Robert Peel on Policing

Saw reference to this on Smallest Minority’s site. And since I am hurting for blog fodder, I wanted to look into it and share 'founding father' quality police philosophy. Robert Peel:


1. The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.



2. The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions.





3. Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.





4. The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.





5. Police seek and preserve public favour not by catering to public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.





6. Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient.





7. Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.





8. Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.





9. The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it.

Sometimes it feels like the Law Enforcement community has lost sight of these tenets, and adopted a bit of a siege mentality. The Blue Versus the 'Civilians'. But they ARE Civilians. Just like the rest of us.

I REALLY want to go squirrel hunting

If only to realize my lifelong dream of bagging and mounting one of these over the couch:

PETA Person: "Why shoot poor defenseless animals, you barbarian!"

T-Bolt: "Defenseless?! I had a .22, and he had an .30-03 Lee-Enfield!!! He had the advantage, madam."

Coffee

I think I know where the zombies will come from.

I work in a room where it is impossible to have a coffee maker on my desk.

The light sleeting we got has played fresh hell on the sweet little old ladies in the cafetorium here at the offices for the Acme Salt Mine.

So the normally plentiful tun of java is empty and locked in a darkened room. I have no life-fortifying Joe.

I may be working. I can't tell. It's all sort of a blurry fog. I shuffle about. Unable to focus my eyes. There is a slight note of bitterness, frustration, and anger under the empty and vacant facial expressions of the office co-drones.

Urge to kill? Rising.

~ grooooooooooooooooooooooan... ~

‘Better Shooting Through Science’

Gun Nuts Radio last night was ostensibly about shooting epiphanies. Something a shooter does, figures out, tries, and there is break. The time, before the epiphany, and the time after when you were markedly better.

I don’t have an epiphany. Not a big one. Lots of little epiphanies with marginal improvements.

Squeeze 20% harder. Start with a firm grip, then squeeze 20% harder. I had a bad show of it squeezing VERY hard to start. So it took a while before I believed, because harder didn’t work. The harder, initially, was, “squeeze so hard you start to shake, then back off.” That didn’t work at all. But starting with a ‘normal’ regular grip, and improving it by squeezing 20% harder, and, if necessary, a bit later squeezing THAT 20% harder…

One epiphany I had is lining the pistol up where the sights are in line with my elbow. This required a slight rotation in my grip. Once done the pistol then points wherever I am looking, and I don’t have to hunt around for the front sight. It’s just there, in my field of view.

The conventional wisdom is to focus on the front sight. This was never an issue with me. It seems I naturally want to focus on the front sight. It may impact my accuracy as the target is ALWAYS blurry to me. I shoot at a big blob instead of a dime sized spot on a target. Hard to aim-small/miss-small when the smallest I can aim is the size of a dessert plate. Always hitting a dessert plate isn’t a bad thing, as long as it’s ‘always.’

A new one I learned at conceal-carry training that I haven’t fully applied and realized the most benefit from… yet… Is how much interference the base of the trigger finger is causing. What am I talking about? Hold you ‘invisible pistol’ in one hand. Touch the spot on your hand where the finger meets the meat of your palm. Now squeeze the invisible trigger a few times in quick succession. Feel all that movement?! That can’t be good if that part of your hand is touching your grips!

Seeing the effects of a true surprise break is an epiphany. Achieving that surprise in consistent application is the hard work. It may be why I shoot Double Action better than Single Action. I like the 1911 trigger, but I know when it’s going to let go. So anticipation flinches happen. With a revolver, heck, with that much travel I really can’t get a feel for the exact breaking point. Same with the DA only SIG of mine. I like all three pistols, though. A lot. Good pistols all 3. P229, Springer 1911, S&W 686. Add the Colt Pocket Hammerless, and man… I really have to be careful and not get some marginal pistol and sully that exceptional record on pistol acquisition.

Natural point of aim is a neat little epiphany. It, like my others, help a bit, but not an order of magnitude improvement. I notice better results with the rifle than the pistol. In case you are unfamiliar with the term: Assume your position or stance and aim at the target. Relax, close your eyes for a few seconds, and aim again, blind. Open your eyes to see if you’ve drifted off bulls eye. Reposition and try again until you are pointing at the bull when you open your eyes. The position you are in then is your natural point of aim for that target. The firearm ‘wants’ to be aligned properly for that situation. VITAL for target shooting.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast is another not-yet-universally-applied-but-has-great-potential epiphany.

I’m still waiting for the ‘A-HA!’ moment. It’ll come. With practice. I imagine it’ll be when my groups tighten and center up one day, away from my current loose and low and right shooting. You know you’ll hear about it the second I achieve that plateau.

What did I tell you?

You didn't listen to me, and now it is too late.

Even the Department of Transportation is more ready than I.

Radicals

Saul Alinsky was a leftist community organizer (THE community organizer as he started the concept) seeking to overthrow 'The System' and thus allow the 'right people' to finally remake the country in their naive vision, instituting a Utopian system. Like Utopia can exist on Earth. His last work was Rules for Radicals. And it has been a blot on the country ever since.

What follows is for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it should be. The Prince was written by Machiavelli for the Haves on how to hold power. Rules for Radicals is written for the Have-Nots on how to take it away.

Rule 11 of Alinsky's Rules for Radicals:


"Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it."



Target: Private ownership of firearms. Firearm owners can't be ruled, only governed with their consent.



Freeze it: Define it on generally accepted terms. Nail down a description of firearm owners. Firearms owners are a varied bunch and already individualistic and cantankerous, so this is easy enough.



Personalize it: THIS groups of sportsmen are reasonable. THAT group are crazed with suppressed violence bubbling just under the surface. This coach of that football team [name here] is ok, but Ted Nugent is crazed and Dylon Klebold is a murderer. Be like coach, not like the murderers on the other side



Polarize it: THIS group is ok and harmless, THAT group is dangerous, and a subset of THAT group are criminals and domestic terrorists, so... they are either criminals or future criminals. It's not an individual right, it's a hunter-sportsman's privilege. And if it WAS an individual right, that was way back in Olden Thymes, and it's not relevant to today's world. Pay no attention to the Supreme Court's latest ruling.



And this you get a subset of firearms owners turning against other firearms owner, and you get the sympathy of non-firearms owners through inspired fear for their safety.



Resist the radicals. Don't let them drive a wedge between us. Don't look extreme and radical to non-firearms owners, look reasonable. Highlight the good that firearms owners do for the community by highlighting self-defense shootings. When offensive firearms incident occur suggest the 'Book' should be thrown at the miscreant goblin, and opine that if only ALL goblins were given full term jail sentences for crimes calling for 10 year stints instead of being let out in 3 months. Make non-firearms owner interested in the fun and home-defense aspects of shooting and thus become firearms-owners.

~~~~~~~

Other rules:

Rule 1: Power is not only what you have, but what an opponent thinks you have. If your organization is small, hide your numbers in the dark and raise a din that will make everyone think you have many more people than you do.

Unlike the Brady's, we actually HAVE a grassroots membership on our side. The NRA is not a front for a powerful gun industry. That industry is tiny compared to other industries. It has 4 million individual members, and 30 million people that think or say they are members. Regular people that happen to own guns and want the government to leave their guns alone, as they aren't hurting anyone with them.

Rule 5: Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It’s hard to counterattack ridicule, and it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.

This is where penis jokes come at us from. That the gun is over-compensation for a personal shortcoming. How mature. So Junior High School. When they have anti-gun strategy sessions does their parents have to come around in the family mini-van after to take them home? And what of the explosion of women taking to firearms in the last 20 years? Are they 'compensating' for piece of male anatomy they don't have somehow?


Rule 7: A tactic that drags on for too long becomes a drag. Commitment may become ritualistic as people turn to other issues.

The Anti-Gun types have this problem now. Nothing new has come out of their strategy sessions in some time, and their old stuff has been definitively addressed and debunked as fraudulent. Our side only needs to keep promulgating this info to counter their lies.

Rule 9: The threat is more terrifying than the thing itself. When Alinsky leaked word that large numbers of poor people were going to tie up the washrooms of O’Hare Airport, Chicago city authorities quickly agreed to act on a longstanding commitment to a ghetto organization. They imagined the mayhem as thousands of passengers poured off airplanes to discover every washroom occupied. Then they imagined the international embarrassment and the damage to the city’s reputation.

Threatening armed revolution is NOT the way to go about this. That scares the people on the sidelines and is too unsubtle. I do wish the 3%ers would tone down the rhetoric a hair as it seems, to me, to be counter productive. That's not to say I want them to be silent... A clandestine rational 3%er is more effective than a loud, all-talk, 3%er. It's not like the other side isn't aware of their existence. And it goes toward rule 1. If the other side thinks 3%ers are more like 11%ers... 28%ers... And THAT requires non-3%ers to be clandestine on where they fall on the spectrum.

Empty holster protests would be more effective, I think. If the protests are BIG.

Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Muse

My Muse done left me. I got nuthin'.

Ok, how bout this. Anyone recommend a quality Inside the Waistband Holster for a SIG P229 DAK? One I could buy today and not wait 8 months...

Squirrel Menace

Buddy the Gun Enthusiast keeps threatening to take me on a squirrel hunt… I wish that would come off. He has a relative with a pest problem and would like to thin out the little buggers. And I’d like some .22 practice outside a range environment.

~~~~~~~~~~

Some British lady got attacked by a horde of squirrels

In rating the attack, after, on a sliding scale from insignificant to catastrophic she described it as a moderate level attack. I wonder what, in her mind, she considers a catastrophic one. And I’d like to see that as a video on YouTube, at any rate. I'd pay good money to witness it, in fact.

New Gun Acquisitor on a Budget (sorta)

There are plenty of bare minimums set-ups out there for folks that want to be covered in the gun department, but don’t want to get a safe-full.

And there is always the possibility that you may be transported back through time with just your arms and ammo some night and need to survive with just what you have with you; in 18th Century Ohio, or somesuch.

Well the conventional wisdom, that I pretty much agree with, is that you’d have a 4-gun system: A rifle and pistol to defend yourself primarily, a shotgun for hunting primarily, and some kind of .22 for practice and light work. Of course all weapons can double in other roles to some extent. Lots of ammo is a given.

So what do you get? There are more opinions on that than there are guns in this country. Yes. There are exaclt 453,055,419 opinions on which 4 guns to have when the balloon goes up.

Here is one idea that I toy with (Cuz I like playing around up there, in my head. Ya gotta daydream about SUMTHIN in bad meetings. This is one of the things I can daydream about. Plenty of other stuff to ponder, sure. I am multi-talented. But this is a gunblog, so you get the gun related daydreams.)

Assumptions, you are on a bit of a budget, but aren’t dirt poor. It’s probably a good idea to spend a similar amount of money that you spent on the guns on the same quantity of ammo in this case, too.

For dirt poor you get a single shot, pawnshop .22 rifle, a single barrel Sear shotgun, a Mosin, and a .38 special revolver.

But for the purpose of THIS entry, I’m thinking a bit better.

An M1 Carbine. Good for defense. Fine against zombies, or Indian war parties if you get stuck back in time. It’s no sniper. Heck it’s not ideal for longer than 100 yard ranges. But it’s still very sound. Not a first choice for a deer gun, it may or may not meet power regulations in some state Dept of Natural Resources, but a shotgun can fill the deer gun role.





A Taurus Raging 30. It’s a revolver that shoots .30 Carbine ammo, so your ammo selection and inventorying is simplified. And I’ve always leaned toward as simple an ammo inventory as practical, with only a few noted exceptions in my personal firearms. As a rifle round the .30 carbine isn’t bad. As revolver ammo, it’s screaming. I’d guess it’s probably on par with .357, but a ballistics enthusiast would have to be here to confirm my suspicions. It’s a revolver, so a bit more reliable due to simplicity.

[Ok, ok, Taurus are hard to find, being discontinued. And right now there are NONE on gunbroker. A fella can dream, can't he? Get the Ruger, it's less than $600.]

