Snowy Day Activity

Putting together/updating Get Home bags, and hiking day packs has been on our to-do list for quite a while, so it seemed appropriate for us to do it while a big storm was raging outside. Nothing like inclement weather to provide incentive to get other "preps" done. 

We've spent the last couple of weeks making a list and assembling everything we wanted in our Get Home bags and hiking day packs. Not surprisingly, a lot of the items overlapped.

I had a little Get Home bag in my car that had a boo-boo kit, an oh shit kit, extra magazines, utility knife, flashlights, extra mags, etc. I found I've been stealing that bag out of my car when I was overseeing students at the range, because it was easier to carry around than my range bag.

I also had a Go Bag with stuff in it for my Posse duties. The contents were much less: my slicker, hazard vest, blanket, some snacks, flashlights, and the like. Both of my bags got an overhaul.

Jay got to build his Get Home bag from scratch, which is always fun. It's tempting to try to think of every scenario you might come across and try to pack for those, but then your bag gets incredibly heavy, so we tried to go bare-bones.

Our Get Home bags have first aid kits and medication (Stop the Bleed kits are on order), supplies for fire making, extra magazines, assorted knives, food, collapsible water containers and life straws, lights, pens/paper, a small solar panel for charging devices, and the most important thing - TP! There are a few other lightweight things in there that I forgot to list, I'm sure. We tried to keep in mind that these are not Bug Out Bags, they're Get Home bags. We might have to walk quite a way to get home, so we had to balance the equipment we wanted against how much weight we could carry for extended distances.

Even keeping that in mind, our bags weigh in at right about 12#. There are a couple of other things we're waiting to have delivered, but I think we'll manage to stay less than 15#. To make sure we can haul them around when we need to, we'll start wearing them on walks around the farm road. That way, we can address any rubbing or weight distribution issues in advance (in addition to building the muscle strength required to carry that weight for extended distances).

Our hiking day packs were a lot easier to pack, but had some very similar supplies: first aid kit and meds, Stop the Bleed kit, blister care, food, toilet paper, plus cheap rain ponchos, and a water bladder.  We don't expect to spend more than a few hours on the trails, so we cut back on the "survival" gear, though we do each have solar blankets in case we have to hunker down. The water is going to be the heaviest part of our hiking packs, so just like with our Get Home bags, we'll wear those around the farm roads to check for rubbing and to make sure we can carry them easily.

The little Get Home bag I mentioned earlier got stripped down and will be my dedicated range emergency kit. I moved a lot of supplies to my "big" bag, and kept just the boo-boo and oh shit kits, along with extra magazines, and a "get back" knife. With its decreased weight, it'll be a lot more comfortable to wear for extended periods of time on the range. It'll still live slung over the passenger seat in my car, within easy reach, but its primary job is now for the range.

GunDiva's Variety Hour, episode 2

We're Trying Something New

We had so much fun with the Facebook live videos last month, we decided to try our hands at doing a video every couple of weeks. We're not video people, obviously, but thought we'd give it a go.



Let us know if there's anything you'd like to see, learn about, well ... almost anything.

Back to Real Life and What to Expect from GunDivas in 2019

I'd like to say we made it all back from Vegas unscathed, but that would be a lie. Both Jay and Mez have been felled with the SHOT Show plague. I haven't seen Jay this sick since he had Influenza A over Christmas six years ago, and that's saying something. I've only texted with Mez, but it sounds like he has the same thing: fever, chills, cough, and a general desire to die. I'm relatively certain that what they have is not Influenza, but instead is bronchitis. So far - knock wood - I'm still healthy and showing no signs of the plague that they caught. I'm counting myself very lucky, considering I just spent a week with a bunch of strangers spreading their germies around, and sharing a house with the boys who ended up getting really, really sick.

We had a lot of fun doing the Facebook Live end-of-day reviews and someone suggested we do it more frequently. At first, I was resistant, but mostly because I hate the camera. However, the more I thought about it, the more the idea grew on me. In talking with Jay and Mez, they're on board with doing some sort of video series. It won't be on FB live, but will be something we record and put up on our YouTube channel (Yes, we have one. No, I haven't posted anything in three years.), with cross posting here and on the FB page. We have some technical things to work out (as well as a schedule), but look for bi-monthly videos in the near future. I have several writers for the blog, and I hope to be able to bring them on to the videos as well, which will take some coordinating.

For years, I've been collecting books that Greg Ellifritz at Active Response Training has recommended. (I have also shamelessly stolen some of the shooting drills he shares.) But collecting them has been all I've done. I buy the book and put it on my TBR (to be read) pile. My pile is getting out of control. Just like being a gun owner and a shooter are not the same thing, buying books and reading them are two different critters. It's my goal to get through my TBR by the end of the year.

These are the books I have piled on my nightstand. There are more mixed in my bookshelf and in my Kindle library that I need to read or re-read. In an attempt to hold myself accountable, I'll share what I learned from each book once I've finished it.

We all still have real jobs, so the changes here will be minimal, but our hopes are that we'll be able to post on a more consistent basis and continue to share things that catch our eyes.

Industry Day at SHOTShow 2018

Jay, Mez, GunDiva, Robbie

Today, we were privileged enough to attend Industry Day at the Range. It's always a good time (who doesn't like to shoot other people's ammo?).  Here are some quick highlights, in case I fail to get more thorough posts done once I'm home.

Decibullz is a Fort Collins-based company that has been around for a while, though they're just now getting into the ear protection game. They were kind enough to offer free custom-molded ear plugs to the attendees today. We didn't run into them until later in the morning, but quickly switched out our "foamies" that we got at the front gate for our Decibullz ear plugs and wore them the rest of the day. Their basic model worked very nicely for the range; they have a different model that we'll be discussing in the future. Since we're from the same geographic area, I'll be scheduling a post-show interview with them.

Though I'm not a long-range shooter, Mez talked me into shooting the new .224 Valkyrie. They had the target out 960 yards, and I'm not a long-range shooter, but I'm happy to say I hit all but one (and that miss was barely a miss). I struggled initially with the trigger, as in, I couldn't reach the freaking thing. Could not reach it. At all. They instructed me to use a strong-side only hold, with my thumb alongside the stock instead of wrapped around the handgrip. It was a soft-shooting round and easy to manage. I'm certain Mez will write more about the ballistics of this round/gun.

My "must shoot" list was pretty short - I need a new duty gun, so I wanted to check out the M&P 2.0 compact. I've shot a few rounds from one of the range team members, but the more I get to handle it, the more convinced I am that this is the gun I need. While I was up there, I thought I'd try the M&P Shield 2.0 as well. I carry my G42 daily, but would really like to upgrade to a 9mm. I planned on just going up to a G43 (because deep in my heart, I'm a Glock girl), but the Shield might be a contender. I'll have to shoot them side by side before I make a final decision.

Again, on Mez's recommendation, Jay and I ducked into the Hudson stall to shoot their pistols. Immediately, I was freaked out by their triggers. I've shot Glock "safe action" triggers since I started shooting, I'm comfortable with the M&P hinged trigger, but this Hudson trigger was just weird. It hinges from the bottom of the trigger. It is supposed to make the trigger reset easier to attain, but while demonstrating it, the Hudson employee had an ND into the dirt just in front of us. Imma go ahead and say, that's not the gun for me. The boys, however, liked the gun.

If you look at the trigger closely, you can see the pin at the bottom of the trigger.

And just for giggles, here's a cute dog picture.

Apollo, the cutest PTSD service dog I've ever seen.