300. AAC. Blackout is here!!

.223 on the left, Blackout on the right.

Last September, I finally, finally bought an AR-15.  Oh, man.  Long time coming.  One of my dream guns.  Then recently, I found out that you can shoot different calibers like Blackout, 6.8, etc., by just swapping out few parts.  

I went with the .300 AAC Blackout.  Always wanted a AK(Kalashnikov), which fires 7.69x39 similar to Blackout + since I was going to buy the whole upper assembly(all you actually need is a Blackout barrel), I thought it would be cool to have a complete spare upper that fired a .30 caliber round similar to AK.

Nice & sunny today, but it was still very muddy.  :p

Here's my Smith & Wesson AR-15 lower + Bushmaster upper with the Blackout barrel.  I've only used Magpul fore grip to this point, but since this Bushmaster upper had picatinny rails & not the Magpul style attachments, I settled on the version of BCMGunfighter designed for picatinny.

On the Blackout upper, I only have this EOTech 512 red dot sight I took off of the stock S&W upper.  No backup sights yet.  I read that Blackout has slightly more recoil than the .223 AR-15, but I honestly couldn't tell.  Maybe because I'm so used to the heavier & harder kicking AR-10(.308/7.62x51).

Hammers Telescopic Shooting Tripod

Folding table, tripod, these things are some of the best gun accessories one can bring when plinking.

Why do I have a watch hammer & punch?  See.... When you buy compatible AR-15 upper, you are supposed to push out two takedown pins by hand, then instantly swap it out on the spot.  Without any tools.  I even told my friends that I was going to be able to change the caliber of my rifle, faster than loading a magazine.  

Not so much.

My new Bushmaster Blackout upper & S&W lower's having microscopic alignment issues.  While not visible to naked eye, pin holes aren't lining up perfectly, and I'm actually having to tap on the takedown pins when putting on/taking off the Bushmaster upper.  :(

I previously had this EOTech red dot(top) on the stock S&W upper below it.  S&W now has the Burris AR536 scope/red dot combo I robbed from AR-10(Bushmaster 308 MOE).

AR-15 lower with takedown pins out.

Little side by side of the .223(5.56x45) & the .300 Blackout:

.223(left) & Blackout(right)

Switched around, because I'm stupid: Blackout(left), .223(right).

OMG, Burris AR536 looks SO GOOD on this AR-15.  Only downside is, unlike the rail of my AR-10, there's so little real estate on AR-15, I couldn't find the room for Magpul MBUS(flipup backup sight) & still maintain reasonable eye relief for the Burris scope.  At least this thing has the little FastFire 2 red dot on the top of the scope, so I still have two sights......  -_-

Another new toy I tried today was the aluminum Okay Surefeed magazines.  It looks pretty darn nice, too.  Both Okay Surefeed & Magpul PMAGs were 100%, with either .223 or Blackout rounds.  :)

Just different magazines changes the look of this rifle.

5.11 Tactical Appendix IWB Holster

Notice the big garbage bag in the rear seat floor?  Always pickup more trash than you created.  If you shoot, please cleanup after yourselves.  Not just to protect nature, but trashing forces local authorities to close up area to the public.  This is happening all over where I live in Oregon.  More plinking spots closed off, more of us are forced to go shoot at the range.  :(

Atlanta Braves Highland Mint 18" x 22" 3-Time World Series Champions Deluxe Coin & Ticket Collection Photo Mint

At first, I wanted this one.  $49.99, often saw it on sale for $40-ish, free shipping(MLB/Fanatics has different sale every few days).  This cool thing featured three replica World Series tickets from the Championships the Braves won.  One each from every city they played in.  Boston first, Milwaukie, then the very famous 90's team from Atlanta.

I was cheap.  Stalked it for weeks, until it just disappeared from the site after Black Friday.  

Around that time, I started considering the more deluxe & loaded version, which also disappeared from the website.  While the first one was 13"x13", this 18"x22" set had little bit more extra stuff, also was limited to 1,000.  As you know, limited production helps with value on collectibles, memorabilia, etc.  What I also really liked was how each World Series ticket replicas featured plaque labeling the year the Braves won these series in, which was missing from the $49.99 set.

Both sets eventually came back on the website & I pulled the trigger when the price came down reasonably low.  $112.49, shipped.  Regularly $149.99. 

Sweet display.  :)

My Samsung Smart TV is TOO SMART.

