Author and host of the hit OUTDOOR CHANNEL show SHOOTING GALLERY spouts off...noreply@blogger.com (Michael Bane)Tue, 9 Jun 2026 00:40:06 -0600Blogger http://www.blogger.com4140125http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/en-usnoCopyright 2005 Flying Dragon LtdShooting Gallery Outdoor Channel guns shooting sport shooting shooting sports firearms handguns rifles shotguns hunting practical pistol practical shooting pistols USPSA IDPA ICORE revolvers trap skeet sporting claysPodcast from the hit Outdoor Channel series SHOOTING GALLERY, hosted by Michael BanePodcast from the hit Outdoor Channel series SHOOTING GALLERY, hosted by Michael BaneMichael Banembane@outdoorchannel.comMichael Banehttp://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2019/01/pdws-and-decent-cherry-cake.htmlSat, 26 Jan 2019 14:29:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-8606308577799817062I think I'm going to bake today. What I have in mind is a Kentish Cherry Cake, because I have a bunch of sweet and tart cherries and I think they need a happy home. It would also taste good for breakfast tomorrow with clotted cream. While I'm working on the cake, I'm going to be thinking about PDWs and whether they're a coming thing or an interesting but small branch of the family. It's 566mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2018/07/trump-derangement-syndrome.htmlSun, 8 Jul 2018 21:55:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-3676144933400118145 Good grief! An article I agree with in NRO (excepting Charles Cooke, their In-house Brit Second Amendment absolutist, with whom I rarely find fault). I'm a single issue voter, as I'm pretty sure you guys know by now. My rationale is and has been that a person's stance on the individual ownership of firearms and their views on the personal responsibility of carrying firearms tells me -- quite 113mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2018/07/cuddly-baby-giraffes-or-something-like.htmlTue, 3 Jul 2018 21:31:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-1342162011318492848 Gosh...my last post seems to have disappeared from Facebook...probably a technical glitch...LOL! So here it is on the Blog. Hey Facebook...Happy Independence Day, you fascist bastards! You probably know I unconditionally support Tess Thompson Talley in this manufactured controversy, as I support all forms of legal hunting. I also feel for her, coming off the hunt of her life, to be made to 188mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2018/06/buffalo-huntsouth-africajune-2018.htmlSat, 30 Jun 2018 15:11:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-8539927182547761200 Here's the lowdown on Africa 2018! We were hunting at Ft. Richmond Safaris about an hour and a half from Kimberly, with Richard's and my very good friend Geoffrey Wayland doing the PH duty. The property we were hunting on was roughly 10,000 acres, with hills, acacia savannas and thorn thickets that proved to be a lot denser when you were stalking through it than it looked from the hilltops66mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-great-othering.htmlTue, 20 Mar 2018 14:06:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-8210772764627404692 FROM BEARING ARMS:  "Basically, to use their terminology, they’re trying to “other” us.You see, when you successfully “other” a group, you’re capable of doing any horrible thing. You essentially classify a group as something other than human, thus it becomes easy to commit atrocities against those people. It’s how the Nazis were able to do such terrible things to the Jews. They’d already 82mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2018/03/my-fathers-gun.htmlMon, 5 Mar 2018 16:49:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-1911160519654327597 Things lost; things gained; the past, as always, remains. The thing is I don’t remember the first time I had a gun in my hands. It seems like something I should remember, some profound milestone to mark the passing from childhood to the mysterious realm of the adults. But...nothing. I do remember my father and his brother, Uncle Sonny, sitting on the porch of my grandparents’ ramshackle 70mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/12/driving-stake-in-heart-of-2017.htmlSun, 31 Dec 2017 15:49:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-3071362036040394853The complete rig, two Taylors 1872 Open Tops on 1860 Army gripframes, in .44 Russian, completely overhauled by Jeff Ault at Munden's Six-Gun Magic and Will Ghormley's"Flames of Hell" holsters from 3:10 TO YUMA. To say the actions are now "good" is a vast understatement…they are some of the best single action triggers I have ever felt, period. In fact, the trigger is as good as the action/trigger 180mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/11/ds1-resurrected-vampire.htmlThu, 2 Nov 2017 14:37:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-5970252843265909248 DROPPED SHOT A WEE BIT OF BACKGROUND Definition of DROPPED SHOT: In the practical shooting sports, a shot that fails to hit the target; a miss. Sometime in mid-1985 I first wrote those words for the first time, for the newly minted FRONT SIGHT Magazine, the journal of the United States Practical Shooting Association. I was the founding editor, and DROPPED SHOT was my back page column. 46mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/08/what-could-be-more-fun.htmlSun, 27 Aug 2017 21:06:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-1231763804672161703..than cleaning your .22 silencer! Still, had to be done. I had to soak it apart with Ballistol, which worked super-deluxe. The big Colorado state championships for the NSSF Rimfire Challenge is coming up, and my Sweetie and I are shooting it. Are we ready? HA!  My plate runs yesterday constitute the sum total of my match practice. Hopefully I can spin this up just a bit this coming week. 206mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/08/yet-another-saturday.htmlSat, 26 Aug 2017 13:12:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-1585923971416699089 Yes, back in the saddle again! Not saying that we had a big ole time at the Mill Creek Shooting Resort last week, but I realized we shot up pretty much all my 6.5 Creedmoor match ammo (Hornady 140-gr ELD-Match). This is indeed a spectacular facility, located in what I think is the most beautiful part of America, southern Colorado. The accommodations are super, the meals delicious and the 16mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/07/saturday.htmlSat, 15 Jul 2017 21:22:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-3185308618197352902 Dinner came out well. I did a chili rub on the salmon — 2 tablespoons ancho chili powder, 1 tablespoon New Mexico red, 1 tablespoon cumin and cooked it on a hot grill for right about 4 minutes. Served it with Cuban black beans with kale…kinda a weird mix, but it worked…the garlic, ginger, onions and spices definitely helped! I think I'm going to keep the Remington Tac-14 not-a-shotgun. I've 58mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/07/independence-day-2017.htmlTue, 4 Jul 2017 14:34:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-6775726905982972422 "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." — Ronald Reagan "Political tags - such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth - are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into113mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/07/still-trying-to-catch-up-with-me.htmlSat, 1 Jul 2017 11:19:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-5654079925894180247 "Life is either a great adventure, or nothing." — Helen Keller It has been a dead run since I got back from Africa Monday night…I'm still waking up at 3AM trying to figure out where I am. I so love jet lag! Spent today in conference calls and putting the acoustic tile up on the ceiling of the studio…still not acoustically sound, but boy, it's getting better. A lot of what I'm going to be17mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/06/universal-background-checks-waiting.htmlFri, 9 Jun 2017 19:23:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-4012598858569612802 This is what happens when you drop your guard! There's been a bit of a kerflunkle on the Internet regarding superstar trainer Pat MacNamara's apparent support of a waiting period and universal background checks. So much so that MacNamara's video publisher, Panteao [with whom I have occasionally produced video, so be aware of that] felt obligated to answer the charges on AR15.com. Frankly, we30mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/06/hi-im-back.htmlSun, 4 Jun 2017 11:41:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-1565799314280890872Well, sorta…for the next couple of months I will be in and out of the country like a yo-yo on a very long string. Every place I'm going says they have wi-fi…more or less…often less than more. I'll do my best, either here on on Facebook (https://m.facebook.com/michael.bane.395), which is sometimes easier from a phone. On London…I got nothing…if you choose to be sheep, you will be led to the 15mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/04/havent-much-been-in-mood-to-write.htmlSat, 8 Apr 2017 15:17:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-5506386863950158276 Well, actually that's not completely true…I'm scripting for GUN STORIES WITH JOE MANTEGNA, so I'm spending 6-8 hours a day in front of the computer working. Given all the personal stuff that's been whirling around, it's hard to build up a lot of enthusiasm to tackle the laptop after I shut down the desktop. Plus, it appears there's been a massive reduction of IQ in the various social media, 70mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/03/great-news-from-apex-tactical.htmlFri, 31 Mar 2017 17:45:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-5150514893326977260 