Odds and Sods

Another good zombie apocalypse vehicle. No protection, but the classic historic styling with upgraded features appeals:




And speaking of WWII history. Keep Calm and Carry On. Then meme:



try clicking to embiggenate.

Paracord

Saw this on Uncle. Reposting it cuz it's cool.

It's a blog devoted to stuff you can make with paracord. Beside tent ropes or somesuch.

Zombie Bite

I take this quiz, answer the questions the same, and sometimes it says I'll make it north of 40 years before turning, or less than 5 minutes. Here is one in the middle.

Taking.

Good post on what you might be thinking about when deer hunting. I've never met anyone that enjoys the killing part. Maybe I hope never to.

fodder

I concur with Frank James. I am very much looking forward to thermal optics coming down in price to civilian consumer levels. I'd build a rifle AROUND such a scope.

And I have no purpose for it. It just sounds like something cool to play with.

And I'm certainly not going to shoot up a strip mall like this, at night:

But maybe I can use it for farmer varmint abatement.

Note: Zombies do NOT show up well on Thermal. Unless they are REALLY fresh.

New Blog

Check out the Dessert Defender.

He's joined the ranks of Shamblor Resistors.

History of Gun Control

How old are legislative gun control abuses?


Sure sure, the NFA is from the 30s. A high water decade of Progressive busy-bodyism. Then the war came and grown ups took over. Or people became grown ups very fast. Organized crime wasn't flourishing in the same way it had in the 20's under Prohibition, and the NFA is more a reaction to the increases in crime from that era, even though it was passed after Prohibition was repealed. The roots of the legislation lies in the era of bootlegging.

Reading 50 year old copies of Guns Magazine, it sound like there are serious rumblings in the 50's. But no national legislation was passed until 1968 (GCA), after 3 major domestic assassinations and a spike in crime.

My question is, why did it take until 1968 if there was so much chatter by the hoplophobes to "do something!" and restrict folks rights? Was there lots of rumblings in the 1940s for gun control legislation? Was there lots of local ordinances passed in the 40s 50s and 60s, and just no Federal attempts? Did people respect the 2nd Amendment more before 1968 and thought the 1934 law was enough of a trangression on the right, for good or ill and were reluctant to go further than that?

Though I can understand the reasons for a final tipping point by the hoplophobes in 1968 with all the event occurring at time in our history.

Who was alive back then among my readers and remembers what was going on, on this front?

(pre-1934 there was plenty of almost overtly racist gun control measures targeted at African Americans. post 1934 there is still racist roots, but it is more covert.)

Update: After I composed this post a bit of 70's history DID show up on Dave Hardy's (h/t Snowflake) site.

Also Dead

Noted leftist Propagandist Howard Zinn.

I can almost hear the sizzle.

Gun Market of Pakistan

Cool info.

Not related to domestic 2A issues.

The man doesn't like Lugers and has trouble with several of the 4 rules. 2 and 3 especially

J D Salinger

Has assumed room temperature.

I imagine John Lennon will have some words for him, in the After Life.

SOTU

The good news about that speech?

Obama didn't call for a renewed, so-called, Assault Weapons Ban.

The only weapons ban he had in mind was our nuclear deterrent. The wisdom of which is out of scope for this blog.

Pocket Lint

So MBtGE reports from a range trip...

He pocket carries a Kel Tec .380. When he pocket carries. And he's been carrying it about a bit more than usual the past 6 months. He's done nothing with it besides carry it. No cleaning, no care.

He carries it in Condition 3, since it is loose in his pocket and has no safety catch, so the DA trigger doesn't go off in some extreme pants conditions. It's not ideal for defense, but better than nothing. So, in an emergency, he has to rack the slide to fire. In other words, fully loaded magazine, no round chambered, 'hammer' down (this third item is irrelevant with this model).

He simulated this at the range. Took it out of his pocket, racked it, and took aim. Click.

There was enough lint and debris to keep the round from going fully into battery. The slide had to be pushed to fully seat the cartridge. Then it fired normally. Subsequent rounds also cycled and fired normally.

But, in an emergency, you want that first round to kinda, ya know, work.

Someone, I forget who, suggested a change of the First Rule: All Guns Are Always Loaded. This change is: Know The Condition Of Your Weapon At All Times. Of course you would know if it was loaded or not if knew the condition at all time. You would also know where it was. ( and who last had it if not you and you no longer are in control of it). If it was ready to fire. If the safety was engaged at that time. How many rounds it had left in it. If it was properly lubricated. If parts were worn and how critical that was. And if it might be gummed up with debris. If you carry a gun, inspect it regularly under controlled conditions.