Wait, I may have overlooked something. Do you need easily-lost moon clips for this revolver? Moon clips are small cylinder of metal that have cut out you press rimless ammo into so they will stay put in the cylinder and also load fast. If you do need them, that is a major headache that could kibosh the whole thing if you are counting on time warp or post-apocalypsical disasters. Dang. Let’s proceed as if that’s not an issue. Let’s pretend that this revolver has little tabs that hold the rimless cartridge in place. It’s a day dream after all. And it’s only a BIT of a hardship to get a gross of the little metal dealies for regular-Joe shooty prep.

Let me check the specifics on the Taurus website. Be right back…

…Yup, you need moon clips for the Taurus. Get a bunch. But there is a plus. The cylinder holds 8 rounds. Very good. Dunno how you use a moon clip on a gated revolver like the Ruger Blackhawk types...

Other companies may make a .30 revolver, but I know of the Taurus. Ruger made/makes one, currently, too. Either way. This gun may be the most expensive of the 4 whichever model you choose. M1 Carbines aren’t as cheap as they were, but they are still not TOO hard on your wallet.

I got this idea for this pair, a M1 and a .30 revolver, quite a bit ago from Kim Du Toit. Heck, even this blog entry is a take off of similar entries Kim has done back when he blogged.

What else? A double barrel shotgun. Specific model? I dunno. Something with a choke on one barrel so you can tighten a pattern up for birding, and no choke in the other for buckshot and an inducer of good manners for closer angry assailants. Would a pump action Reminton 870 be good? Yes, but we’re going minimalist, and fewest parts here. A military rifle is durable, more so than a cheaper, comparable action, hunting rifle. A revolver is simple and durable. A double barrel is more durable than a pump gun. And since the primary purpose of the shotty, here, is hunting a wide variety of game, more than 2 shells is a bit superfluous. Two is adequate. One probably would be, but then it might be a good idea to be able to swap out the chokes, and that adds another part and tool to deal with, and we already got more complicated with that whole moon clip fiasco earlier. Stick to double barrel.

