Controversy Over Guns and Coffee

Who knew that selling coffee could be so controversial?

WASHINGTON (WMAL) – For two years the owner of a gun shop in Hamilton, Virginia has been fighting to sell coffee, and Monday he may finally get approval to do it.

Zoning restrictions have prevented the owner of Bullets and Beans from selling coffee at his shop to people who are waiting for background checks or doing other business. Monday the Hamilton Town Council is scheduled to take up a proposal that would allow Kevin Jones to sell coffee for a 6-month trial period.

They must be selling some really good coffee, as one of the community's concerns is "coffee sales could snarl up traffic in the area." Frankly, a two year battle to sell coffee seems more like a path of obstruction by the gun grabbers than anything else.

See "VA Gun Shop Owner Continues Fight To Sell Coffee" for more.

Bill Coors Dies at 102

The former chairman of Coors Brewing Company passed away this weekend.

Bill Coors, a pioneer in the American brewing industry and former chairman of the Adolph Coors Company, died peacefully at his home Saturday at 102.

Molson Coors confirmed his passing in a statement published Saturday.

Bill Coors began working for his grandfather Adolph's brewing company in 1939. Twenty years later, he became company chairman, during which he created and developed the aluminum can, a key milestone for the beer industry.

Despite a lot of skepticism at the time, the aluminum can contributed greatly to the expansion of the craft beer movement, especially in recent years. They are lightweight and preserve the flavor of the beer much better than glass bottles. But, the bigger part of the story is that Bill Coors lived to 102.

Maybe I need to drink more Coors.


See "Beer giant Bill Coors dies at 102" for more.

Relaxing Before the Match

I spent the evening before the Potomac Grail IDPA match at a hotel in Frederick, Maryland. Searching for local attractions I saw that there was a cigar shop just a few minutes from my hotel. Rather than sit in my room, or a local pub, I headed over to Quartermasters Cigars to browse.

Besides the well-stocked humidor, the shop has a large lounge that’s open to the public. I decided to pick up a couple cigars and enjoy one there.

There were a lot of regulars in the lounge on this Friday evening, and I may have been the only visitor. I saw many folks with cigar travel cases and a plethora of beverages. Unfortunately I was not prepared with a beverage other than a bottle of water, but that sufficed for this evening.

I enjoyed the smoke while catching up with email and news on my phone. Then it was time to head back to the hotel room for a little dry fire before the match. It was a most pleasant evening.

A report on the match will be a few days coming.

Musing For Eleven Years

Today marks the 11th birthday of these Musings. I think that's something like 77 in blog years. It's been a fun journey so far. The blog has been through some changes, with varying amounts of activity over the years. Since the summer, posting has slowed due time constraints. I did manage to keep up the shooting related posts, mainly for my own use in journaling the range trips and matches. I'm looking forward to some recreational time this fall to explore more beer, bourbon, cigars, and of course, more shooting.

Thanks for playing along the last 1.1 decades.

October 6 also marks the date of the first train robbery in the United States in 1866. Take that for what it's worth.

Cheers!

A Glock for the SIG Guy?

I was surprised to get this letter the other day informing me I had won a certificate for a Glock pistol at the IDPA Nationals.

I've never owned a Glock. I've never fired a Glock. But a free gun is a free gun! I have a few months to decide what I'd like. A big .45? Or a compact 9mm perhaps? Maybe I'll build a PCC from it.

That's two guns won now. In both cases, the prizes were outside my normal interests. At least that's a good way to try new things.

Thanks to GLOCK, Inc. for their support of IDPA.

Monday Range Time

Even though I shot three IDPA matches in September, including the IDPA Nationals, I did not get in any trips to the indoor range for practice. I sure didn't get a good ROI on my membership fees in August! On Monday, I finally made it down to Winding Brook Indoor Range, for the first time in five weeks.

This visit was a quick one, and I brought along just 150 rounds. For the first 100 rounds, I hung an IDPA target at 10 yards and shot at various speeds. After each mag of 10 rounds, I altered my pace; shooting slow, single shots, or rapid groups of two or three shots. For a few of mags I concentrated on head shots.  A couple of mags were also devoted to one handed shooting, alternating between strong and weak hands.

Finishing up with the target hung at 20 yards, the last 50 rounds were dedicated to slowish fire for distance practice. This was the most time consuming part of the outing as I had to bring the target in every 10 rounds or so to see the holes. With close, rapid fire, a drift to the left is not uncommon. However at this longer distance I was seeing the holes drifting to the right. I am probably concentrating too hard on not pushing to the left and creating the opposite issue. For my very last 10 shots, I focused intently on that side-to-side push and saw a very nice vertical line of hits right in the center. Vertical consistency is a point for next time.

I was fun to finally get back to doing some basic practice and simple shooting. Hopefully the frequency of range outings will pick up for the fall.

Friday Beer and Smoke

We're getting an extended break from days, no weeks, of rainy weather. After finishing work and errands Friday, Colleen suggested that we do a fire. I uncovered the wood pile and hoped it was dry enough to burn. It wasn't long before we had a nice fire going as we watched the sun set.

I opted to enjoy O'Fest from Devils Backbone. Despite gravitating to the hoppy beers in general, I always look forward to the Oktoberfest beers that fill the shelves and draft lines this time of year. The Devils Backbone offering pours an attractive dark amber color with a thin white head. The aroma has notes of sweetness, bread, and caramel. Rich, malty sweetness, bread, and a hint of grassiness greet the palate. I found this to be quite a tasty lager.

I grabbed an Ave Maria Immaculata to smoke with the malt-forward beer. The flavors of the beer and the cigar were in harmony and were very fitting for fireside enjoyment. Soon enough I had to go inside to get a refill for my glass. Imagine my disappointment when I realized that the six-pack was empty and there were no more to be had.

Sticking with the style, I did find a Sierra Nevada Octoberfest in the fridge. This one is, in my opinion, not quite as good as the Devils Backbone but certainly enjoyable. Soon the fire burned down, and our glasses were empty. With the approach of fall, I'm looking forward to many more evenings sitting outside around the fire pit.

Holy Archangels, Intercede For Us

September 29 is the Feast of the Archangels — St. Gabriel, St. Raphael and St. Michael. These are trying times for Christianity and freedom in general, both at home and abroad, with attacks coming from all directions.

Politicians and activists continue to push laws to restrict the free practice of religion. To my utter amazement, people actually stand in the street proclaiming how proud they are to have killed their own children. In the past week we saw a "trial" that would make Stalin proud. People with evil in their hearts, worked to destroy a man and his family, simply because they feared he might uphold the Constitution of this country. The satanic forces of islam continue hundreds of years barbarism and remain relentless in attacking and killing Christians around the world, including right here at home. The Catholic Church is being attacked from within by men who have given in to Satan and his perversions. To anyone paying attention, it's obvious that the evil one has established a stronghold in this world.

We must fight, physically and spiritually, and never surrender to the evil that seems so prevalent. Now is the time to implore the intercession of these warriors to fight for us, and with us. I pray daily to the most powerful of these Holy warriors, St. Michael, to ask his aid and guidance.

St. Michael the Archangel,

defend us in battle.

Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,

and do thou,

O Prince of the heavenly hosts,

by the power of God,

cast into hell Satan,

and all the evil spirits,

who prowl about the world

seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen.