Another newbie introduction at the range.

This was started on 6/7/10.  I'm not sure what date it will have when I hit publish.

Last Tuesday, I took off work to recover from the hell that is yardwork, and decided to take a friend to the range for his first visit.

I had him come to my house first, so I could introduce him to the two firearms he'd be shooting in the quiet comfort of my living room.  Knowing R has no experience with FPS-type games cemented the idea that this would be better than introducing him at the range itself.

I pulled out the .22 and the .380, and showed him the basics.  I explained the rules to him, waited until he felt comfortable, and made sure he understood everything I'd explained.  He seemed pretty clear on everything, so we headed out.

We only went through a box of .22LR and .380, partly for time and partly for availability of ammunition.  .380 is still hard to come by in my area.

R seemed to enjoy the .22 - he wasn't intimidated at all, and agreed it feels like an overgrown pop-gun.  He went through about 16 rounds before he decided to move up to the .380.  I think he was a little intimidated by it...even after we finished the box, he seemed to prefer the .22.  He's got to work on his accuracy, but I hope we can set another day for that.

All in all, I think he had fun.  I definitely did.  We've gotta do it again!

Wow, I'm behind.

Apologies for the silence...I'm more than a bit behind!  I'll try to get my two most recent range visits written up.  Those of you who are waiting on them, sorry!

Newbie blogger

My friend FightinBluHen51 has FINALLY joined us.  He's just getting started, but expect to see some posts once he gets pissed off enough to write. :)

Wait, what?

Criminals in Canada doing criminal things to buy guns in Canada?  Unpossible!

...Well, I'm floored.

(This is an update from this post)

After nearly 6 months, I recieved a box from one Jenny Heid in New Jersey.

It's the item I ordered back in January, plus two other prints.  I'd say I'm happy, but I'm disappointed it took this long.

At least I have what I ordered.  Thankfully.  I hope she finally gets things sorted, and stops these delays (AND stops ignoring email) for her future customers.

Local politics.

Had an opportunity to meet a local political candidate this afternoon at a community event.  I won't name names (unless she gives me permission), but I genuinely enjoyed speaking with her today.  Unfortunately I cannot vote for her, as she's not in my district, but I hope she gets the votes she needs.  She's on "our" side, all the way.  Heck, she's even all for concealed carry in the state.

I like her. :)

CHEAP as hell air rifle on Midway.

If anyone's looking for a Gamo Whisper, now's the time to get it.  Midway has them for $100 off.  They sold 10 yesterday, and may not last much longer.

(borrowed from here)

There is NOTHING worse than a thief.

*EDIT*  The item arrived today, 6/21, nearly six months after ordering.  Update has been posted here.

Particularly when that thief keeps carrying on like she's done nothing wrong.

There's this girl.  Her name is Jenny Heid, and she sells adorable prints.  Except, I'm not sure she ever actually follows through with those sales.  You see, back in January, I purchased one of these prints from her.

And it never arrived.  In March I emailed her through her Etsy.com account (which was shut down by Etsy for her unlawful behavior), and got no response.  April 1 I resent the message and spoke with her boyfriend, Aaron Nieradka.  He claimed she was dealing with a family emergency (which I already knew, thanks to the feedback she'd been getting on Etsy), and shipping had been delayed.  He claimed he would send my item out "within the next two days," and I felt that fair.  I was also promised a second item for my troubles.  That sounded acceptable to me.

SO, I waited.  And waited.  And waited.  I finally sent another message near the end of April, asking for a tracking number.  Somehow, "Aaron" (I'm not sure if it WAS Aaron or if it was Jenny) sent another email, saying he had the item marked as shipped but couldn't find the tracking information.  I also read more of her Etsy feedback, and knew she was going to screw me over.  At this point, I was annoyed, and contacted Etsy for a Notification of Non-Delivery.  By now I was well past Paypal's limit for refunds, which angered me further.

I heard from Aaron twice that day.  I haven't heard back since.  I've sent messages to her email (jennyeveryday@aol.com), her Facebook account, and her Blogspot account with no response.  I contacted Etsy for a follow-up, and they shut her site down.  I was moderately satisfied, but I knew she was still selling through Blogspot.  I was simmering on that for awhile, until a friend found her new account on artfire.com, and I'm back to being furious.

She even claims she left Etsy due to their fees, which I know is bunk.  When Etsy staffers tell you they've shut down a site due to unlawful activity, they're generally not lying.

Now, I'm angry.  The item I purchased should be in my hands, OR I should have a full refund.  Stealing is bad, Jenny...Stealing is very, very bad.  You're significantly older than me, and shouldn't be pulling this crap.

While I'm on an engraved gun kick...

*lust*