Finally. A .22. Whatever. Really. A 10/22 might be overly mechanically complicated. A pump .22 like my Taurus model 62 would be fine. Whichever length. A single shot Steven .22 would be fine. As would the ubiquitous and simple bolt action .22. Even a revolver would be fine. Not a snub nose. You need to pot game with this as well as practice. Decent accuracy is a good idea. It’s hard to go TOO wrong with a selection of a simple .22.

~~~~~~~~~~

Other foursomes, maybe for other entries? With a theme.

WWII themed: A Garand, a Colt .45, a mil-surp combat shotgun, and a .22 conversion kit for a 1911.

Cheap Russian: Mosin bolt action rifle, Mosin Revolver, a modern Russian import of a Coach Gun, and a .22 import.

English: Lee Enfield, Webley revolver, an over-under game gun, and some .22

Modern Simplified Italian: Berretta CX4 and PX4 with mag commonality, a Benelli (because the name SOUNDS Italian) and a .22

Nouveau Cowboy: Marlin 1894C, .357 revolver, double barrel coach gun, Stevens single shot .22.

It get’s MORE complicated if you inherited some rifle from Granddad, and you want to build around this unselected item, still trying to keep it simple, inexpensive, and limiting your eventual total to just 4. What if Granddad was crazy? Or what if he brought back some obscure set of Japanese weapons from WWII? The ammo situation alone is challenging in that last case.

Ruger LCR

Man does it offend my sensibilities. I like steel, as you know. And polymer? On a REVOLVER?! I may have the vapors just thinking about it.

But there are reasons to consider it.

Accounts from SHOT indicate that the trigger feels good, out of the box.

It's an ounce heavier than the most featherweight Titanium or Scandium revolvers, but it's price is almost HALF. That ounce isn't much, either way. $350 is.

And it's polymer frame and hogue grips are indicative that it may absorb recoil better. In theory. Lightweight snubbies are well know for having a punishing recoil.

Damn it's ugly.

Good thing I wasn't leaning toward a featherweight. If I was, this plastic snubbie might have vied for the top of my want-list for snubbies. I haven't valued lightweight pistols at this point in my shooting life adventure. So my decision is easier. Stick with a steel S&W.

Stuff

There is so much STUFF that goes along with shooting. A co-worker just opted for his first personal gun. He has experience shooting but never had one of his own. So, drop about $600 for a Springfield XD with the tax and, that’s it? Well, no.

The gun comes with a small belt holster, 2 magazines, a nylon cleaning brush, and 2 magazines. All in a carrying case with a place to put a padlock.

What else do you need?

• Ear and eye protection. Though these can be rented at the range. $2 for the once a month you go to the range to practice.


• Targets. The range sells these. $3 a month


• Bullets. The range also sells these. $25 a month, plus $20 range fee.
  

So, the original case is all you really NEED? Right?

Well, it’s pretty Spartan. About the only thing missing is cleaning fluid and some sort of bore patch system. A rag and a dowel can work. A pencil and an old toothbrush. Can of fluid adds maybe $15 for the year?

Now, you’ve more than doubled the amount of money you spent on firearms, over and above the original purchase price. And you did NOTHING fancy at all besides practice.

But my work buddy needs a few more things.

• A real cleaning kit. A boresnake is fine. $20


• He wants the pistol for home defense and has a kid. Locking the case is a non starter because of the amount of time needed to get it out. Leaving a loaded gun in a toddle-height drawer is unthinkable. He is going to get a GunVault pistol safe for secure but easy access. $125


• Defense ammo to keep at home, plus 100 rounds of FMJ. $90


• A couple of spare magazines. $60

So another $300, $900 total. 150% over the price to just GET the midrange-priced pistol.

With a little more interest you tack on a host of other costs: training, range bags, spare parts, holsters, eyes and ears.

Add a rifle to that and it goes up again: more spare parts, optics, carrying cases.

A little more interest and you add personal touches like: custom grips, NICE holsters, butt cuffs, spare optics or optics that do different things, ammo inventories, reloading equipment and supplies, shooting jackets, target stands.

Even without those tertiary, optional, stuff, it is an expensive operation with a lot equipment.

For a prospective one-gun homeowner that comes to me for advice on firearm selection, I’ll have to remember to tell them to budget twice the cost of the firearm for accessories and incidental for the first year. After that they’ll have their feet under them, be practiced and proficient, and their firearm will be secure when not directly at hand, yet ready for any contingency.

Whitehouse Agenda

So the Whitehouse website lists their limited reasonable gun control proposals.

Boiled down, it's 3 things. Repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, close the gunshow loophole, and repass the Assault Weapons Ban.

The justifications for these 3 items is all lies. They are based on deceptions, and they KNOW they are untrue, and maintain the lie anyway.

The only way they can pass anti-civil right legislation is to lie about it.

The Tiahrt amendment is supposed to need repealing so police can trace crime guns. But police can already trace firearms, for crime and otherwise. Even the ATF, no friends to gun enthusiasts, admits that police can already readily do gun traces. So they lied. Repeal of Tiahrt will allow the local paper to access gun trace data. None of their business, as gun traces aren't necessarily crime guns. But your local Media masters can go ahead and print your firearm information and your address in the paper. Lovely. So the purpose of repeal makes crime investigations harder and endangers legitimate gun owners? Good. Why would more crime and more wary gun owners be in the interest of anti-gun types? Please.

Gunshow loopholes? Because guns are are sold without NICS checks from FFL dealers at gunshows? Well, no. They're not. FFL dealers have to account for all their guns and all run NICS checks at gun shows. Ban private sales at guns shows? Yes, they'd have to include that language. But not even a sizable portion of private sales happens at gun shows, so you'd have to ban them all. If grandad wanted to give you his old gun he couldn't without getting permission from. It's not about gun shows its about accounting and registration of all guns. They lied. Once guns are registered, confiscation, historically, follows right along. The true purpose. Will it make straw purchases illegal? They are already illegal. Will it make felons not be able to buy guns? Like felons are going to follow this law when there are more pertinent laws they won't follow? Ha.

Assault Weapons Ban? Assault Weapons were already effectively regulated in 1934. Oh? But that was a machine gun law? Right. Assault Weapons are machine guns. Select fire, intermediate sized cartridge carbines. Not one has been legally made and sold to the public since 1986. Hughes Amendment made sure of that. There are guns that LOOK like assault weapons. And these guns are the most popular sporting rifles in the country. But their function is no different from many hunting rifles. Often they are less capable than many hunting rifles. And these look-alike rifles that are so popular are used in a tiny percentage of crimes. Like 3%. The other side know this. There are lying about what Assault Weapons are.

Accountants are civilians. Soldiers are soldiers. Police are civilians. Civilians should have access to the same arms. But I'll concede cops can have select fire, REAL Assault Rifles. Machine guns. And non-Law Enforcement can settle for semi-auto.

Or not.