The world's greatest trigger manufacturer take customization to a whole new level!!! From tomorrow's presser: New Apex Gunsmith Fit Universal Trigger Apex is proud to introduce the all new Red Anodized Gunsmith Fit Universal Trigger, the one replacement trigger for all (or most) of your custom trigger needs. What It DoesAn industry first, the Apex Gunsmith Fit Universal Trigger214mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/03/update-on-projects.htmlThu, 30 Mar 2017 09:38:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-4348222277311509535 Thought you guys might like to see the progress on my Ruger Mk IV — the grips have been changed from the target grips to a standard set from ShopRuger, a rail has been mounted and the C-More bolted into place. I just started shooting it, and I'll fill you in on accuracy details, hopefully this afternoon after my fun and exciting appointment with the dentist! On other projects, the Ruger 30mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/03/okayonly-bunch-more-conference-calls.htmlFri, 10 Mar 2017 11:50:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-8703136398041907872A bunch of wrap-up thingies for the week... 1) Mo' Rugers! Mo' Rugers! Mo' Rugers! Ruger has announced an American .45 Compact. I like the compact 9mm a lot, so I would expect this one to be every bit as good. I assume Brother Ed Head has a review spinning up for DRTV. Ruger also announced 2 more versions of their MK IV .22 pistols, a 22/45 Tactical, based on the upgraded model with the 28mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/03/inexplicably-its-not-friday.htmlThu, 9 Mar 2017 09:58:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-2380125422772274238 I'm on my second gallon of coffee to see if I can jumpstart my brain. Fingers crossed... I've started reading my friend Max Prasac's spectacular book, THE GUN DIGEST BOOK OF HUNTING REVOLVERS. Even if you're not interested in handgun hunting, the book is a wealth of information on big bore revolver shooting (and was Max's previous book, BIG BORE HANDGUNS). Our SHOOTING GALLERY episode on 11mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/03/owwwwwickky.htmlSun, 5 Mar 2017 12:36:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-8576379355216086229So yesterday I had a wonderful plan…was going to get out the door early, do my various and sundry errands, then spend the afternoon at the range. I'd gotten out my .22 Ruger American bolt gun and a brick of CCI Quiet to do some work off sticks and practice off-hand on close and medium targets. I was darned excited. Of course the errands ran long, so on the way home I grabbed a turkey sandwich11mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/03/save-your-pennies.htmlFri, 3 Mar 2017 14:09:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-7455907238148543446 From Swaro this afternoon: Cranston, Rhode Island - SWAROVSKI OPTIK NORTH AMERICA, a subsidiary of the Austrian based company, announces the dS, representing a completely new generation of rifle scope. This product will highlight the optical features of a conventional rifle scope and combine the technology of digital targeting to form an impressive, complete device. Delivery starts in 6mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/02/winter-is-back-dammit.htmlThu, 23 Feb 2017 14:05:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-8697644893793126482 How could this happen, I ask? No more casual afternoons at the range for a while…was really nice to have almost a month of spring in the dead of winter, right about the time when we all start coming down with cabin fever ("I shot six holes in my freezer" as the song goes). Spent yesterday shooting/videoing for the SGO GP-100 special. Was especially fun plinking with the GP-100 .22 10-shot and7mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-great-circle-of-life.htmlWed, 22 Feb 2017 16:00:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-4763416368067735899 ...Ruger style! Been out shooting me some revolvers, filming for SGO. Aren't they just as cute as a passel of puppies? From top-dead-center, going clockwise, GP-100 .44 Special, Alaskan Super Redhawk .454 Casull, SP-101 Wiley Clapp version, GP-100 .357 Wiley Clapp/Gemini Custom, and .44 Magnum Redhawks by Hamilton Bowen.6mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2017/02/fun-day-at-range.htmlSat, 18 Feb 2017 11:53:00 -0700tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8293484.post-1334889816556411706 Yesterday we began filming for an SGO episode centering on the new Ruger GP-100 .44 Special…I want to talk a little about the history and the enduring appeal of the .44 Special. Since yesterday was B-Roll Day, I got to haul out a bunch of cool guns to shoot, including my Taylor's Schofield .44 Russian top-break, an S&W M-21 .44 Special and a plethora [use "plethora" 2 more times and it's 8mbane@outdoorchannel.com (Michael Bane)