Somehow I don't think this was the intent of the architect.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Saffron or opium?
I have been following this for awhile, saffron is a viable alternative because it competes with the profit margin of opium, it's also labour intensive and does not require a large robust transportation system. According to one source I know, most of the top quality Saffron comes from Spain, the rest is a blend of different crops. I certainly hope this works out for the Afghans.
Farmers’ fields outside the western Afghanistan city of Herat are about to blossom into a purple form of gold.
Once rife with poppy, the lucrative spring crop used to produce heroin, these plots are now seeded with saffron flowers. They yield the burnt orange granules that trade as the most expensive spice in the world. At its highest quality, saffron sells for between $2,000 and $4,000 per kilogram in global markets, enticing farmers to switch their allegiance from opium, which sells as little as a tenth as much.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Coming out of the gun closet part III
Ways to buy a gun
In part 2, I
talked about buying a gun from the store, which is a great way to see how a gun
fits you. The other way is to go to the range and ask people to let you hold
their guns (If done politely chances are that many will let you shoot it as
well). It’s important to realize that any gun you buy fits you. It doe not
matter how good the reviews are, or which police/army/big game guide uses which
gun, what really matters is how it fits your hand and body shape. Almost every
modern handgun and long gun are excellent guns and you are really choosing on
fit and details like “ambi-safety”, decockers, left hand/right hand, etc.- When purchasing your first gun, avoid anything with the word magnum, Casull or Lapu in it, these guns are expensive to feed and requires good technique to hit the target repeatable.
- Not everything a gun store clerk tells you is true! Chances are that the gun he is telling you will never be available again, will be on the shelves next month.
- Don’t be talked into buying a particular gun, because someone claimed that anything less is placing your life and your family in danger.
- Do not buy a gun based on what you saw in a movie and please don’t base your firearms handling on them either!!
It really depends on your budget which gun(s) to buy first. If you have lots of money then your options are much wider than what I am suggesting. Keep in mind the gun is just the beginning of the shooting hobby, you will need carrying case, trigger locks, gun cabinet/safe, lots and lots of ammunition, gun club membership, possibly optics, safety glasses, ear protection and of course a cleaning kit. Ammunition is by far the most expensive ongoing cost of shooting which why serious shooters reload their own (covered in a later post).
My Dlask 10/22
.22cal rimfire
Your first gun should be a .22cal, this will allow you to
practice and learn at very reasonable costs and they are just plain fun. For a
rifle I recommend the Ruger 10/22. This rifle is very common, has a huge amount
of aftermarket parts and modifications. For a pistol it gets a bit harder.
There are several routes to go. First is the dedicated .22cal target pistol like
the Buckmark. These are accurate and reliable, but all of this type of firearm
are finicky to take apart.
The other option is a centrefire pistol with a .22calconversion kit. You can get aftermarket kits for the Glock and CZ line. Sig
offers their classic .22 models which is a fullsize frame fitted with a .22cal
slide and magazine. You buy the 9mm/.40cal slide and mags later.
If you love the 1911 model, there are dedicated guns made by
GSG that are in .22cal.
Sig 226 with conversion kit on and 9mm slide below it
Centrefire choices
Norinco SKS with Tapco stock
Rifles in .223 offer very good accuracy with little recoil
for a reasonable cost. You can get this calibre in either a bolt action or
semi-auto, keep in mind most of the semi-autos in this calibre are restricted
and can only be used at the range.
Norinco CAR
For a centrefire pistol I recommend 9mm to start, my preference
is the SW M&P, but the Glock 17, CZ models, Ruger SR-9 and the Sig 226 are
all fine choices. In fact you really can’t go wrong on any modern pistol. I
like the 1911 models as well, very accurate guns, but most are in .45acp which
is not cheap to shoot. Also being single action they require excellent muzzle
control and trigger finger discipline.
SW M&P with weapons light and Blackhawk Serpa holster
Where to buy?
Exchange Forums
Many popular gun forums such as Canadiangunnutz, Canadiangunslingers and HuntingBC have exchange forums where you can buy and sell guns,
gun parts and shooting/hunting related stuff. While the forum cannot guarantee
that everyone is perfectly honest and will not refund you any lost money, what
they have done is to create a “Trader rating”. This means that buyers and
sellers can rate people on the transaction and this will give you an indication
on how much to trust someone. As you buy and sell on the forum you too will get
a trader rating.
Retail outlets
websites
Most successful gun stores operate websites that allow you
to buy guns and gun stuff online. This is a great way to comparison shop and to
get the best price. Keep in mind shipping costs and taxes when calculating the
final price. Here are few; Reliable, Epps, Candaammo, Questar, Marstar
US gun online stores
When you surf the web you will find great deals in the US,
however many items including parts for AR-15 type rifles, scopes, and other certain
parts are barred from export under the ITAR rules. Basically if it’s used by a
modern military it’s likely to be blocked from export. Parts for rimfires and
hunting rifles are likely cleared for export, however keep in mind shipping,
duty and taxes payable upon crossing the border.
Ebay
While Ebay does sell some gun parts, Ebay is anti-firearm
and won’t allow the selling of guns. When you do order from the US Ebay keep in
mind many sellers won’t ship across the border. It is a good place to get odd
bits like grips, holsters and such. Paypal is very anti-firearm and will give
you grief if they find out the item is gun related.
Craigslist
While an excellent
place to sell baby clothes and such, I would very much discourage you from
selling gun stuff on Craigslist. There are too many non-nice people that cruise
there. If you must sell there, do not let people come to your door, offer to
meet them somewhere public, this can be awkward with a firearm and hence one of
the reasons I don’t support it for firearm related stuff.
Gun shows
I find gun shows a great place to buy gun related stuff, but find the guns often overpriced, do your homework before shopping at a gun show.
The CFC and buying
guns online
There some legal steps to go through to buy a gun online.
Once you contact the seller and make the agreement to buy, you must give the
seller your name, address and PAL number. The seller will contact the CFC and
initiate the transfer. The CFC will give the seller a transfer number and then
contact you. You then call the CFC to confirm the transfer giving them the
number.Update
There is no requirement to call the CFC for a Non-restricted firearm, you can call the CFC to confirm the PAL number of the buyer, but people report the CFC asking for more information than required. It is your responsibility to ensure that the buyer has a PAL. Easy to do person to person, but harder online. some ask for a scan. be careful here as when someone gets a scan of your PAL, they can use that to buy guns as well. If you do send a scan, perhaps watermark it with a date saying from then to then.
Mailing a gun
Guns can be mailed in
In Part IV of the series I will deal with joining a gun club,
cleaning a gun among other things.
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