me she is perfectly happy with what she already has. And if she just doesn’t cotton to it… well now, I’m sure I could find a place for it in the safe, or on the wall, or in the truck, or….

I also picked up some magnetic key boxes. They were a buck a piece for two of them and the third came in a grab bag of “three items for a dollar”. Some of you with more interesting backgrounds will realize right away just how handy a small box with an attached magnet can be, for everyone else – it was a fine price and we’ll leave it at that.

I also got in the grab bag two key chains. One has an orange floating dealy-bob on it so your keys don’t sink if you drop them in the water and the other has an led light. I will use them both as demonstrator models in some of the classes I teach.

The final item I got is one that I am really excited about - an orange GI one quart plastic canteen. How cool is that? I met the guy who makes them and may be going into business with him as a distributor. I have a web site for my training business that is not quite ready for prime time (when it is, I’ll link to it from here). One thing we are going to do is add a “store” to it. I think I’m going to sell these canteens there as well as distribute them to other businesses and organizations. If you are interested - drop me a line. I may even do a separate blog on them at some time in the future. The major points are these: for the vast majority of us, survival gear need not be “tactical” meaning camouflaged. If you drop something in a survival situation when you are cold, wet, tired, and hungry – and probably injured, you want to be able to find it immediately. Another thing is, you want multi-use gear. A canteen that also serves as a signaling device is a good thing. More on this later maybe.
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If you have any comments I’d love to hear them.
If they really interest me, I may even post them.
You can reach me at vikingservices@hotmail.com

Prepared Americans for a Strong America