2014 Random Year in Review

I finished writing a scifi novel. It was my my second. Now I just need to get the first one published.

I started to get serious about Photography again. I would like to have monthly photo sessions with shooters.

I attended the NRA Convention in Indy. I became a Lifetime member while I was there.

The Elite Shooting Sports range opened 4 miles from me. It has 42 shooting lanes including ten that are 100 yards in doors.

I started Weekly Comic Wednesdays! My new weekly comic called Brothers and Other Debacles is turning out to be my most high traffic day!

I built two AR15's. One is an SBR. One is an awesome shooter. The other is still having issues.

This year I got to shoot a .50 BMG, a full auto UZI, and a belt fed full auto M-60!

I took another half a dozen new shooters to the range.

I bought a new Remington 700 in .308 with a suppressor and a very sweey scope.

I was able to attend two live tapings of Gun Gurus!

This year I believe Police militarization has peeked. Hopefully the pendulum will swing back to Andy Griffith.

I went to 4 gun shows, but I still have not found .22LR in quantity at a good price.

My Son graduated high school, turned 18 and started college! Two Kids in college!

My wife had her gall bladder out. She is doing well now. She goes to the new range often now!

I bought two suppressors and I am still waiting for the paperwork from the ATF.

The Church I had attended for over 20 years became a gun free zone. I resigned my membership.

I am at this day about 40 pounds lighter than this time last year. My health is better and my injuries all repaired.

--2015 is looking pretty good!

2013 Year in Review

It has been a roller coaster year. Here is a random series of stuff from 2013.

It started off , in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting with the most discusting blood dancing I have seen in my life. Gun control full court press after Sandy Hook shootings was an failure. A few specific States passed knee jerk laws and President Obama signed 23 EOs. All doing nothing to reduce crime. NYC even started confiscating firearms proving registration is a stepping stone to confiscation.

FBI official report shows that in 2011 only 323 people were murdered with rifles of ALL kinds.

The entire circus proved the Media to be ignorant as well as corrupt. I wrote more letters and emails to my reps this year than any other year.

This entire fiasco triggered panic buying causing ammo and guns to disappear from the stores. I have never seen gun stores so empty. Ammo shortages continue with .22LR being the biggest surprise.

Do you remember Christopher Dorner?  Former cop and vocal liberal supporter of gun control that went on a rampage in California killing police and their families.  Hunted down and burned alive and then the ashes swept under the rug.

During this year I switched from my 1911 to the Px4, to the Glock 17, for my daily carry.

I registered 2 SBRs during this year. One is an AR15 and one is a Glock 21 Roni.

I got a new gun safe.

Joe "Shotgun" Biden gives advice about shooting through doors and into the air. He has been on a short leash ever since then.

Boston Marathon bombing happened and suspension of rights with massive military style, warrant-less, .search and seizures to find a single kid.

I made it to a couple Blogmeets and shoots this year. Good people.
There was much debating about guns on Facebook this year. When I was asked, "What are you so afraid of that you need to carry a gun?" I would reply,  "I am not at all afraid. A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not in the branch but on its own wings."

There was silly panic regarding 3D printed guns.

George Zimmerman was found not guilty. We saw that bigotry is alive and well and is strong in some black people.

I bought a new truck!  I baked my first pie.

I got the Roni, 2 more lowers, the AR15 SBR and the .300 Blackout SBR. My most frivolous buy was a 37mm grenade/flare launcher.

Obamacare happened.

Terry McAuliffe won the Governor’s race in VA, dammit.

I purchased a Trijicon RMR. I may love it more than my EOTech’s.

JayG moved to VA!

--The thing that dominated much of my year was a back injury and surgery to repair it. I am looking forward to 2014!

The Year in Review: 2012

2012 was a big year in my life. Not in a good way. I will be glad to see it over.

The most notable event was the death of my closest brother. He was 54. He liked to go shooting with me but he was the worse shot I ever saw.

In 2012 I did 381 posts and got about 300,000 hits. My goal was to average about a post a day and I managed a bit better than that. The blog flowed easily this year.

I added a few items to my collection. First was a JR Carbine that uses Glock .45 mags. I also had it threaded so it could share the Gemtech suppressor I bought for my Glock 21. I finally got the paperwork back on the suppressor.

