standing ovation

Ok, I suck. I have not yet written a follow-up to the Gun Blogger Rendezvous. Life is a bear sometimes.
However, that said, it is time for some thanks.
First, a big, honkin’, browncoat-style feichang ganxie goes out to Mr. Complete and KeeWee for taking the time, effort, and cost to put this whole thing together. Without their work, the GBR would never happen, and we owe them a lot for it.
Second, I want to thank all of the generous individuals and corporations that helped sponsor the GBR. Those include such entites as Para USA (by way of Kerby), Brownell’s (by way of Larry), Crimson Trace (by way of Patric), Hi-Point Firearms (by way of Charlie), Dillon Precision (by way of Eric), Front Sight Firearms Training Institute (by way of Dr. Piazza), Volquartsen Custom (by way of Scott), Hi-Cap Gun Works (by way of Andy et al), and the NRA (by way of Ashley). Without these people and organizations, the GBR never would have had nearly as much fun swag to take home, and, more seriously, never would have raised nearly as much money for Valour-IT (more on that later). All of these groups make/offer great products, so feel free to take a look at what they have available. Oh, and a double-thanks to Andy at Hi-Cap Gun Works (who now has a gunblog of his/their very own – go check it out!) for bringing all of their various toys for us to blaze away with – it was, quite literally, a blast. Also, a thanks goes out to the gentlemen whose name I sadly forget, who graciously allowed me to unload about six magazines of .223 out of his automatic rifle – that was, without a doubt, an amazing experience.
Finally, a tremendous amount of personal thanks goes out to USCitizen of Traction Control, for providing me a free flight out to Reno. He has a hell of an inventory of long guns, hand guns, accessories, optics, and everything else, so stop by and take a look one day. Oh, also, an additional thanks to him for bringing his .50 caliber behemoth – sitting down at a gun I have never fired before and hitting a target almost 1000 yards away on my first shot was, indeed, an empowering event.
As for Valour-IT, Gun Blogger Rendezvous III managed to raise over $2000 for it – not too shabby, if you ask me.
Guess I should start scheduling/planning for next year, eh?