First of all, these corporate practices may not be unique to Samsung.  It's just that this is the second time I caught Samsung stabbing their customers in the back.

A year or two ago, it was their Galaxy smartphones.  Battery overheated & caught fire or exploded or something, I'm not sure.  That wasn't the part that shocked me.  It was this:

"Inside the box, under the phone, inside another box, on the last few pages of the warranty guide, is a clause requiring “all disputes with Samsung” be resolved through “final and binding arbitration, and not by a court or jury.”  A consumer has 30 days to “opt out” or else they cannot sue." -CBS News

This was all over the news & I remember thinking I'll never buy Samsung.  It's so dishonest & it's to protect their money in case their phone tries burn their own customers alive!

Black Friday 2018, I am installing my new Samsung 4K Smart TV.  I have no backbone...... 

Fast forward to today, I see this thing on Google News about Vizio Smart TVs selling customer information(Business Insider).  Naturally, I wonder about my new Samsung TV, I google it, then bam:

"Most smart TVs are tracking you - Vizio just got caught" -theverge.com

Thanks to the helpful article, I went into the settings right away.  "Support", then "Terms & Privacy".

 Sure enough, the two lines below were already checked off without me even noticing.

"Viewing information Services" wouldn't even tell you the whole story.  Samsung tells you in there like they are providing some service to you for free.  For more information, they tell you to visit their website.

"We may share your information with:

• • Affiliates – the companies related to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. by common ownership or control.
• • Business partners - trusted companies that may provide information about products and services you might like.
• • Service providers - companies that provide services for or on behalf of Samsung.
• • Law enforcement - when we are required to do so or to protect Samsung and its users."

In short: Samsung will study your habits & use them to sell you stuff.  They will also sell the said information to other companies.  P.S.  We may help sending you to prison.

Okay, last bit was a stretch & of one I didn't even think about.  TV didn't just get smarter, they got sneakier.  It is using your own internet connection against you.  Check your TV privacy settings!

To Start Off the New Year Right

I've been wanting to go shooting for couple of weeks now.  Unfortunately, it's been raining every weekend.  About a week ago, I drove up to the mountains to test out the PIAA LED headlight bulbs.  Some complained of not getting enough light out of these LED bulbs when used in projector beam headlights(like my Ford Edge).  Since it's lit up everywhere in town, I wanted to drive into middle nowhere in the woods, see if my bulbs were working okay.  Short answer:  Yes.

I also took couple of handguns up there?  I figured, after testing the headlights, I can target practice with my Glock & .45 USP.

Heck no, man.  It was so frigging creepy up there in pitch black, I wasn't even getting out of the vehicle(p*ssy, yes).  Anywho, it was either heavy rain or heavy fog anyway.  Since it was projected to rain again next weekend, I asked few guys if they wanted to go shooting on the New Years day.  Couple of guys said "yes".

My buddy who's always late couldn't make it, but thanks to Google Map GPS I used, it got me lost not once, but twice.  I ran way late, had to drive up to the meeting spot where we are all familiar with & kill bit of time before they met me there.  It was going to be in the 30's all day up here in the mountains, even found these weird frozen puddles with ring pattern like a ripple effect.

Here come the guys, now we are headed up in the woods.

We are getting close to the top now.  Not a good place to drive off the road amirite.

One of the guys bought a FN Five seveN.  Second guy in my circle to buy one.  It is a interesting gun.  In the smaller cases behind it are the S&W 44 Magnum & .50 Cal Desert Eagle.  Go figure.  FN case's pretty sweet though eh?

Perhaps I should have taken a shot of it before I blew it up with my AR.  Canary Melon.  I picked it up at Walmart for $3 & change the night before?  Full size melon, bright yellow.  Great biodegradable target.  After you blow it up, you can keep on shooting the small pieces.  No cleanup.  lol

My new patch on my 5.11 Rush 12 backpack is the "Made in Oregon" sign patch.  Very nice local touch & official 5.11 product.

I know I look bigger..... I was wearing two extra layers on top.  Ignore that guy in shorts in the next picture.  I'm 50% sure he's related bigfoot.

All in all, it was a fun day, pretty relaxing day with couple of buds.  I also shot my TCR22(10/22 clone by Thompson Center), and everything was dialed in.  Fun & relaxing when all your guns on-target.  :D  Both rifles were relatively unchanged from my October post(pic).