The Axe

I also inherited a Remington Vantage 1200 .177 and a Henry AR-7 from my brother. 

In addition I bought another AR-15. This one has a 7 inch barrel and is currently configured as a pistol until the SBR ATF paperwork is back. I plan on getting a suppressor for it in 2013.

I got lots of accessories like a hot green LASER, Slim Grips for my 1911,  scopes, Another EOTech, Grips and stocks and slings.

I finally got the parts and repaired my TEC-22.

I got two deer this hunting season and an awesome smoker to cook them in!

I attended multiple blog shoots, drank many beers with fellow bloggers, ruined my back and fixed my teeth. 

My daughter left for college. 

The Election: I was on the losing side but still think it was the right side.

What I Learned in 2011

Looking back at 2011 I must say on a personal level, I am glad this year is over. Too many funerals and not enough weddings. But this is a gun blog!

Lessons learned:

• A well made holster is required.
• Don't buy any more cheap guns that you will never shoot twice.
• Buy only quality optics. 
• Always bring folding chairs and bottled water to Blog Shoots.
• I can hit an 18 inch target at 250 yards, repeatedly, without a magnified scope, with a Cx4 carbine.
• 922r compliance is a pain in the ass and not that hard with AK platforms.
• I need to do more Skeet Shooting.
• Tactical Bacon is pre-cooked, ready to eat and actually pretty awesome.
• It's easy to travel via Air with firearms.
• There are more ranges around than we realize.

NRA Convention:

I attended the NRA convention this year. I met a lot of great people. Enjoyed the show. Collected a lot of blog content.

Blog Shoots:

I Hosted a blog shoot at NRA HQ early this year (thanks for the reminder Andy!) I think we will do it again in 2012. I attended Northcoast II in Ohio and Mid-Atlantic Blogshoot in West Virginia. Both were big fun. Great friends and firearms!

Additions to the collection:

My big purchases this year were a Sagia 12 and  my Glock Suppressor!


--Here is to a great 2012!!

The Year in Review

It has been a great year for The Miller on many fronts. I got to go shooting a lot this year. I read a lot of good books. I purchased several firearms and a mountain of accessories.  I was gifted a family heirloom to restore. I met a ton of good people. And maybe most notably, decided to give Blogging a more serious shot.

Books I read and liked and had guns in them:

• One Second After was a book about the aftermath of a simple EMP attack.
• Patriots is in the same vein and revolves around a group that had a plan in advance.
• Alas Babylon is a classic cold war era classic.

The Firearm Purchases:

• Beretta Px4 Storm: .40cal Pistol. This is my current favorite handgun. It shoots better than my Glock or 1911 and has the best feature sets from both.
• Beretta Cx4 Storm: .40cal Carbine. It takes the same mags as the Px4 and is the best iron site rifle I have at 100 yards.
• DPMS AR-15: I got a basic flat top DPMS and upgraded the hell out of it. The lessons I learned will help me build my next one myself!
• Remington 597: This impulse buy was a bargain I could not resist and is perfect for starting shooters.

The Northcoast Blogshoot:

This fall I had the pleasure of attending the Northcoast Blogshoot. It was organized by Breda and friends and took place in Northern Ohio. In addition to an excellent day of shooting I got to meet some really great people. People I am glad exist in the world. I started reading their blogs daily and even listening to BB and Guns Radio. Fun stuff.

I got serious about Blogging:

Finally and maybe most notable is my decision to get serious about this blog. While I have had the thing up for several years, my posts were random and infrequent. Meeting other people that blog daily has inspired me. I am closing the year out with 100 daily posts in a row.  I find myself running in greased grooves. We shall see how long I can keep it up!

Looking ahead:

So what do I have planned for 2011? I want to take some more training. I might buy a few more guns from my want list, maybe buy some upgrades for existing guns. I will build up my ammo. Find a few bargains. I will probably restore an heirloom shotgun. I might even build another AR-15 from scratch now that I know what I am doing (kinda).
 
Mostly I will continue to enjoy shooting sports. Spending time with my wife and kids, at the range, in the woods or in my home theater and then blogging about it with humor, rage or amused indifference.

--Have a Happy New Year! In 2011 be safe, enjoy life, be glad you live here and now.