Or not.

But it is a good data point to think about if you pocket carry a semi-auto. Keep on that gun to ensure reliable function. The time to figure out you have to blow on it and jiggle the slide a little bit because of pocket crumbs is NOT when you need it.


{oh and Clark Bros has that S&W 640 I want for $719. Probably has a trigger lock...}

iPad

Because of the hygiene-product name that 299,999,997 Americans latched onto withing 40 seconds of the product announcement/release, and due to the lack of innovative features other than "look, an iPod/iPhone with a bigger screen!" I predict, now, the iPad will join the ranks of Edsel, New Coke, and Irwin Mainway Brand Toys and Novelties as an iconic example of epic product failure.

New Jersey

Cripes!

In New Jersey a picture of a gun is offensive. If you go to Walgreen to get a roll of film developed that is soft core pornography of you and the missus, that is fine. But dare not have a rifle on the rack over your fireplace mantle or that drug store chain will wet their britches.

New Jersey may be WORSE than California. I feel so sorry for gun enthusiasts that are stuck there.

idunno

When I went to pick up the 617 they had a Model 40 in the case for me to fondle. I aksed if I could somehow pin the grip safety down and swap out the grips with something else. The response?

~shrug~ "Idunno..."

And that made me remember other questions I have asked at gunstores. Not just that one.

"What company makes the Chiappa Rhino?" ~shrug~ "Idunno"

"Is it ok to shoot .22 short in this revolver?" ~shrug~ "Idunno."

"Which do you have to watch out for? Shooting a .223 in a 5.56, or the other way around?" ~shrug~ "Idunno."

"Were you always this ignernt, or did your folks drop you on your head as a child?" ~shrug~ "Idunno."

I have come to the conclusion that quite a few gun store owners/employees know somewhere between diddly and squat about the stuff they are selling. They are experts at collecting your money and pretty good at filling out gummint forms. It is only the promise of collecting quanties of filthy lucre in denominational units higher than 20 or 21 (depending on whether they are female or male) that they even have a grasp of counting.

Some of them might know a little bit, but that knowledge is often specialized and granular to one subject. Hunting shotguns or SA cowboy revolvers. That sort of thing.

Sadly, gunstore employees can't all be Tam types. If Tam was selling me something in a store and didn't know the answer to my question about something I bet she'd know how to find out right quick. Certainly before I lost interest in the store.

What did folks do before the internet, I ask again?

New Snub

Welly welly well!

Frank from Corn Beans and Spent Brass is at Shot Show and adds ANOTHER option that might be acceptable to my snubbie-search


A polymer Smith with integral laser.

Now Ruger has a polymer revolver, the LCR, that I have handled. I didn’t like the feel of it compared to the Smiths I’ve fondled. Or I’d have mentioned it before.

A laser adds some cost to the price of the pistol, but I was half expecting to buy after market Crimson Trace laser grips with any regular snubbie purchase, so… it’s a wash. And I have tested it. The laser does work for a lefty like me.

The integral laser isn’t CT, but it isn’t some fly by night company either. Insight Technology That’s the thing about a laser… With after market laser grip you can swap them out for other grips if the laser breaks and you need it repaired. If you break an integral laser it might not be that simple. And in 20 years… will that laser work? Or will be an expensive and dated appendage? Since I’d use a laser for training at the range, and less so carrying it, I like the idea of swapping grips more.

So a polymer Smith and Wesson is an unknown element to seek out and try, at least. It suffers from flaws other lightweight Smiths have, there is a lot of aluminum in it too, and I prefer all steel. And the release is in a different place. Since the cylinder release was moved to cater to lefties like me why am I complaining? Because I don’t have a problem with the traditional latch location. My thumb finds it just fine where it is, and I have my left handed revolver reloading procedure down. It’s sound enough. I won’t be beating Jerry Miculek with it, but I’ll be fine. And having TWO revolvers with TWO different manual or arms isn’t good for consistent training, is it?

Oddly, as of Sunday the 24th, there were no links to the new polymer on Smith's website.

Pocket Knife

All gun bloggers seem to talk about their pocket knives at one point or another. Here is the model I'd prefer to carry.


Good for opening up packaging from Amazon or somesuch, cutting a seatbelt free in the event of a water landing in the family truckster, or scaring bad guys.

Be sure your tetanus shot is up to date.

