A Visit to Wolf’s Indoor Range and Shooting Center – Bristol, CT USA

Where: 597 Middle Street (Route 229), Bristol, CT 06010

Website: www.wolfsrange.com
Phone: 860-585-0447
Hours: Monday 2 PM – 9 PM, Tuesday – Friday 10 AM – 9 PM, Saturday 9:30 AM – 9 PM, Sunday 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM
Cost: It cost me $19 and change for ½ hour and 5 targets
Details: 15 bays, 50+ feet indoor facility. Small shop.

I’ve never visited a shooting range before, so I was not totally sure what to expect when I visited Wolf’s Indoor Range and Shooting Center in Bristol, CT. The experience was stress free. The staff at Wolf’s was no-nonsense, but still friendly. They explained all the range etiquette and rules, and most importantly, welcomed any questions.
Wolf’s has 15 bays available. The range goes beyond 50 feet, which is plenty far for handgun shooting. They have a small store that sells targets, ammo, and various accessories.

If you are visiting a range for the first time, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• If you have them, bring ear and eye protection. If not, Wolf’s has some available to borrow.
• DO NOT “expose” your firearm in the office. It needs to be kept in a case until you get out to the range.
• If you don’t have targets, you can buy them at the range. The targets I purchased were $.30 each.

I will definitely visit Wolf’s again.

 

Gun Show Disappoints

I made my way to the gun show at the Easter States Exposition in Springfield, MA this past weekend.  It was not what I was looking for as a new gun shopper.  I was expecting several booths where one could view and hold different guns.  I was expecting salesmen trying to sell potential buyers on the virtues of their firearms.  While there were some booths selling new guns, the majority of tables were devoted to antique items.  All but one of the tables selling new guns had them behind glass.  The one booth that had the guns available to handle was the most crowded booth at the show.  One would thing the other sellers would catch on.

Perhaps my expectations were too high, but the show was closer to a flea market than a convention.

If you are in the market for a new gun, in my opinion the show is not the way to go.  The selection at a store like Cabela's is likely better than the show.  Additionally, there is no entry fee for Cabela's, and all the accessories you need are available in one place. 

For the new firearm buyer, go to your local store.  For antique items, check out the show.  

West Springfield Gun Show

I've never been to a gun show before, but I plan on attending one this weekend.

This weekend there is an NRA sponsered gun show at the Easter States Exposition (Big E fairgrounds) in West Springfield, MA.

The link for the show poster is below:

http://users.erols.com/fasttrack/loc/w-spr/SPRINGFIELD-FLYER-MARCH-10.pdf

There is also a coupon online for $1 off admission. You can print that coupon here:

http://users.erols.com/fasttrack/loc/w-spr/w-spr-coupon.gif

Feel free to visit and exercise your Constitutional right

Petit Family Foundation Food and Wine Event November 15th 2009

The Petit Family Foundation cordially invites you to a Food & Wine Event to benefit the foundation and to honor the memories of Jennifer-Hawke Petit, Hayley Elizabeth Petit and Michaela Rose Petit on Sunday Nov. 15th 2009 5:30-8:30p.m. at Carmen Anthony Fishhouse, 1770 Berlin Turnpike, Wethersfield, Ct.
The foundation’s funds are given to help foster the education of young people, especially women in the sciences; to improve the lives of those affected by chronic illnesses; and to support efforts to protect and help those affected by violence.
Please call Beth Tracey for reservations at 1-860-677-1223 Ext. 23

Here’s a sneak preview:
"Wines To Be Paired With All Food Courses"

Reception:
Fruit & Vegetable Crudités
1st Course:
Campagna Salad
Mixed field greens with gorgonzola cheese, red onions and tomatoes,
with our house vinaigrette
2nd Course:
Capellini Piedmontese
Capellini pasta tossed in a creamy pink sauce with Prosciutto, peas & Parmesan cheese
Served Family Style
3rd Course:
Petite Filet Mignon Trio
A filet trio cooked to perfection accompanied by sauces of blackberry bordelaise,
green peppercorn au poivre and béarnaise served with baby vegetables
Dessert:
Chocolate Torte
Coffee or Tea

