After only a 38 day wait, my Arizona CCW permit arrived in the mail today. The DPS website says expect up to a 75 day approval cycle, so it arrived in about half that time. Verna’s permit did not arrive yet, so we’re still waiting on hers. We hope it shows up within the next few days.

Even though Arizona is a Constitutional Carry state, Verna and I got our CCW training so we can carry in the 32 other states that recognize Arizona CCW permits. There are also several perks within Arizona, like being able to carry in restaurants that serve alcohol and the background check to purchase firearms is waived for permit holders.

It has been several months since Verna and I brought our cache of ammunition from California. It has been ‘temporarily’ stored in her closet since then. So, this afternoon I transferred the ammunition from the large box to the recently-emptied shelves in the safe. The open shelf space became available after I installed the gun rack on the safe door and loaded it with guns and holsters.

Image - Ammunition stored in the safe at long last - click to enlarge

Shelves from top to bottom:

• Important papers & documents
• Handgun ammo
• Shotgun shells
• Magazines, loaders & loose ammo
• Miscellaneous gun stuff

Now that I see how much ammo we have in stock, I guess we will have to head over to the range and start reducing our inventory. The summer heat is starting to diminish and we should be able to resume regular practice sessions.

We attended a class yesterday devoted to home protection and gun safety. One of the topics they taught had to do with equipment for the home. Of course, we already have firearms but we need to research some of the other tactical gear that we ought to have on hand.

The course instructor advised that if we’re going to have firearms handy that it is a very good idea to have a high-quality flashlight on hand to aid in locating and identifying potential targets. Not the cheap Chinese crap that you find at the discount stores, but a good, reliable and BRIGHT tactical flashlight similar to those used by military and law enforcement. Pursuant to that end, I have started a ‘wish list’ on a well-known on-line retailer site where I have entered several candidate flashlights. Over the next few days, Verna and I will down-select to a single flashlight and then order two of them. One for her and one for myself.

The “RACK’EM” pistol storage unit for the safe door arrived today. It only took a half-hour to install and load it up (after I charged up the half-flat 18V Battery pack for the power drill).

The manufacturer supplied the screws to secure the rack to the safe door but I replaced them with some better sheet metal screws that I had on hand. The rack itself is coated with a pliable plastic that won’t mar the weapons.

I loaded the rack with our two Smith & Wesson 686 revolvers (Jerry Lee and Bubba), the unnamed 9MM S&W 908’s, Verna’s Warthog (Miss Piggy) and my Glock 26 (Little Boy) with IWB Holster. You don’t see my Glock 30 (Fat Man) and Verna’s S&W 442 (Rosie the Riveter) because we carry those guns most all the time.

Image - rack with all sixteen hooks loaded with guns and accessories - click on the image to enlarge.

Below the pistols, I loaded the other ten hooks with our other holsters and gun carrying cases. Suddenly, there is a lot of room on the shelves of the safe for other stuff. Verna and I are both pleased with our purchase.

We have been neglecting our shooting at the range activities due to finishing up the details for the new house. Today, however, we brought out (almost) the entire gun collection for a badly needed clean and lube. Our carry guns, although not fired recently, needed the lint, salt and other crud removed. We set up the cleaning table in the shade on the patio and spent an hour or so engaging in gun love. Click on the image to enlarge.

This is definitely the weirdest thing I found on the internet today . . .

Yesterday we went to the shooting range. I made several videos of us shooting. I liked this one of Verna shooting her little Smith and Wesson 442 J-frame .38 caliber revolver because of the big muzzle flashes from such a small (but powerful) firearm.