Dammit!

So I go to my Range today to try out the new pistol...

"Sorry closed for repairs to the ventilation system. Try again Friday."

Grumble grumble grumble... Grumble grumblegrum gum grumble...

NADDAFINGA!

Brit

My buddy Frozen sent me this.

Despite possibilities that they have been UNDER-reporting on purpose to gun-deck the numbers and make them look better than they are, it looks like there is no avoiding it now. Britain is the most violent western country.

Does that mean you are safer driving through flyover country where all the cousin-humping bible-quoting redneck-Billhillies with NASCAR slurs painted on your imported car? Or safer venturing about some urban areas as long as your purpose is not indulge in the unlicensed pharmaceutical trade? Or stroll around the entirety of Cape Town, South Africa? Probably, YES! Better off doing that than to take your chances eating in a nice restaurant anywhere in London. You are safer walking around Baltimore or DC at night than attending a police convention at noon in the middle of nowhere, UK. There I said it. Some yob or chav will come up to you in that law-enforcement convention, cut you badly, take your wallet and cell phone, and the police officers all around won't want to get involved, either out of fear of getting hurt themselves or out of fear of transgressing the perpetrators rights and getting into legal trouble that way.

If you MUST visit Britain, try to do it as a guest of a non-hoplophobic subject. Like Mr. FMFT.

Gunnie Vs. Gunny

Just so there is no confusion

This is a Gunnie:




This is a Gunny:





Gunnies:




Gunny:





Though sometimes you can be both:



(Not to take anything away from Ermey, but he did leave the Marine Corps a Staff Sergeant. Had to have been a badass Staff Sgt to be a Drill Instructor and combat veteran... He was made an official honorary Gunnery Sergeant by the Marine Corps a bit after his retirement. If that's good enough for the USMC it's good enough for me.)

What's The Diff

What is "case color" T-Bolt. Ok, ok, I sorta made that up, confused it. It's a type of metallic finish that you can achieve by case hardening the gun, traditionally. Smith calls is "Color Case," and they might achieve it by some method other than the traditional for all I know. It's really sort of a bare metal finish with tempering colors making it look nice. It's probably not as corrosion resistant as blueing, and certainly not as reistance as chrome or nickel plate. But it looks pretty.

There are other finishes to make a firearm corrosion resistant. Get it Parkerized with manganese phosphate, coat it with enamel like Para does, or you can even gold plate it like a Deagle (ick).

Here are example of Blue/Case/Nickel, just for your edification.

Blue:

========================================================

Color Case:

========================================================

Nickel:



And I have to say, after handling a model 40... I'd prefer it, maybe, even with the grip safety and the old grip, to the alloy 642, and lock-cursed 640.

I do like the look of case hardening, But not on that pistol with a blued barrel.

I've Seen CATS doing Jello Shots!

Yeah, this is what a RoMERO mission looks like. Less booze.

28 Drinks Later from Futuristic Films on Vimeo.

The horror.... The horror....

Snubby Breakdown

(or is it spelled 'snubbie'?)

My choices and thoughts on snubbie selection? Let get them all in one place. Oh, and if you are thinking of getting a snubbie for yourself and need resources to think on it, checkout the Snub Nose Files.

Ruger SP101

Pros: It definitely meets my 'robust and steel' requirement
Cons: I've never liked the grip feel or trigger feel on Rugers
Quibbles: The hammer isn't shrouded like S&W Centennials. It is bobbed. It's good for not snagging, but some grit might get in the works easier with this model


~~~~~~

Night Guard types by Smith and Wesson

Pros: I like the sights. And YOWZA .44 magnum out of this has got to sting. I'd get .357 or .38 and shoot .38 out of one I'd buy, naturally, I just wanted to picture a .44.
Cons: Exposed unbobbed hammer isn'ty ideal. Scandium construction, is also not good
Quibbles: I like the grip, but I can get that grip with any Smith


~~~~~~

S&W 640

Pros: The leading contender.
Cons: It's just not available. And it has that GOTDIM frame-trigger lock
Quibbles: none. it IS the leading contender... If it didn't have the trigger lock and happened to be in the case at any of the local gunstores I'd have it already. Even with the lock it is nigh adequate out of the box.


~~~~~~

S&W 40

Pros: No trigger lock
Cons: Grip safety.
Quibbles: Not stainless, but I can get over this. A commenter menitoned the possibility of pinning the safety down and getting any old grip style I wanted. That's a thought if I can work out the cost and feasibility to my advantage. .38 +P only


