'Ol Blue

The morning dew shines with a glimmer from the approaching sun as it gently rests on blades of lush green grass. Light cascades throughout California's vast valleys and mountains bringing to life all of nature in a bursting of vibrant colors and smells. After a long winter's rest, the tired bear awakens to a warm spring day, rubs the sleep from his eyes, assembles an assault rifle and shoots a squirrel.
Breakfast is served.

Yes in my down time (recovering from injuries) I have managed to develop a new hobby; Assembling and customizing rifles. Here is a little shot of a few of the items I have been playing with:
Counter clockwise from noon we have:
- High point 9mm Carbine
- Springfield XD 9mm Service Model
- Custom AR-15 16" 5.56mm
- Custom AR-15 Was an 18" 5.56mm, then a 20" Bull Barrel .223cal, soon to be a 16" 6.8spc and may change again depending on my mood.
I also picked up some other stuff to round out the collection but I can't just be posting pictures of everything, it's tedious, and some of the weapons are shy. I know for one that my .22 has an inferiority complex.
For those of you who like a visual, here are the calibers I currently use:
Left to right:
.22cal, 9mm Luger, 5.56 NATO, and "No thank you, one shot was enough" 7mm Remington Magnum

Growing up, I always had an affinity for firearms. For those who know me it isn't hard to imagine me wanting to be John Rambo, running through the forest impaling myself on broken tree branches and fighting off the local P.D. as I fight for my own salvation amid flashbacks to previous battle traumas and a kick ass 80's style montage including me lacing my boots and smearing mud on my face...
Whew that just gave me the chills.

Or maybe I could have been Bruce Campbell, running around with my boom stick in 1300 AD giving the villagers a piece of my mind, while reminding them to shop at S-Mart. It is hard to say when it began, but the interest has always been there.
Now I don't want to give the impression that it is because of these movies that an interest was sparked. If that was the case, to use the Rambo example, I could have just as easily become enthralled with steroids and baby oil.

Back on topic: My recent resurgent interest in firearms came from researching California state law mostly with the aid of a pro second amendment site for gun owners who have the misfortune of residing in California. You see, I had always thought that because I lived in California, most of the weapons I would fancy would be unavailable to me due to the anti-gun legislation in this state. However, after hours reading information posted at CalGuns.net I learned that not only could I build the rifles I was interested in, but I could find the people, businesses, and resources to do so right in one handy, well cataloged community! With this the construction began.

I think I like the research, and the physical assembly of these machines as much as I like the sending lead down range and blowing targets to bits. And believe me, many an apple, orange, and grapefruit have met their demise at the business end of my arsenal. I enjoy learning new techniques, as well as passing along good tips and proper handling procedures to my friends and family. For me it is one more sport to add in the Thompology library, that as well a way to follow in the steps of this country's founders and arm myself to the teeth in an effort to stave of tyranny.
Both of which are quite satisfying.