But the Whitehouse website is lying about gun control. I hope our new President calls these capricious website people on the carpet, and corrects their lies. He, after all, promised not to go down the gun-control path. I'm sure when he realizes these lies are being propagated in his name that he will be angry and want to make it right. I'm sure he will be as shocked as I am.

(update: Dangit, folks all over are independently posting similarly themed screeds as me. Just written better.)

How Many

Have you ever been asked, “How many guns do you own?”

Breda mentioned some hoplophobic hysterics where one sheep complained about a possible RNC chairman named Blackwell when the GOP leader-hopeful mentioned he had 7. She takes cowardly leftist to task, naturally, for such a pants-soiling whinefest. (Blackwell may or may not make a good chairman, but that’s beyond the scope for this blog entry.)


I like Fred Thompson’s response during the campaign at a candidate debate when asked a similar question. Essentially, “I own a couple, but I’m not gonna tell you what they are or where they are.”

Two types of people ask me that question. People that like guns ask it as a preface to, “COOL! Let’s see ‘em. I’ve never handled a Thunderblurfl and was half thinking of getting one for myself! Do you like it? How bout that one? How does it shoot?” etc.

And people that hate guns ask me as a presage to castigate me, insinuating I am insecure, or mentally unstable, or what have you. Especially idiotic, hypocritical, leftist associates, and they know who they are.

To avoid the second type, I have a stock answer. “I own one of each. And a spare.” That works fine after you get a 4-gun system: Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, .22. If pressed, I say, “I have enough to teach you how to shoot. Do you want me to take you to the range tomorrow?” If pressed again, I lie about the number, outlandishly, “Hundreds! It may be over a thousand by now! Don’t surprise me! The police let me take home the pile after a big Gun Buyback program! Some have probably been used in crimes! I’m a member of the NRA and they send us free samples all the time.”

I only do that to highlight their unreasonable question. It’s none of their business, or anyone’s really, and I wouldn’t do it if there were any chance I could convince them of necessity for the respect owed to the Bill of Rights. They are lost causes, and would vote for Breznhev over Reagan if the opportunity came up.

So, tip for politicians that are proponents of the Second Amendment and own at least 3 guns: When asked about it, say, “Guns? I have one of each. And a spare,” and leave it at that. If you have one or two just say you have a gun and stop there.

Histrionics

For all the post-Heller histrionics erupting with the ascension of a anti-gun President and his anti-2nd Amendment appointments and anti-civil rights laws queuing up to vex the American people, one important angle is not considered.

To secure our rights now and for all time we NEED the opposition forces to unify, mount and pass a strong attack on the Constitution, and then that attack needs to be smacked down, and smacked down HARD and decisively, tarring their position for all time and re-cementing the 2nd into the fabric of America again, as secure thereafter as the 1st or 3rd is, currently. Where after it is unthinkable to infringe on the right by ANY political faction. Where a return of an Assault Weapons Bad is as unthinkable and resurrecting alcohol Prohibition.

Fore Grip

If I ever got some sort of after market rail system for my M14 it would be to be able to mount more optics in more configurations. Secondarily it would be for a foregrip. Foregrips offer other more than something to hang your off-hand on. I like the Grip-Pod concept, to double as a bipod, but grips also can be hollow to allow for battery storage. And Crimson Trace has come out with a flashlight/laser combo, too. Shown at the SHOT show.

It’s all self-contained, with no wires from stick-on switches to separate illumination units to hang up on obstructions and such. Great, now ANOTHER option to ponder and dissemble over. Do I want storage, prone-shooting stability, or a good light? I’ll be paralyzed with indecision from the plethora of option. But it’s a GOOD paralysis. Capitalism is grand.

Taurus

Taurus has entered into the .380 pocket gun market that is starting to get crowded. I think I like this one best. It’s called a TCP. Taurus Compact Pistol. There is even a Titanium slide option, making it very light. No pictures up on their website yet.

Why? It’s magazine is extended. This is good, NOT because it gives you an extra bullet, but because it gives my littlest finger a bit more purchase compared to other offerings. I’ll have to handle one to confirm. It’s this or the Bersa Thunder on my list. Ruger LCP brings up the rear over the original Kel Tec slim .380s.

Maybe the others sell extended mags? I’ll have to check THAT too.

Dangerous

Hecate brought this up, and I figure wider dissemination of the Smallest Minority's essays is a good thing. I probably even linked to it, specifically, before. Repetition is good for retention of information, so you get it again. Check out Hecate, then check the links she linkifies.

"It's most important that all potential victims be as dangerous as they can."

Accuracy Illumination

So I shoot pistols at center mass size target areas at 25 feet most frequently. Fine for self defense. I’ve done some practice at interview distance and you don’t need to squint to see the holes. But what if I need to shoot out a street light with a pistol. A light 75 feet away.

Oh great. 75 feet? And when I miss, I don’t know WHERE I missed. Too high? Too low? It goes to the whole, “I really should have groups that center on the BULL, and not consistently hit a little off.”

At least you know when you DO hit the street light.

Why would I need to take out rogue streetlights? Are they a danger to me? What is the tactical consideration?

Well, maybe Zombies need light for their target acquisition. I’m not supposed to give away too many details, according to RoMERO. I never understood the need for that security measure. Ostensibly it’s supposed to quell panic. That level of detail makes the Zombies more REAL in the public’s mind and adds to their general consternation. I am of the opinion that people are mature enough to be better prepared for the Zed Menace. Here’s a detail: SOME Shamblors DO need light to see. Not all, of course.

And what if I need to shoot out the neighbors porchlight? I mean come ON! Who needs a 350 watt bulb to light his walk? I’d rather have the sun streaming in my window. Bastage.

That said, I SHOULD be able to hit a target the size of a street light 75 feet away with a pistol pretty reliably, dontcha think. Better add that range to the training regimen when I get better at 25 feet..

Practice for Every Contingency

For those that are in total denial about the coming zombie threat, and think some OTHER disaster is looming in the futue, however misguide that thought may be, there ARE targets to help prepare you for the bleak struggle you think may come.

h/t boingboing.com

SHOT Show Reports

Reports from bloggers at the SHOT show are trickling in, and they are highlighting some interesting new offerings from the merchants of death.. Yay!


This could tempt me in a lefty. A bit cheaper would be nice, but... It's to be watched. A new 'tactical' Remington 700.


Same with the new SIG 238 in .380. Essentially a Colt Mustang, or, aka, a 1911 style in .380. Of slight interest to me...


And everyone is noticing the new Ruger revolver LCR and it is neat, but I think I will still go S&W. Steel. I'm not ready for a polymer snubbie.

Temp

DANG, it's cold. Might get as high as 10 tonite. I feel for our northern friends and their negative numbers. Non-natural numbers, dipping into the merely REAL numbers, are a beyotch.