~~~~~~


S&W 642
Pros: No trigger lock!
Cons: It's aluminum.
Quibbles: I'd probably want a different grip, but that is doable. And it is only .38 +P


~~~~~~


Chiappa Rhino

Pros: I just like that looks of that. Isn't it handsome? Plus the novel action where the barrel is placed at the bottom of the cylinder to keep it more in line with the shooters arms, thus less recoil.
Cons: It may be vaporwear (though I DID eventually find it in their PDF catalog on page 55 or 57, and also here by searching Chiappa Firearms Dayton) and when it will be available at your local Gun Mart is anyone's guess, but the closest dealer appears to be in Lorton Virginia. Maybe Winchester. That grip angle is WEIRD canting your hand way down. Who knows what the quality will be, it is an unknown factor, unlike Ruger or Smith. Who knows how the trigger will feel. It's got that little nubbin on the hammer to snag on stuff.
Quibbles: This thing has me under it's spell. If it was in the display case tomorrow, I'd put the money down right there and wait the 5 weeks before I'd be allowed to pick it up. (I week waiting period plus one gun a month.)

Update: More stuff on it from SHOT show, here.

~~~~~~


Hey, didja notice that ALL the grip types are different? And there is still one more all wood smooth grip on the Smiths I like, similar in shape to the rubber grip on the 640. The model 60 would replace the Night Guard on my list with similar Pros and Cons. There is also the different shaped Crimson Trace grips.

And, FRESH S&W meat. I bet my gunstore gets some of these in. (h/t Ahab and commenter.)

.22 Funsies

I'm kinda excited about the new purchase.

Well I am excited about any new toy, but this one is different. And I think I am waiting in pleasant anticipation BECAUSE it is a .22.

Sure a new 1911 is fun. It is a serious gun. It can have a VERY serious purpose, related to combat and defense. A bolt action .30-06 the same. But a .22? It's for inexpensive practice and target competition and plinking. It's just very fun. There is some serious purpose to it, but the balance leans toward fun. You can have fun with the bigger brothers, yes, but for sheer volume and quantity of fun, nothing beats ALL you get out of shooting dollar with a .22.

"Hey, let's head out with our guns and have some fun with them this afternoon! When the light dims we'll go out to dinner and have some beers." Sounds fun, doesn't it, fellow gunnies? But what is the first gun you think of to have casual shooting fun? I bet most of us at least include a .22 in that circumstance if not use a .22 exclusively.

You know, even non gunnies or anti-gun types, at least SOME of them, would recognize a big honking expensive .22 revolver as something people have fun with, for the most part, vis something people intend to do evil with. You could buy a couple Glocks for what you'd pay for a S&W 617.

And if I were rich, and cost considerations for ammo were of no consequence for me, I'd STILL lean toward .22 for smiley times. I wonder why that is?

HOPEFULLY pick it up tomorrow.

What Caliber for...

What caliber for Hypno-Toad?





I'm thinking I better hurry up and get that .458. If these things come out of the Potomac this summer... It would make a Level 4 Zombie outbreak would seem like a walk in the park.

Drinkee drinkee

Sailor Curt noted in my comments when I mentioned a surly guy getting denied a pistol at the purveyor or fine firearm in beeYOOtiful downtown Glen Burni:

"'Oh and I had to wait for this guy to finish monopolizing the salesmen's time arguing that he should be allowed to buy a gun even with his DWI arrest or conviction.'

Gee, I wonder if he has a driver's license and is still allowed to buy alcohol?

Guy is busted for a crime that includes, as it's essential elements, the abuse of Automobiles and Alcohol.

As a result, he is forever prohibited from purchasing...a gun.

Makes perfect sense to me...how about you?"

Of all the listed reasons to be a prohibited person, the "are you a habitual drunkard or smoke too much weed?" one sticks in my craw as untenable. It's too subjective. The others get a person prohibited after objective points are reached in a long line of legal due process, but if you have 2 extra beers a week, you're out, refrain from those 2, and here's your boomstick? Odd. If I were king of the universe I'd try to figure out a way to make that prohibition more concrete, more binary. Maybe even do away with it all together as too silly to properly enforce. Certainly SOMETHING needs to be in place to keep addicts in line. But that would need to be hashed out. To be reasonable. 'Reasonable' is more toward the permissive side than what we have now, MAIG.