We look forward to seeing you at our first Wine/Dinner Event!!
Petit Family Foundation~http://www.petitfamilyfoundation.org/Use GoodSearch for The Petit Family Foundation http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=863000%7E

Boycott The Book (The Cheshire Home Invasion)

For those of you not familiar with this story, below is a letter regarding the rape, torture, and murder of 2 daughters and the wife of Dr. William Petit of Cheshire, CT. This letter is attributed to Dr. Bill Petit. I can not verify for sure that this is from Dr. Petit, but I have reason to believe that this letter is authentic. Regardless of the source of this letter, the message remains the same. No criminal should benefit from a crime, especially a crime as hideous as this one. It seems like an easy decision to stay away from this book. You'll have to make up your own mind, but see Dr. Petit's words below before you make your decision.

===========================================================
Please Help Boycott This Book
Share
This is the illegally obtained book written by one the defendants who killed Hayley and Michaela. He illegally met with the author in jail before he was stopped by the DOC and released it prior to the trial in Contempt of of the gag order, that has been in place over a year. The book was common knowledge but Donovan, his defense attorney has reacted like a moron as if he had no knowledge of this. Judge Fasano had a hearing yesterday and ignored the entire topic-of course the session was in chambers so it is hard to know exactly what was said-our justice system is far less than transparent. This allows this animal to give his side of the story without cross-examination or forensics and then causes the other side of the defense to whine that they cannot get a fair trial. Amazon The author, Brian McDonald, acts like he did nothing wrong-it was only his job to write a book no matter who it hurts. St. martin Press is the division of McMillan that published the book and it is out at Amazon, Barnes and Noble etc. None of them care that an 11 year old was terrorized, raped and burned alive and that a 17 yr old was beaten and burned alive while a 48 year old mother with MS was strangled while she tried to save her children. They are all the epitome of the American blood lust for money and publicity at all costs. Shame on them. they will get their final rewards in their afterlife of hell. Now 26 months later there is no thought of starting the trial and the judicial system wants me to cheer because this is faster than most trials come to court. Yes I am angry, and suspect I will get angrier, but if you have a minute send an email or call or boycott. Thank you for caring about Jennifer, Hayley, and Michaela.
Bill Petit

Obama's First 100 Days -- Connecticut Political Leadership Phone Numbers

The Democrat's and the Obama administration have no respect for the US Constitution, and the people of this country know it.

In Connecticut (my home state), requests for pistol permits are at all-time highs. In the town of Southington, permit request have already surpassed the total requests for the past 2 years, and we are only in April.

Nationwide, gun and ammo sales are soaring.

You can fool some of the people some of the time, but the people of this country have already sniffed out the attack on the US Constitution lead by Barack Obama, specifically his plans for attacking our second amendment rights.

Don't stand idly by and let it happen. We can feel the assault on our rights is coming (based on the permit and sales data), so be sure to do something about it. Fight for your legal rights. Join the NRA. It's not expensive. You can find a link to the NRA in the "Favorite Links" area of this website. Your membership comes with your choice of 3 good magazines. There are 60 million gun owners in the US today, but only 4 million active members of the NRA. This needs to change.

The left is great at demonstrating, protesting, and working up firestorms for their favorite issues (think of the anti-war protests during the Vietnam war, and even more recently the protests of the Iraq war). It's much easier for the left to cause disruption because they don't hold themselves to the rules of respect, decency, or even law (think of the criminals that tried to disrupt the 2008 Republican National Convention, or the criminal that recently attempted to hit best-selling writer Ann Coulter with a pie while she delivered a speech at a college campus). However, it's time for us on the right-of-center to take action with our voices, actions, and money.

The NRA is not just about guns. It's about protecting our Constitutional rights. If one of our individual civil rights (the second amendment) can be attacked, repealed, or destroyed, what's to stop them from moving on to other rights they don't like, such as freedom of speech (think Fairness Doctrine), freedom of peaceable assembly (think of the total disdain on the left for the recent "Tea Party" protests), and on and on and on.

