DustRhino

Coming from the proverbial left field, Suzanne told me one day a few months ago that shotguns were cool, at least 12 gauge, pump-action ones were. I am not sure if it was her last The Shield marathon (still one of her favorite TV shows), or the finale of Terminator 2: Judgment Day was somehow ingrained in her head—either way, I didn’t question her interest, and bought a Mossberg 500a at the next Raleigh gun show.

Before Suzanne was ready to go all Linda Hamilton — Terminator 2 style, she though she needed to get some practice in. While she has had some firearms training, including completing the US Army Small Arms Firing School at Camp Perry in 2005, a 12 gauge takes more strength to control than 5.56mm. It took us a while, but we finally had free time on a weekend day with good weather, and headed over to our club to do some training on the patterning field.

We started with some Aguila Minishells loaded with 5/8 ounces of #7 1/2 birdshot. These are 1 3/4″ 12 ga shotshell (1 1/2″ OAL loaded) originally developed for law enforcement and military applications, as they tend not to over penetrate, generate a milder recoil, and provide more firepower (12-14 rounds in a 20″ bbl shotgun). In practice, they perform about the same as .410 or 28 gauge rounds, but when fired from a heavy 12 gauge shotgun, make a good introduction to the shotgun shooting for those unaccustomed to a full 12 gauge load.

Suzanne did pretty well with the minishells, though it is tricky to get the short shells to cycle correctly with the Mossberg 500 (I have read they do better from a Winchester 1300), so we had to single load them. So we moved up to Fiocchi 2 3/4″ Ultra Low Recoil shells loaded with 7/8 ounces of #7 1/2 birdshot. Even the reduced recil loads were a shock to Suzanne, but she was tough and made it though most of a box, learning how to properly load, and cycle the shotgun in the process. Suzanne quote of the day, “that’s powerful!”

Our next step is heading to a club with an action pit and reactive targets, where we can shoot some 00 buck and slugs, and get Suzanne accustomed to a full power load. Suzanne wants to reenact the scene from Three Kings in which Spike Jonze’s character has a flashback to shooting stuffed animals off a junker car in his backyard with his shotgun.

David General

Tonight was the kickoff of the UNC General Alumni Association (GAA) Alumni-Student Mentorship program. The Student Programs arm of the GAA planned and organized a dinner, held in Johnston Center, to allow the students, and alumni they were matched with to meet and get to know each other.

As I understand it, this is the initial year of the program, and as such, doesn’t have a formal structure, so I am not quite sure what I got myself into. In the past, I volunteered for single evening programs, in which local alumni met to answer questions from students about their professions, the job market, interviewing and the like, but this was something different—a one-on-one pairing, and a commitment for whole semester.

part of the evening’s ice-breaker was a Carolina Trivia challenge, pitting teams of students and alumni against each other. It was very strange to see events that took place while I was in school on a list of ancient history the current students didn’t know. What was worse was being off a year on each question, doh! I was able to recall correctly: the Father of the University, what first did WXYC accomplish in 1994, and the two student organizations that formed the original student government (or something like that). Do you know the answers?

David General

We had some light snow yesterday morning, which came as a rude shock to some of Suzanne’s plants in the back yard. This poor daffodil had been sure that Spring was on the way in January.

David General

Keep it safe in the snow and ice this winter. Around here, it doesn’t seem to take much to start a cascade of crashes on local roads. I don’t remember it being like this in New York, where I grew up, but then again, the patchwork or pothole repairs probably provided some traction. I also don’t recall the freezing rain–it was just cold, and you either had snow, or you didn’t.

The News and Observer ran an article today with a list of roadways that tend to be particularly dangerous when there’s snow or ice, as reported by local law enforcement agencies. Follows are the areas we tend to travel in.

State Highway Patrol

All highways, 1st Sgt. Steve Greene says. “It’s the speed,” he says. “They’re going too fast for conditions.” If you must go out today, “just slow down,” Greene says.

Raleigh Police

• Duraleigh Road (steep grades on each side of a creek)
• Durant Road near Capital Boulevard (curve that drivers often take too fast)
• Avent Ferry Road
• Curves and hills on Wade Avenue
• Curves and hills on Falls of the Neuse where it crosses Neuse River

Chapel Hill Polce

• Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near the police station and Hillsborough Street
• East Franklin Street from Roosevelt Drive to Estes Drive
• U.S. 15-501 between Oteys Road (behind Dean Smith Center) and Manning Drive

Carrboro Police

• South Greensboro Street (big hill just north of N.C. 54 overpass)

Durham Police

• Overpass entrance ramps to U.S 15-501 from Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard and to Durham Freeway at 15-501 (in addition to major highways and bridges)
• Hills on Roxboro and Mangum streets

David General