I should elaborate, most of you folks just have the ATF to deal with. Curt is in the much friendlier Virginia. I have Maryland State Police. It's THEM that would have denied the guy a pistol because of a DWI arrest. Not just a conviction, an arrest. Maryland Po-po are much more anal about the details for purchase and registration of controlled firearms. (You hear horror stories about ATF jumping on FFL dealers for paperwork issues? Maryland State Police are worse. WORSE! According to the gun stores.) Mr. "Glug-glug-honk-honk" guy at the store could have bought a pump shotgun without a hitch. The ATF would have accepted his DWI because he got the case thrown out, or so he said.

(Curt's comment is kinda funny too. 'Makes you think! Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...')

Hey!

Hey, the sooper sekrit Bible verse code on my ACOG says "EZ25:17."

What verse is that?

And interesting... that gun of Jules is actually a 9mm that just looks like a standard 1911. At least a little. I didn't notice the extractor when I saw the film.

What Did You Say?

WHO won Kennedy's seat? Yeah, right. Pull the other one, it has bells on it. No way a non-Dem won it. This is one big practical joke.

Dang Dirty Hippies

Paul McCartney 'Head Lice' - watch more funny videos

Soap-dodging Boomers! If I never hear from them again it will be too soon. In 1970 was the culture so SATURATED by crappy stuff from 1930? No? Then why do we have to see and listen to the songs and crap from the Long-Hairs in 2010?

Maybe we should pass a Death With Dignity law that just applies to aging hippies? Hmmm....

MD Law

Well, well, well... A proposed Maryland law to accept the CCW permits of neighboring states. Intriguing. I'll have to write another letter to my representative.

If I'm not mistaken, I can get an out of state Virginia CCW. It's some hoops to jump through, but it is just hoops. It's a shall-issue state.

Do you think the MD legislature will notice that possibility and put the kibosh on non-resident Virginia permits in the unlikely event the law actually gets out of committee, gets to the floor, get's accepted by the other legislative house, and the liberal governor signs all this into law?

I laugh. It is a rueful laugh. But, miracles could happen. Look at Massachusettes.


h/t Snowflakes...

haiku

Daybreakers

So Daybreakers, the Vampire movie that's ostensibly about peak oil and other commie themes is really a Randian Atlas Shrugged parable, according to Day By Day Cartoon? Cool! {update: fixed! sorta...}

What about a Model 40

What about a Model 40 for my snubbie?

It's steel. (Lots of folks lived without stainless... I'd just get it Blue, not nickel or case color.)

It's got no trigger lock.

It's Centennial with that shrouded hammer.

It's classic, in the looks department.

It's not .357, but that might be ok... I was only planning to shoot .38 flavors for the most part.

Is that grip swap-out-able? That's not a grip safety is it? (Like a Lemon Squeezer) It's just an old style grip dingus to beef it up, right? Oh Gawd, it is a Lemon Squeezer. The descendant of the Safety Hammerless top break revolver from the 19th C. Some turn of the century advertisements showed 4 year old girls playing with the pistols. The firm trigger squeeze, hidden hammer, and firm grip safety supposedly were too much for a child's strength. I can't find the ad to show you, but if you showed it to a modern hoplophobe they'd faint dead away.






Anyway, nevermind on the 40.

King of Battle

Check out Michael Yon's nighttime artillery pictures.



Why doesn't this man have 8 or 9 Pulitzers?

Reporters

Snowflakes has a post about why it is bad to talk to news media reporters if you are a gunstore owner. And the gunstore is the local-to-me.

It's about that dang idjit basketball player. ~sigh~

The reporter is not your friend. Especially if that reporter is from the Post, and especially if the subject matter is about a rich guy in big legal trouble with a gun.

Parts Sold On Spec

So, while gunshopping, I notice a doohickey on the wall. It’s the tube cap for a Remington 1100. But it has a spot for attaching a sling swivel. One of the things my Remington Model 11 is missing is some way to attach a sling. Perfect remedy for my situation! If it fits. Note the differences in model numbering…

So I ask.

The question is kicked up to the gunsmith. He dunno. It might.

So, the gunstore says, “Tell you what, take it home and check it out on your shotgun. If it fits, come back and pay for it. If it doesn’t fit, just bring it back. It’s not like you’ll never come back to this gunstore. Plus I know your name and where you live because you’ve bought boomsticks here, so…”

Fair enough. What a nice way to treat their customers. (The implied semi-threat was made in jest and you could detect that nuance if you were there listening to it.) I DO like the way they treat me there, and the ascerbic wit of the staff that knows me, and that I can take ascerbic wit, it's a feature, not a bug.