I recently attended a game dinner held at a local church. The cost was $40 per ticket. The food started at 5:30 PM and did not stop coming until 10:30 PM. The menu included bear meatballs, venison steaks, venison lasagna, wild mushroom soup, pheasant, rabbit, goose, salmon, venison chili, and many other great dishes. It's one of the local highlights of spring in northwest Connecticut. I dare say there was possibly not one Obama voter in the crowd of 200+. If there was one, they would never admit it! The organizers of this dinner provided a list of phone numbers of local politicians so the voting public could remind our political leaders to honor the oath they took to uphold and protect the Connecticut and US Constitutions. I've provided a copy of the list below:

To Help Fight For Our Gun Rights Call:

1-800-842-8267 CT House of Representatives - D

1-800-842-1423 CT House of Representatives - R

1-800-842-1420 CT State Senate Democrats

1-800-842-1421 CT State Senate Republicans

1-800-406-1527 Gov. Jodi Rell

1-202-224-2823 U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd

1-202-224-4041 U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman

Plainville, CT Troops Coming Home

On Friday, April 10th members of the community have an opportunity to show their support and appreciation to our troops.

Between 6 and 8 PM Marines from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment based out of Plainville are scheduled to return home after a seven-month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Friends, family, and community members are invited to come to the Marine Reserve Training Center at 1 Linsley Drive, Plainville CT to welcome the troops home.

Hartford Tax Day Tea Party

Tea parties are popping up all over the country. There are over 400 tea parties planned for tax day, April 15th, to protest bloated government spending, overbearing government intrusion, and the continual attack on the rights of the individual.

In the spirit of 1773, when patriots also protested oppressive government, consider joining your fellow countrymen in a show of strength, liberty, and independence. Information below:

What: Tea party protest

Where: North steps of the Capitol building, Hartford CT

When: 12-2 PM, April 15th 2009

Hartford Tea Party Largely a Disappointment

I attended the "Hartford Tea Party" today during lunch. It was the first time I've attended something that might be classified as a political protest. I'm sorry to say that my worst fears were confirmed. Don't get me wrong, the people at the event were good people. I believe in the ideals of the event. However, the event was just not that well attended. There were maybe 200 people struggling with forced group chants. Although there are few people as anti-big-government as I, I have to admit I felt mostly silly standing there among the meager crowd of patriots adorned with signs, bells, and costumes. If this event was going to be effective, it would have needed closer to 200,000 people, rather than 200.

The purpose of the event was the protest "pork" spending. However, one problem is that so-called pork is not the only government over-indulgence. Even if all the pork were removed from the state and federal budgets, we would still be spending unseemly sums of money. Even with all the pork trimmed, the expanding reach of government would continue to tighten its grip on our personal liberties. We need more than a fat trim. We need a serious roll back of government. Unfortunately, we are getting just the opposite with the current administration and congress.

I, like many responsible citizens out there, fell helpless. That's why I went to the Hartford Tea Party. I thought, perhaps if we band together we can make a difference. It was reassuring to know that even in a deep blue state like Connecticut, there are still some sensible citizens out there. It was reassuring to hear people blow their car horns in support. The print, TV, and radio journalists were there to cover the event (with a special appearance by Jim Vicevich), so perhaps the message reached some new people. Maybe, but I fear that in reality it was just a waste of a lunch hour.

Hartford Tea Party -- TODAY (2-27-2009) 12-1 -- Directions

Political protest against big government.

Gathering on the Supreme Court steps at 11:45 AM.

