Oh, Humans...

This will probably anger people, but so have other posts on my blog, so here goes nothing.

I was raised Catholic. I attended Catholic schools from Kindergarten through my Senior year of High School. I went to church. I prayed. I even attended World Youth Day in 2000 in Rome.

And then my beliefs pretty much went to hell.

In being honest about who I am with those closest to me, I lost "friends" - they couldn't handle my honesty. They said I was a sinner, and therefore we could not be friends. They insisted I must change my ways, else I go to hell and bring everyone down with me. They did so under the guise of caring, loving Catholics who only wanted the best for me.

Then I admitted I was questioning my faith. This brought further backlash, further inner turmoil, further alienation from those I'd known since early childhood. I wondered how this would be possible if I were a God-loving woman. I wondered if this were considered some sort of testing by my God.

And then, I stopped it all. I stopped praying, I stopped believing, I stopped going to church, and I stopped spending time with those who were, at one point in time, the most important friends I had. And I felt free. I felt unencumbered by my fears, unfettered by those Commandments which had held me back for decades. I admit, I went a little nuts. I overindulged. I let myself experience many of the things I couldn't under the laws of the Church. And I was happy.

I'm just relieved I was able to do much of this without the denizens of the Internet reading about my journey...because I doubt I'd have been able to take it as well as this lady.

I know I'm tossing my 2-3 readers into the middle of this mess, so here's a quick recap. A bloggess called Mrs. G, who created The Women's Colony and who regularly contributed to The Pioneer Woman's Homeschooling section wrote a recent post regarding how she introduced religion into her children's lives. It's well written, and I certainly appreciated her approach (and seriously, go read the post her daughter wrote). She neither force fed them nor taught them nothing, giving them ample opportunity to choose whatever path they wanted to follow. I respect this.

Many of the readers of The Pioneer Woman, however, did not. Cue massive amounts of negative comments, emails, and even two phone calls to Mrs. G's home. People were angry...for silly reasons, in my opinion. The worst of it is how so many of them were claiming to be devout Christians, yet they were insulting everything about her; from her appearance to her method of raising her kids, they made a point to bring her down.  I repeat: they called her at home to harass her.  Who DOES that?

If anything, this has reaffirmed my aversion to organized religion. If one cannot worship in their own way (as laid out in the Bible), why bother worshiping in community at all? Furthermore, why are people so incapable of actually following the rules of their chosen religion? The most basic undercurrent of all Christian religions is one of love, not hatred for those who aren't like "us." No wonder Christians have such a bad reputation. Their loudest and most obnoxious (and seemingly least-devout) members* can't even follow the rules they preach.

I think what angers me the most about all of this - including the comments on The Pioneer Woman - is the lack of tolerance.  There are MANY religions out there, and not every one is a fit for every person.  Why can't people understand this?  Why must there be so much ridiculous fighting over something so personal?

Why can't we let each other find the best path for ourselves, and applaud each other once we've found the belief structure that fits best?


*Let it be known that I'm fully aware not all Christians are like this.  I wouldn't even say the majority behave this way...the vocal minority, however, seems to overshadow those who are following their faith as devoutly as they can.  In this context, I'm referring to televangelists, snooping gossips who enjoy causing drama, and other similarly-aligned ne'er-do-wells.

Hunter safety.

C and I decided to jump on the opportunity to take the first class of the season - we haven't really started working in the yard yet, and it was cheap, so why not?

The first two nights of the class were utterly exhausting. I'd forgotten what it was like to sit in a classroom setting and absorbing information 3 hours a night, every other night. It didn't help that there were a bunch of fidgety kids who were...well...fidgety.

BUT. There were kids. And moms! Moms who were willing to shoot! I was floored...and pleased. Only a handful of the kiddos were boy scouts, too, which pleased C. Neither of us expected over a third of the class to be children (including the two 8-year-old boys).

As I said, the class covered a wealth of information. Muzzleloaders, modern firearms, archery, trapping, ethics, preparedness while in the field - this course covered everything I could think of. Basically, it was a sportsman's braindump over 3 days of class.

And the test? Well, the written was easier than I expected - both C and I passed with only 2 questions wrong. The range time was difficult, though, and neither of us managed to hit anything. We both passed that, though, since they really only cared if we demonstrated safe firearm handling.

I'm glad we took the class, but I'm glad it's over. That was one heck of a tiring 2 weeks.