Republic

Milsurp Link

I ordered some M14/M1A magazines from a webiste I saw linked somewhere The milsurp online retailer is called What a Country.

Cheap!

US made!

Perhaps Israeli surplus?

I only ordered a few to test. I have a bunch of good mags already, but it never hurts to have some more. If these work out well I'll order a few more.

I also got an HK rifle cleaning kit, just to try it. It works like the Boresnakes, where you drop a weighted line down the barrel and pull a brush or swab through. And it comed in a little self-contained case, which looks handy.

NRA and Holder

Some folks are concerned that the NRA isn’t opposing the nomination of Eric Holder, a man not familiar with the 2nd Amendment, as Attorney General of the United States, enough. Tempers flare, and the calmer folks point out that it may be a waste of political capital to put the full press against him.

I’m of this “Pick your battles” philosophy. Yes, an unfriendly AG could cause no end of headaches to freedom loving civil rights proponents like us, infringing on our inherent Human Rights, by trying to limit lawful firearm ownership with legal harassment and dubious other means. But I’d rather the NRA hold its fire and be ready to go great guns against any Assault Weapons Ban that is rumored to be queued up and in the offing.

Or to oppose progress on the registration/confiscation of law abiding gun owners property Bill, HR 45

Rugged

So I like my new Sig 229. Is it rugged enough?

Rugged enough for what? I didn’t get it to storm the beach at Iwo. Volcano island seizing is not in my long range survival plan.

I didn’t get it for that. I got it for CCW carry, and CCW only. For that it is plenty rugged.

Now long range survival plans DO include coming through a Zombie Necropalypse. Is it rugged enough for that? Dunno.

I have dubious feeling for aluminum in guns. And the frame of the Sig is aluminum. As is large parts of AR rifles. Another reason to gravitate away from AR’s. At least for me. The military sidearm, the Beretta M92 has a lot of aluminum, too. And I don’t like that weapon for a whole plethora of reasons.

I avoid lighter alloy revolvers too, when considering them. Any snubbie I buy will be all steel. Good for recoil, good for durability. Bad for weight, but that is not an issue to me. It’s just a teeny pistol, after all.

I'd even avoid Scandium revolvers and alloy lightweight Commander size 1911s. Future pickups of revolvers and small, full strength, pistols will reflect this.

When the Necropalyspe comes, and I can choose one pistol, it’ll be the 1911 or the Smith and Wesson 686. I can see crawling through the mud and scrambling through gravel pits and over slag heaps and being just fine.

The Sig comes in third, and is only grabbed because the others are unavailable.



I will grant the Plastic Gun people something. Based on all the torture tests out there, the dang things ARE rugged. Unless you bake it in the oven.



h/t Firearm Blog

X - 1

Remember when Tam posted about the best round to take down a dinosaur? Lots of good info on cartridge selection there via a sci-fi short story by Sprague De Camp.

Well I linked the online radio show for "What Gun for Tyrannasaur." Thanks to Jim Lileks, there is a source to PURCHASE that whole X Minus One radio series from the 1950's.

I love pulp sci-fi. I love radio serials. Yay.

For purposes of argument, I think these day a .50 BMG semi-auto is the way to go. Not much call for .600 elephant guns, but Barrett sniper rifles are plentiful.

And never divide X by zero. Trust me.

Manly III

Now THIS is a manly gun!

Nice little PP/S. And the website has an elegant touch of hoplophobia. Delicate, with an oaky aftertaste.

Not for everyone, certainly. I'd love to have one, but I am pretty secure with my manhood.

Zombie Cruise Ship

What does this look like to you?

Yup. Zombies. Someone went ashore during a vacation, got bit, then brought it back on board. Victims had no where to go, so it spread rapidly

This is one of the most difficult outbreaks to account for. If you catch it soon enough, and the ship is still at sea, it is simple (but not EASY) to contain via one of our Containe Ships/Q-Ships, but explaining what happened to the rest of the world is no simple task. In the past, RoMERO has used various forms of subterfuge. An onboard fire gets the uninfected off and aids confusion and the reported loss of life can be tamped down to just a handful. When you say “3 passengers dies” but don’t specify their names you can hide the real total. Did that off of South Africa a few years back. The Bermuda triangle is useful. Especially if the ship is in that region and the whole complement succumbs. We also use ‘mystery stomach ailments’ and scatter the passengers to hide the missing numbers, sometimes using RoMERO members as ‘passenger’ families and vacationers. That’s what was used this week.

It could have been much worse. All we need is some run away ship of undead crashing into the docks of a crowded city. You end up with a sizable number of shamblors as a vector instead of a usual one or two. That almost happened, in this case, in Salvador Brazil.

I didn’t get tapped for this one. RoMERO runs a system similar to the Boomer submarine system. Blue and Gold teams alternating taking the boat out for 3 month tours, so the crew gets relief but the nuclear deterrent is pretty much constantly on station. We alternate into Puce and Gray ‘shifts’ (zombie colors) in 2 month intervals, not for constant coverage, but to aid our need for secrecy. If things got bad, both shifts can be activated to quell a big uprising.

We dodged a bullet on this one, people. Reports I’ve heard about how close to disaster this was… The thought turns my bowels to water. The whole continent could have gone up, only stopped at Panama. Chile might have been securable, but not the low lands. Oh well. All’s well that ends well.

Tally this mission, 922 zombies retired (not 340! I don't care what AP reported). No injuries to Romero teams. Truth effectively suppressed with a fake stomach ailment. I stayed home this time so no cover story for me. You're welcome...

Saysuncle problem

Now, on several computers, I've had Saysuncle's blog launch a BAZILLION new browser windows like an old-time pop-up spam ad website. Anybody else have that problem?

I'm sure it's because there is still something incompatible with his site and IE6. I cannot use another browser. Can someone tell me if he ever changes to something a bit more friendly to antique computers?

Range January

Ok, I went to the range again last Tuesday. Only a week after my previous visit. Definitely noticeably better shooting.

I ran the first mag against this target, 2, 2, 2, 2, then 1 each. Meh. Not too bad. Especially for shooting ‘blind.’ As in, I couldn’t see the holes until I pulled the target back after the first 8. I’d shoot two, put the gun down, then shoot the next 2. All the break up the rush I am prone to.

Note: all ranges are 25~ feet unless specified.

I’m definitely not close to a one-shot stop against zombie heads, so let’s hope the Zed Necropalypse isn’t imminent. If it is, I’ll only be ok at beating back the horde. But it’s not bad for ordinary self-defense.

Next up is using the splatter targets.

Hmmm. I shoot a hair low. Especially at the head target. I think I am averse to hitting the target clamp at the range and shot low involuntarily. Again, not accurate enough at ALL for zombies. This means using a .22 for self-defense is not a good idea for me, as there is no way I am hitting tear ducts when that is the only reliable way to stop an assailant with a .22. Better stick to center mass with cartridges that start with a .4… or a .3…sumthin… magnum.

Anyway. The slow down during firing helped. The errors are less, tighter groups, but are still right of center, and sometimes, just low.