Oh, and it doesn’t fit. Returning the part now. Ah well.

.458

Another reason for me to consider a AR.

Get a .458 upper and you have a fine and dandy deer gun. AND moose gun. Probably grizzly, too. I hadn't considered that possibility before, but plenty of people before me have. I love the info flow on the internet. How did people get all this info before? The local hunt club, gun periodicals, and your gun store isn't enough. For instance: Tam made a comment, "I'm pretty sure that the safety in the 1903, like most JMB designs, blocks the sear." How in hell did people pick up that little bit of information pre-internet? You'd have to hang with a gunsmith a good while or read a LOT of gunsmith books to retain that tidbit. You don't pick that detail up just social shuckin and jivin in your local gunstore. But because Tam did hang with the right people, and read the right books, she knew it. Because of the internet, now I and all my readers know it.


Anyway.

The dang things are SO modular. I'm talking about AR pattern rifles. You can get one up for Social Uses, and now you can get that .458 thumper for your hunting needs, and a .22 conversion for cheap practice and small game. With a shotgun and a major caliber pistol, you'd be done on your gun acquisitions. Now all you'd have to do would be to get good at shooting them.

I'm wondering what Colonel Cooper would think of the .458. That man was VERY particular about his big rifle rounds. He'd be fine with the projectile, but I don't know if he'd be happy with the fps velocity. But 2000 fps (with some loads) is close to what I think he'd like, though I may remember him saying 2500 is preferrable... The thought of the Colonel hunting Cape Buffalo with a red-dot scoped AR that shot something comparable to the .45-70 is entertaining. It might be just dandy for the Professional Hunter's backup gun to support his paying customer. 9 of those .458s in a 30 round magazine and semi-auto... Plenty of gun for emergencies when the lion is almost in the party, or the buff is charging.

woohoo

Remember how I threatened to let my fingers do the walking? Well it paid off. Bart's in beeYOOtiful downtown Glen Burni Murlin had what I wanted, sure enough...

A 6" barrel 10 shot Smith and Wesson model 617. It matches my 686. Except it fires more and smaller/cheaper boolits.


Bart's was high on my list of shooty joints to check because of the nice way they treated the Saucy Trollop when she did a transfer of her Fohty Fo. They had a nice Colt Sidewinder and a 617 back then, but they had both long since sold.

I was less hopeful because I had seen them come and go through that same store. And how often does lightning strike the same spot?

I must be living right.

Well, not right enough. I missed a signature on one of the forms and have to go back today, but in a week, that revolver will be in my hot little hands. Oh and I had to wait for this guy to finish monopolizing the salesmen's time arguing that he should be allowed to buy a gun even with his DWI arrest or conviction. Dude, they said no. They just can't. Go away. Yeah, speak to your lawyer.

Anyway.

Speedloaders for this model? Yeah. No. Gonna have to use something else if I want to load it fast. (well, maybeeeeee...)

And now I have some more breathing room in selecting a snubbie.

Snub Selection

Oooo! Tam in my comments said:

"Personally? I think the J-frame .357s are some of the dumbest guns tom come down the pike in decades, but that's just me."

And I repeat them here in case she doesn't revisit the comment.

What WOULD you recommend, Tam, in lieu of a .357 J Frame? I'm pretty sure my only hard and fast requirement is that the future snubbie I get be made of steel. I chose the 640 because of the steel, and that, if it was rugged enough to take .357, it will be more than rugged enough to shoot the .38 I'd use 99% of the time with it.

Nice!

From Shorpy.

A nice Browning Auto-5/Reminton Model 11...

Taken in Westmoreland Hills Maryland.


From when DC and Maryland were more gun friendly. My Dad would be born, in DC, 10 months after this picture was taken. 40 years after this photo was taken, I would be born in a hospital less than 2 miles from that spot. And 80 years after, the people of DC would be 'allowed' to keep firearms in their homes again.

~

Also. "Hello, little girlie! Let me set you up with a girl-size shotgun that shoots a light little .410 or 28 gauge. Anything bigger than that will be too much gun for such a delicate little thing like you."

"No thanks! I'll just stick with my 12. The one I outshoot everyone within 100 miles with."

Shopping Bust

So, the guns I want? Nope. Bupkis.

My gunstores supplier/s is/are bupkis.

