Saturday, September 11, 2010

Do you remember 9/11/2001 ?

Today is the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and I wanted to say a few things and remember what happened that fateful day.

September 11, 2001 was the day our world changed forever and it will never go back to the way it was before that day. Over 3,000 people lost their lives in an attack that would rattle the American people and bring us closer than ever before, at least it did for a few years anyway. Now nine years later very little has been done to rebuild, yeah the rubble has been cleared away, but nothing has been built there aside from a memorial that few people visit. Now I'm not going to get political and complain about the lack of progress on that site or the politics behind any rebuilding efforts, but you'd think in 9 years something would've happened, right ?

America came together that day. Only one thing mattered that day, we all were Americans, no matter if you were rich or poor, strong or weak, young or old, you were an American. Many people lost loved ones that day and people were changed. I, for one, still have nightmares stemming from things I saw on the news footage that day, but my nightmares are nothing compared to those suffered by folks who were there when it happened. They went through what can be considered a living Hell.

I guess what I really want to say is please don't forget the events of September 11, 2001. Don't forget the people who lost their lives that day.

Remember 9/11/2001 forever.

Thank you and God bless America.

This is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Random Thoughts #12: Ode to the Mosin Nagant.

Hey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here with a new edition of Random Thoughts.

On one of the web forums I post on, there has been some bashing of the Mosin Nagant series of rifles. Some are saying it's the worst rifle out there, while others are saying the guns are ugly and shoot horribly. While it may be true that the Mosin doesn't have the aesthetic appeal of the Mauser or Model 1903 Springfield rifles, it gets the job done. The Russians designed this gun to be dead simple to use and maintain because the troops who would use them weren't exactly used to using a gun. Guns were heavily restricted by the Bolsheviks after the Russian Revolution and even before then, so unlike folks in the US who grew up with a rifle in their hands, most Russians had no idea what to do when they were given a Mosin and told to shoot Wehrmacht soldiers.

I like the Mosin Nagant rifles. While I have other guns in my collection that vastly out shoot my Mosin, it's the one rifle I keep going back to when I want to have fun at the range. The one thing that pisses me off is folks keep comparing the Mosin to the famed Mauser rifles. A Mosin is not the same as a Mauser so stop comparing them to each other. A Mosin will never be a Mauser and vice versa. It's really starting to irritate me. It's almost like the WW2 version of AK-47 vs. AR-15, both rifles are good for what they are and both have their own sets of advantages and disadvantages.

Either gun is good, whether you like the Mosin or the Mauser. They both are dead reliable and almost idiot-proof when it comes to maintaining them.

I'm going to put this to a vote and ask you folks which rifle you like. If you wouldn't mind, please leave a comment with your preference between the Mosin Nagant and the Mauser series of rifles. If you like both rifles like I do, then put that in your comment. It's not a popularity contest or anything I just want to get your opinions on the matter.

That'll do it for this edition of Random Thoughts. As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.