There are fewer “Oh, CRAPs!” where a shot is WIDE and you know it as soon as the trigger breaks. True fliers, they. Those are lessened with experience, and I am getting more experienced. If they ALL get in a splatter target sized circle, none way off, and none just off, that will be a big stride forward for me.

I forget what it’s called, but the trigger of the 229 (and many other trigger types) have a spot where, after you fire, if you slowly release the trigger you feel a click and can fire again without releasing the trigger all the way. It allows for fast second shots, supposedly. I played with this a bit, and noticed no extra speed, but no lessening of speed or accuracy either. I don’t know the purpose of this, other than preference for the shooter. I believe Todd Jarrett actually does a trigger slap, normally considered something to be avoided. He mentioned it in one of his online videos. You pull the trigger, then release it all the way, even taking your finger all the way off the trigger in the follow through. At least I think he did/explained it that way, I’ll have to find the video clip again. I don’t know the purpose for this either other than preference. And it’s hard to argue with Todd Jarrett’s results. Again, it all probably comes down to training and preference.

I was dry firing the 1911, and my Springfield seems to have this spot on the trigger. A tried a Colt 1911 at CCW training and it didn’t. Interesting. Maybe I’m just crazy and wrong. Maybe it’s a feature.

blog roll

New link

Guns Holsters and Gear

Survival Rations

Industrial survival bars! For when the zombies come. Eeeyeww! Coconut flavored! But these are what they store on life boats and such. You'll eat these if you are ever adrift at sea with a zebra, orangutan, hyena, and bengal tiger on a life raft.

I've been looking for emergency rations like these, but... they are not for me.

hat tip to Not a Liberal Gun Blogger.

Manly II

The same guy came out with more Manly Guns.

Let's see how he did this time:

#10 1895 Nagant Revolver
#9 1893 Turkish Mauser
#8 Colt Python
#7 98K Mauser
#6 FAL
#5 CZ550 in .600 Overkill
#4 Martini-Henry
#2 M1 Garand
#1 Browning 1919A4

A bit better, if esoteric. The CZ550 is eye-popping. The #1 Browning 1919 is good and only could be beaten by the Browning M2 .50 BMG. I like the Python. The Mausers are lesser shadows to the utlimate development and improvement of the Mauser action, and the gun I mentioned before and have, the Springfield '03. I also like Indian Jones' Webley revolver and Martini-Henry. FAL? Yes! Good guns, all, for the most part.

But he sorta contradicts his manliness quotient and demeans his 'manliness' authority by weaselling on the Garand with the snivelling unmanly way he put conditionals all over it's inclusion.. It was good he included it, yes, but... Bad form, sir! Read his excerpt:

"It has a legion of flaws and few useful traits. However, for its time, it was state of the art, and that time did coincide with WWII. A great many Nazi and Jap bastards learned to fear the Garand, with good reason. The WWII American forces were definitely manly, so their rifles were manly by definition. It fires a slightly downloaded .30-06, and was the arm of a great many MoH winners and millions of unsung heroes."

Flaws? What flaws? That it's unfair to the other side, carrying lesser rifles? That's a feature. Not a bug.

And... He forgot the hordes of commies the fine product dropped with an excess of kinetic energy in the Korean theater and elsewhere.

It was this theater that led to the development of the ultimate battle rifle, and the LAST battle rifle fielded by US soldiers on the pointy end of the spear, the M-14. The M-14's only ill-conceived compromise was adding the bullet wasting full-auto capability. Really. Do you have to hit a man TWICE with a .308 to solve the immediate problem? But full auto was the fashion of the time. The 20 round magazine on a Garand, essentially, just made dealing with Pinko wave assault tactics a little more liesurely.

Open Carry Lady

So that lady, Meleanie Hain, that got in trouble for legally Open Carrying a firearm on her hip at a Pennsylvania soccer game, then got the people that got her in trouble in trouble themselves, has been painted as a lunatic, it seems, on TV and in the paper.

So she must be a crazy person. A nut. At least an unreasonable, harridan, right?

She’s not so crazy when you listen to her, just like when you listen to most of us gun enthusiasts.

She was on Gun Nuts podcast, and, other than sounding like an enthusiast (yay!) and a little nervous at first, sounded perfectly reasonable. My opinion of her went from cautiously leery, to optimistically sympathetic.

I hope she wins her lawsuit against the sheriff that illegally denied her rights. There should be repercussions when people in authority wrongly trample on, or deny civil rights of, the very people they’re supposed to serve.

Manly

There is a "Manliest Guns List" going around.

#10: SMLE

#9: Mosin-Nagant M44

#8: GLOCK

#7: Swiss K31 Carbine.

#6: AK47

#5: Smith & Wesson Model 29

#4: AR15

#3: Remington 870

#2: Colt Model 1911A1 .45 ACP

#1: Barrett M82 .50 caliber rifle

They're all ok. I guess.

I have one. A 1911. That's fine. Most of main guns are manlier than most of the others listed above.

AR-15? Hmph. The M-14/M1A model craps bigger than them.

SMLE? That's alright, if you can't get your hands on a Springfield '03. I guess if you were just out of a recovery ward at a hospital the Enfield would be a good choice, but only until you are stronger and eating solid food.

And 870 shotty is ok if can't get your hands on a Browning Auto-5 pattern. Even better, one made by a Muhrican company like Remington Model 11.

What else... Hmmm... Let's see. Oh yes! I have a GARAND. Killed more Nazis, Tojos, and Commies than all the other guns on that list, combined. That's a fact. You can take my word on it. (Don't check too close or you might see some confusing and misleading statistics about the Mosin killing Nazis, or the SMLE killing Nazis... Sure. But not Nazis-Tojos-Commies...)

So call me when you want to put away your Lincoln Logs and Tinkertoys and want to play a man's game... have a man's conversation... ~yawn~

[now if you are giving AWAY any of those guns and need a deserving soul to offer them to as gifts, well look no further!]

Weak, Girly-Man, Arms

So, holding up your pistol is hard work if you are an office worker and rarely even list a coffee cup. Holding up a pistol and shooting 500 rounds in a session can take it toll on your tired, flabby, noodlesque, computer-geek, muscles.

So what is a new shooting geek to do? Join a gym and get the benefits of a good health from that? No! Do a few pushups curls or pull-ups around the house? Piffle! Sounds too hard and jock-like.

How bout this. You never miss Family Guy, Reba, and My Name is Earl. Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights. (What? Reba is a good show!). While you are viewing your television program simply hold up two mechanical pencils, one in each hand. Stand up. Hold your arms straight out to the side and don't lower them until the show is over. Maybe, after a couple weeks, break up the routine by holding a full pistol magazing or holding your arms straight out in front. After a month you'll be cursing my name but holding your pistol steadier.

Another thought. There is a new Zombie Shooter game for the Wii. Talk about tired arms! I always thought the Wii would be a way to make geeks GARGANTUAN. Get a dance-dance nation foot pad and a rifle frame for the remote that weighs 7 pounds. If a geek does a first person shooter with his book bag on for 2 hours a session he will be in Marine shape over the summer. MBtGE is going to buy the handgun frames for his Wii. We'll have to wait for my World War 2 Wii simulator. Still. Anything to get better for later when using live ammo.