There is a 617 at Atlantic Guns up the street, but I don't like the way they ignore customers there. Nice selection of double shotguns there, I must admit. And a plethora of FAL... if you are into that... I'm getting distracted! The 617. Yeah, no idea what they wanted for it as the tag was turned around in the case. (What, are they ASHAMED of their pricing?) No idea if it is the preferred 10 shot version. I know it was only a 4" barrel, and I WANT 6".

Anyway, save that for later consideration. But probably not.

I'll have to let my fingers do the walking to check a few more stores out.

MY gunstore, Engage Armament, did have a 642, with no trigger lock. Not exactly what I prefer in a snubbie, as it is of alloy construction and not rated .357. I'll have to think on it.

In the meantime... phone calls.

I'd like to avoid gun auction transfer fees if I can help it.

Ooo, the range. I'll hit the range tomorrow, see if they have anything I want in the display cases for sale. Doubt it. But you never know.

Patience is the watch word.

St Looey Shooty Re-Dooey

Well, the New York Times actually had a halfway decent, halfway unbiased, sum up on that St Louis Shooting I referenced the other day. More details.

"He took with him one assault rifle, one shotgun and two handguns, the police said, after finding the second handgun on the scene, along with a fanny pack full of ammunition. A fifth gun was found near the guard shack in the parking lot, where Mr. Hendron first opened fire on his co-workers."

The scumbag murdered 3 people, injured 5 others, and then took the cowards way out. He'd have saved a lot of anguish if he had just re-ordered his activities, shooting himself in the head first, before going to work to cause mayhem. (...well, shooting himself first would have obviated the need and ability to do the rest... but that would have been a better outcome, no?)

He apparently perceived that his employer was doing him wrong. He felt cheated by them and was taking them to court to address these perceived wrongs. I guess he couldn't wait for the judicial process to complete. Ass.

Anyway, no mention on any .30 caliber handgun, which was my original interest... The probable mis-reporting I heard on ABCnews radio. I guess the "assault rifle" the Times misnamed could have been an AK clone. I can almost guarantee it wasn't an actual assault rifle (and able to shoot like a machine gun) or the paper would have noted the shooter had an NFA tax stamp. They DID mention he had a hunting license, as they said, "was married with a 20-year-old son and had a hunting license, according to public records." A crazed madman can be just as deadly with any old rifle, but an organization like the Times has to play along with the anti-gun tune and vilify Sport Utility Rifles whenever feasible. It's my quibble with the story. Never forget, a murderous punk killed those 3 people at that transformer fabrication plant, not an Assault Rifle or Assault Weapon or AK or EVIL black rifle or whatever you want to call it. You want less tragedy? Get the murderous punks off the streets, not the firearms.

But it also is apparent that this killer was just an ordinary guy the day before. No one had him pegged as a bad guy until this incident. To facilitate his impact it looks like he chose a shift change for his mayhem, where he'd have a lot of people around to shoot at. And he is reported to have fired, "well over 100 rounds throughout the complex." We are lucky there weren't many more victims. Apparently he just snapped. I'd call him a poor bastard and have a lot more sympathy for him if hadn't hurt anyone. I don't know why there is something in human nature that sometimes willfully conflates minor tragedies into major ones. It makes me not like people very much.

I've found no other, more detailed, follow up references. Yet.

Traffic

(I was checking blog traffic. I've been hovering around 300 visits a day, give or take. Unless TamBreda link to me. On those days I approach 1000 visits. My worst day in the past month was still 200 visits, and that was December 25th. I wonder what happened that day to gimp my readership?)

Man Tweeting Zombacalypse

What did I tell you people?

This poor bastard seems to be stuck in some closed off urban area. RoMERO teams must not have been able to safely contain this to a block or two.

[Does that blog post title sound kinda dirty to you?]

Caveat

I put a caveat down a post or 2 ago.

I was talking about carrying my pistol and added a “where I CAN”.

Obviously I can’t carry concealed in the great state of Maryland. My regular readers understand that I don’t carry locally (all 3 of you). I don’t want anyone that happens across this site and doesn’t know the history of it and me to think I’m a scofflaw. And on the very unlikely chance one of those accidental eyes that flits through here is a member of a relevant law enforcement agency that looks askance on unpermitted carry in this state, well… I want to put their mind at ease.

Toenail

One thing about a cold winter...

You wear shoes and socks to keep your tootsie warm, and the need to trim the toenails can be overlooked for WAY too long.

That was some serious claw action I had goin on down there until about half and hour ago. I almost had to use the sheet metal shears.