Directions:

http://www.jud.ct.gov/directory/directory/directions/supremecourt.htm

Bristol, CT -- Another Example of Government Waste

The city of Bristol, CT has enhanced the quality of life in town by flooding a sand volleyball court in a municipal park to create a small ice skating rink. The rink is nothing fancy, but it's a good use of a town park during winter months when it mostly stands dormant. However, Bristol takes it a step further by posting a town worker at the rink to over see activities. Keep in mind this is a pile of sand with ice on it, not an NHL hockey rink. So, some town employee is paid to sit there are watch people (mostly kids) skate. Why is this necessary? Why is this necessary, especially considering the budget constraints under which the city is operating? The answer is that it's not necessary. After all, the town does not post a worker at the park during the summer months to supervise volleyball, basketball, softball, or the playground. Why are these summer activities any different from a small skating rink in the winter? I know many smaller towns that have made similar rinks. They leave the rinks open to public enjoyment. No supervision required. In order to save money (and common sense) Bristol should do the same, and get rid of the unnecessary "supervisor" at the town rink.

Goodwin Hotel Closing a Bad Sign for Hartford

The Goodwin Hotel is an excellent hotel in the heart of downtown Hartford. It is directly across the street from Hartford’s biggest attraction, the XL center (formerly the Civic Center). The hotel is privately run, unique, and luxurious. The Goodwin hotel has hosted celebrities such as Neil Diamond, Bruce Springsteen, and Tina Turner while they were performing in Hartford. The Goodwin Hotel offers a good value with rooms available for less than $100 per night. The Goodwin Hotel is closing at the end of the year.
I had the occasion this past weekend to spend a night at the Goodwin Hotel. It felt like a stay in an old-time luxury hotel – the kind of hotel that existed before the big chains took over.

Hartford is a city that has long struggled with its image. It does not speak well to the health and vibrancy of the city that it cannot support a hotel like the Goodwin. The state of Connecticut has pumped a lot of money into Hartford in the past decade with the funding of the Adrian’s Landing project and the Connecticut Science Center. I fear that the closing of the Goodwin is a sign that the state taxpayer investment in Hartford may not have been a wise one at this time. Let’s hope I’m wrong.

Why Newspapers Are Failing -- The Closing of The Bristol Press, New Britain Herald, and the Steady Decline of The Hartford Courant

It was announced last week that unless a buyer can be found, two local central Connecticut newspapers, The Bristol Press and New Britain Herald, will close within the month. This comes on the tail of a 25% newsroom reduction at the largest paper in Connecticut, The Hartford Courant. The Hartford Courant revamped (read: cut content) from their paper following this staff reduction. The paper is noticeably thinner. Despite this most recent big cut, the down slide of content and quality at the Hartford Courant is not a new trend. For years the paper has been going downhill. As a long time subscriber, I've witnessed the decline first hand. I can remember when the Sunday Courant used to be so think and so full of interesting information that I could hardly finish it in one day. Now I finish the Sunday paper before my first cup of coffee is done. Papers across the country are having a difficult time adjusting to the "new media" of 24 hour cable news and the internet. They are floundering to find a strategy in today's reality. Perhaps the most troubling trend for the newspaper business is an apathetic younger generation that seems to have no interest in serious news in any format.

This story is certainly not unique to Connecticut. All around, the newspaper business is in a bad place.

I am a dedicated newspaper reader. It's part of my routine and part of my life. I start every day with the Hartford Courant. However, these days even I'm having second thoughts. The content of the paper has never been thinner. Of the remaining content, much of it has fallen into a heavy bias. Perhaps the Hartford Cournat is simply playing to their market with Connecticut being one of the bluest of the blue states, but if that's the case it's not good journalism. Good journalism is supposed to be non-biased. I am not naive enough to believe that anything can be truly unbiased, but I do believe that a paper can at least strive to be impartial. The Hartford Courant has lost it's way. Out of the 5 significant regular columnists (Stan Simpson, Jim Shea, Susan Campbell, Helen Ubinas, Colin McEnroe) to the Courant, all 5 are unapologetic liberals. The paper has absolutely no conservative counterpoint to balance out the opinions. I wonder if I'm the only reader who's noticed this. Does the editorial staff notice? Do they care? They've sold their journalistic soul and become a shell of themselves. Intelligent readers, regardless of their political leanings, can tell the difference.

The Hartford Courant and the newspaper business in general needs to do what any business needs to do when they are losing out to competition. They need to improve the quality of their product. They can start by getting back to doing some real reporting and dropping the political agenda.