reposte, cuz I like it

Mutiny of deviated preverts!

with an M1 Carbine

Michael Steele

I'm a fan of Michael Steele, former GOP Lt Governor for Maryland. I voted for him for Senate in 2006. He was much more conservative, and closer to my views, than the eventual winner in a bad GOP year.

He is vying for chairmanship of the Republican National Committee.

I am concerned with his anti-civil-rights stance. He seems he MAY be a bit wobbly on the Bill of Rights, and that position cannot be ignored. Particularly the 2nd Amendment. That's what they, and you know how they are.

I'd like to see him clarify his thoughts on this principle. I hope he comes down on the correct side, and if not, I sadly cannot enthusiastically support his actions forward.

I am looking for definitive links to what Mr. Steele actually advocates. Lots of icing out there on the internet, but little cake to be found.

I hope it's all a misunderstanding and he isn't on the gun-ban side of the equation. I'd like to see a Marylander like him take more control of the party at the national level and advocate for conservative political principles. I don't think moving left inside the right-leaning party is the way forward. We already had a left of center GOP candidate get his butt handed to him by a left of center Dem candidate. Cementing the right in place when they are in a hole is not conducive to wise policy making forward, no matter where you fall on the political spectrum. A healthy adversarial system is good for the country.

But perhaps policy isn't the RNC Chair's job (Jon Seehusen). It's winning election. Can adherence to principle be overlooked in this case? I am dubious and really don't know.

“The dark side of the Force clouds everything. Impossible to see the future is.” -Sumdood

Rush

So I have that bad habit. Often the first shot is well aimed and not rushed. And if I can see the hole it is often pretty darn accurate. Inch from bullseye. It's the next round and the one after that, etc. that I rush. Like I'm in a hurry. Like the rest of the mag is spray-and-pray, suppressing fire, like a World War II movie.

Like each bullet isn't treated as the ONE bullet. The most important single shot I will ever fire.

And it should be.

I get too sloppy and impatient.

And what would happen in a critical life or death situation, where I am nervous and jittery, fighting down panic and the urge to flee? I'd be lucky if the first shot would be any good. And the rest of the magazine would follow that until I was empty. And I don't practice fast mag changes enough so that would be ALL the bullets shot to little effect in a worst case scenario.

Worst case. Even on bad days I still hit the target. Just not near the bull. Under stress, though, who knows.

Ok. How to fix?

Put the gun down after every shot for practice. That'll slow the rhythm. But don't always do that. You don't want to put the gun down in crisis, so break the practice up.


Get off my butt and check out IDPA competitions. You have to be accurate enough at IDPA, and you add the stress of competition to your shooting. It's not life or death stress, but it's still something.

Keep using Shoot N See type targets for immediate feedback with each shot, a target that spatters an easily seen contrasting color. I hate shooting and not knowing, well, did THAT shot do any good? How bout THAT one? With a target you can SEE the holes in you don't shoot a couple, bring the target back, look, send the target out, shoot a couple... And the range I shoot at isn't the best lit, so a target that splatters a contrasting color is very helpful. For the first few rounds. After that you lose individual shots in the clutter and can't pick em out.

Also, use more silhouette targets. You measure your skill by how close you get to the bulleseye, but if every hole is in the silhouette and none off, well every shot 'counted' didn't it? Some might not have ended the fight, but chances are the one before and after did. FULL SIZE silhouette. Half size and smaller are good to keep you on your toes and simulate targets at greater distances, so they have a place, but the full size is a confidence builder.

THEN I'll have to think about how to shoot obscured behind cover targets and moving targets.

And I may be getting too pessimistic. I'm not Breda accurate, but I am decent enough, and improving in small increments all the time.

Late December Range Report

So I felt a cold coming on. Tuesday.


But you gotta train for other contingencies, including when you feel under the weather. As Churchill said, "most work is accomplished by people that don't feel very well." Or something.

Learned a couple things.


SLOW DOWN. Hurrying through a magazine isn't helping. Oh sure, it MIGHT be center mass, and that is good, but let's get more bullseyes first, shall we? BEFORE going for speed.

Dang. I may never learn that lesson. Impatience.

The .22 conversion kit on my 1911 and my SIG accompanied me this time. I wanted to try out the Federal HydroShoks out of the SIG. Ok.


I learned that the black on black sights for the .22 conversion makes it hard to see the black shoot-n-see target's background, and it's already impossible to see the .22 holes on yellow background ...



Here you can see 3 points of aim, the 2 shoot n' see targets and the head area. Pretty poor, especially at first. I shot better later. I may pick up another Ciener magazine, as I have only 2. Of course that would make me shoot faster if I am not careful. Al target are always set approximately 25 feet away, unless otherwise specified.

When shooting the SIG ALL I see is the front sight. It' s why I shoot it so fast. I see it immediately and want to fire. With a shoot-n-see target, where I can witness results, I slow down a little bit and shoot better.





I shot without the center part and you can see my usual. With the sticker in the center my first 3 shots were in that group close to the bull. Except for drooping a bit and hitting low 6 o'clock. the last magazines aiming for the black center were the best shots. Immediately seeing the results in a low-light range was key, I think.

I must go back in Early January, and test this out some more. If I shoot like that with shoot and see targets I will have to get a lot of stickers and use them exclusively for at least a year. Just to get the skill level up.

blah

I have been feeling poorly and have run out of blog inspiration. I have a range review I have to get up the gumption to post. Utah cashed my check for my CCW permit. I have jury duty for some murder case in March. I'm trying to stay off cigarettes.

I need to get a reliable source for a Left handed Milt Spark holster, VersaMax-2, IWB, for the SIG 229. I don't think there is a reliable source for that. You have to be lucky.

New Years Celebration

Feeling under the weather put the kibosh on the yearly tradition of tying one on and going out to the yard to shoot randomly into the sky at midnight.

Ah, well, maybe next year. Unless someone has a compelling argument why drunkenly discharging firearms in celebratory manner is a bad idea. And immoral idea. And illegal idea.


HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Bad Timing

Speaking of RoMERO missions.

I have buddies on the teams that have been volunteering for extra duty, overtime, and maybe an overseas duty station. They are looking for extra salary bumps and allowances in order to buy more firearm-enthusiast related items.

Not me! If I was gonna do that I'd have tried it last summer. Get the money before Obama won and panicked the boomstick buying public into jacking up demand and prices.

Notice I bought the M1A in August?

Besides, exposing yourself to the hungry mandibles of Shamblor Zeds just for extra Blastomatic purchasing power is a bit misplaced in your priorities.

Now if you spent that money on training...

New Years Day

No talking. Hungover.