Range time with a friend. Also: Ooooooooooowwwwwwww.

Sunday dawned bright and beautiful, and C and I decided to hit the range for an hour. I still hadn't shot my Plinkster, he still hadn't shot his 12ga pump. We invited my best friend, L, as he hadn't seen any firearms in the past decade.

Turns out, dude needed the range time.

Anyway, here's a couple of short reviews.

Mossberg 702 Plinkster: GREAT little semiauto .22. This little bugger is accurate right out of the box. I attribute it to a good set of sights - the hooded front really helps when shooting all the way to the end of the range.* It had no feed issues, but the magazine definitely needs some oiling. At $125, it was well worth the money - it ate through a box of Remington target crap ammo like it was nothing. Overall, I'm pleased with it, C is pleased with it, and I think it'll be in the safe for a good, long time.

IAC Hawk model 982: decent shotgun. I believe it's based off the Mossberg 500 design - it certainly looks like it. There are options out there to modify it - C's has an extended tube and a new stock/grip, as well as a side holster for extra shells. He seems pleased. I only know the pain of shooting a shotgun not meant for my stubby little hobbit arms (though after our Hunter Safety course came to a close last night, I have since realized the beauty of a well-fitted shotgun).

We didn't rent any, since L got enough jollies from that which we brought along to shoot. I also got a chance to talk with the guys who work at the range, and apparently I can, in fact, get my hands on a Para GI Expert ESP - I merely need to bug them to get it. They certainly seemed to like it more than I expected...I'd say they liked it as much as the STI Spartan (which they really do like). This gives me a good idea of what I'm doing by the end of the year.

And now for photos.

A week or so ago I posted about the Mosins we picked up at a shop that was mega far away. We got some other stuff, too.

We came home with...

2 of these:


2 of these:

(No, I don't mean 2 cans in that crate - we got 2 crates, with 2 cans in each crate.)

3 of these:


With 3 of these to match:

(The kits include 4 pouches, a cleaning kit, a bayonet, and a sling.)

Here's a close-up of mine...check out the markings!:


The stuff I didn't show: 10 magazines for the 1911 and 3 packs of stripper clips.

Oh jeez.

I think C is going to apply for his C&R. Too many interesting deals are popping up. The latest? The guys we saw about the Mosins have a case of Browning Hi-Powers coming in. They're all former police pistols, and some look quite old, but I think C might get one. He's wanted one for awhile, and it would be nice to have a 9mm in the house.

Sigh. He only had 2 guns when we started dating... ;)

The current possibilities.

I think I've narrowed the 1911 down to two options.

The STI Spartan, as suggested to me by Mike, is attractive.

So is the Rock Island Match.

Decisions, decisions...

Just updated the blogroll.

If I missed you, let me know.

Changed the template, too. I kindof wish I knew HTML (or had the time to learn it) so I could do something funky, but that just isn't in the cards.

Damn. I'm done with news for the day.

In my previous post I mentioned the hand swabbing noise. I needed a pick-me-up, so I read about the withdrawing of the MD Assault Weapons Ban proposal, which put me in a much better mood.

Now I find out that there's federally mandated DNA testing on every newborn. It's like a real-life Minority Report.

I'm done with this emotional rollercoaster.

Note to self...

Don't get into any kind of shooting sports or hunting that might require me to fly. I might be labeled a terrorist if i do.

Also: don't handle anyone's heart medication, and don't even THINK about touching the garden before flying. Because I might be labeled a terrorist. For gardening.

So last night we went out for milk...

and 5 hours later, returned home with 3 Mosin Nagants, 2 cases of surplus ammunition, 3 accessory kits (came with the rifles as part of the purchase price), 3 sets of stripper clips, 2 ammo cans, and 10 magazines for C's 1911.

The trip took us quite a ways away from home, and we got lost on the way, but we found an awesome company with employees who were more than willing to help us out. Justin helped C and I pick out the best of the remaining rifles (numbers matching, clear markings, good stocks - these are all Grade 2[?] quality), and Brian helped us get the paperwork handled and get out of there so we could grab dinner.

Sometime this weekend I'll take some shots of the rifles. Mine has a hammer and sickle stamping that's clearer than the birds on my Mauser. I'm already rather attached. :) These may become our deer rifles...I know C plans on using his for deer, and I'll have to shoot mine as well as the Mauser to make that final decision.