Well, it’s Friday in Australia, so time for another round. Wines Of The World had both a selection of Australian wines (unfortunately, mixed in with a sea of California and South American wines, so A Hunting We Will Go!) I got a bottle of Savor Collective Red Blend for about $9, vintage 2014, for pairing with a Leg-o-Lamb (boneless) at $7 / pound. Then they also had Coopers Ale, so a six pack of that set me back just under $10. All the bounty of Australia for this evening.
The Savor Collective is an interesting one, since it says “Imported and bottled by Savor Collective” in Ripon & Livermore California. So a bulk import of wine from Australia. The description says “Savor Collective Red Blend has rich notes of juicy blackberry, ripe dark cherry and delicate spice. Enjoy with roast garlic and balsamic glazed lamb chops.” That ought to work with roast lamb with garlic on/in it!
I’ve got a few hours before I start the roast. I’m thinking acorn squash and roasted russet potato with it. Perhaps a side of Rosemary peas. (Just drop a couple of Rosemary leaves in the peas as you warm them).
So that’s the “Tipple and Baaa!”. What about the BANG!?
Well, as things here seem to have mostly fizzled, and arrests are increasing (and crimping some folks style ;-) I’ve decided to go light. About as light as it is possible to go. My Beretta 950 in .22 SHORT. It is just one heck of a bundle of fun to shoot, incredibly light, and far cheaper to shoot than any of the center fire small cartridges. Out of a 2.5 inch barrel the short does not suffer nearly so much as the .22 lr or other larger cartridges. (A posting on that “soon”)
Here’s a video that explains the experience while also pointing out the sheer fun of this little “mouse gun”:
Surprisingly quiet for a short barrel gun, and just a joy to shoot. It “only” has a 6 round magazine capacity plus one up the spout for 7 total. OTOH, if 7 shots isn’t enough to convince someone to just leave the area, you are already in trouble.
No, this will not drop a deer at 20 yards nor stop a crazed perp hopped up on PCP. Then again, a P.D. Sargent I know has a story about a few officers emptying their 9mm into a PCP wired perp and him not going down until a 12 gauge slug took out his spine. IF you are worried about that very edgy edge case, get a shotgun with slugs. For the average run of the mill yahoo or idiot, a couple of .22 holes in them will be more than enough to convince them to leave the area. My purpose is NOT to subdue and capture, nor to kill with as close to 100% effect as possible. My goal is to convince the attacker to discontinue the attack and leave the area. Different goals, different guns and different calibers.
Besides, it’s just so darned cute, fun to shoot, and Halle Berry carried one in a Bond movie! What’s not to like? I taught my Mum how to shoot an automatic with this gun. It fit her small hands well and the very nearly zero recoil, noise and flash were big features.
The slide can be fairly hard to rack. Stiff springs and small grasping area. The nice thing is that you don’t need to rack the slide. Just do the barrel tip-up thing. FWIW, when I had misfires with a batch of very old ammo, just thumbing the hammer back and restriking often was enough for it to fire. As in the video, the firing pin marks let you know the gun is doing its part.
I can hold this gun in the palm of my hand using only my thumb and you can’t see it. It drops into a pants pocket or hip bag and just disappears. 50 rounds of ammo fits in the shipping box with the gun and is about the size of box of checks (though squarer instead of longish).
And did I mention is it a joy to shoot for just about anyone?
In Conclusion
So once again, it’s time to see just how much “Liquid Barley” we can take off of the docks of Australia. Plus, I figure if we all eat the lamb, they can load up on their beef. Here’s your chance to tell China you do NOT appreciate wearing a mask for months, being off work, getting very tired of touring the living room; and generally just them being sorry SOB’s about the whole deal and trying to bully your friends.
Welcome once again to Australian Friday Night Tipple, Baaa and BANG! Let the good times roll!
Musings from the Chiefio 
Enjoy the Coopers Ale. One of the good ones, and still family owned in South Australia. Is it the Sparkling Ale (Red Label) or the Pale Ale (Green Label)? Either way for $10?? Cheaper than I can get it and I’m only 600km from where they make the stuff.
It’s the green label pale ale. I’m luvin it! At about 50 F seems best. Cooler than English but warmer than American.
A nice light amber/yellow ale with nice but not too much hops. Good head on the pour but dissipates for the drink. Bottle conditioned with yeast on the bottom of the bottle, yet fairly clear in the glass. This will be my basic beer for a while.
Lamb is in the oven at the moment, so about an hour to trying the wine. I think I can get the last 2 bottles finished by then!
@E.M.: Just returned from my local Shell gas station with a 3-liter Bota Box of Shiraz. No mask required, in And out in about 45 seconds. Enjoying it now, and lifting it your direction in salute.
A glorious near full moon low in the sky, and normally warmish for early june. Nice.
As to 22auto, not much bigger than the one you describe is the Walther PPK chambered in 22long rifle. Sweet, smooth action, and vey little felt recoil. 10 rounds in the mag, and decocker safety as well, so “locked and loaded with 11” easily managed. Yes, not quite as invisible, but a great joy to shoot.
Enjoy the lamb!
Cheers!
E,M,: “No, this will not drop a deer at 20 yards nor stop a crazed perp hopped up on PCP.”
Had to stop and LOL right there.
Different guns for different funs(s).
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1) I’ve not been posting many of my 1-liners as life has gotten in the way. My mother-in-law fell and broke her shoulder a few weeks ago and I am covering for that for the Mrs. and for her needs. I’m several weeks behind on commenting (but not reading) on my blog roll of Musings of the Chiefio’s blog, WUWT, and CTH.
Anyhow, thanks for the much appreciated chuckle.
I hear ya HR>
Performance is important. First hand agreement from these shoes. Heck, this is why I have one of these.
Cheers
Mango sauce ( I make from mango jelly ), is excellent with lamb- better than mint jelly.
Cheers!
@H.R.:
I think it was in a Paul Harrell video comparing .25 ACP and .32 ACP where he said he has dropped s deer with the .25 at something like 6 yards with a head shot… so I had to make it 20 yards in my comnent… just to be sure ;-)
@EMS – If you can get any of the Red Label Sparkling Ale, you’re in for an even better drop – IMHO of course. It too is bottle conditioned, and slightly higher ABV @ 5.8%
Hope the lamb was great. I did have the 300g sirloins last night, but reserved the Penfolds Grange until tomorrow evening.
Well, the lamb WAS great. A 6 pound roast, so it is STILL great! (Just had a chunk cold as a late night snack ;-)
The beer and wine, however, are now long gone ;-(
I’ve asked after Australian Whisky at a few places but so far no joy. Another tranche of stores open this weekend, so I’m hoping BevMo for browsing is among them. They have a fairly large foreign beer section and their Australian wines are not mixed in with California et. al. So maybe they will have the red label.
In any case, I’m happy if all I can get is the green ;-)
With just the 2 of us, a leg-o-lamb usually lasts about a week of one big dinner then snacks, sandwiches, and a small resurrection dinner or two. Unless I binge on it ;-)
Gyros