Shopping

Went gun shopping yesterday after work. I shoulda gone to the range, but my next gun isn’t going to buy its ownself.

I don’t know, I don’t know…

It just ended up being a window shop lookie-loo

It’s ostensibly to get the S&W 640 snubby, but spring and summer is a long way off and pocket carry (caveat: where I CAN) isn’t an immediate concern. Maybe this is a 2 gun purchase year. I could something else NOW and in a month or so get the 640. It’ll still be bulky holster wear weather in a month, so, no super hurry.

But what to get?

Check the list. A S&W 617 would be nice for inexpensive plinking. Did I mention I got 2 more Ciener mags for my 1911 conversion kit, bringing the number up to 4? I go to the range with 2 guns, typically. I could have an all-.22 range session for cheap. Getting the 617 now would allow me to hunt for 640 that had no damned verklempt trigger lock

What else? I got a hair to get a second Colt Pocket Hammerless in .380. That would REPLACE the snubbie on the list and be my pocket carry gun. That’s the idea at least. No, the .380 caliber isn’t as good as +P .38 or .357, but it IS a pocket carry gun. Some guys carry a .25 caliber Beretta Jetfire. And do JUST fine with it.

[note, NOT a Colt Jetfire, but rather Beretta.]

Lots more folks carry a .380. Much better than a point-ted stick.

But why a second Pocket Hammerless? Just carry the one I got? Well, yeah… about that. The one I have is nice, and extra antique-ey, being made in the early 20’s, with the classic black fancy Colt grip panels. I’d rather carry one a bit more beat up, and maybe of 1940s vintage.

But why not one of the newer .380s? Not like there aren’t a crapload to choose from. Heck I wouldn’t care about the antique-ey value to one of them. Well yeah… about that. They all have a single flaw that makes them less than desirable to me. No place for a pinky finger. The Colt Pocket Hammerless is really the smallest gun that still allows my whole hand to hold it.

But don’t worry. There are argument AGAINST the Pocket Hammerless too. I don’t know if the safety is a dual safety, with a firing pin or hammer block as well as just stopping the trigger. I doubt it has this. Not that big a deal, there IS a grip safety on the pistol as well. And, naturally, the hammer is not exposed. It’s about as safe in my pocket as a Kel Tec, even though the Colt is a single-action. The problem is the safety is small, and on the wrong side of the gun. And so I carry it with one in the pipe? Seems I should.

I don’t have to worry about those things with a snubby. The only thing I worry about with them is the slow reload and the damned trigger lock on the frame. (I really hate the whole idea of that lock…)

Anyway, maybe I’ll do some more gun shopping today.

(and btw... BIG long conversation in Caleb's comments about my aversions to semi-auto .22s and why I have been looking at .22 revolvers. I've never known .22s semi-autos to be that reliable, but folks that know a smart piece more than me think my reluctance is all wet. That I should give semi's a second look. Ok, ok, I'll think more on it.)

Unforgiven

When the posse was meeting to discuss chasing the killers in Unforgiven, someone said that the man that sold ammo wouldn't sell anymore .30-30 shells on credit. They'd have to pay cash. I guess that was for their Spencer repeaters they talked about

The movie was set in 1880.

The thing is, .30-30, as we all know, wasn't around until 1895...

And the Spencer took a funny .56-56 cartridge. Rimfire, too. Now they might have had .44-40 in 1880, I guess. But not .30-30.

Now, in the final scene, Eastwood, playing William Muny, Gunfighter, goes into Greeley Saloon and shoot the owner/pimp with a double barrel 12 gauge. Dead. The second barrel probably had a paper cartridge and got wet in the rain and misfired. Muny/Clint switches to the Schofield. And shoots 4 men with 4 or 5 shots. It's a .44 S&W pistol, generally. We don't know specifically, but that is the odds. NOT magnum. He then get's and loads the Spencer with those HUGE .56-56. Turns out at least TWO of the guys he shot with the pistol are hurt but not dead, and try to shoot back in their injured state. The rifle bullet does the coup de grace. Now, sure, it is Hollywood. Not known for their attendance to reality (the shotgun blows the guy down the room a bit, for instance. Even a 10 gauge?... no.) It goes to show that a pistol is a pistol, and a RIFLE is a RIFLE, no matter what Hollywood intended.

[It's a good movie, ignore my quibbles if it give the impression that the movie is less than exceptional. Why else would I re-watch it over and over?]

Another aside. I am a beer drinker. I like a cold beer. Now beer didn't do well in the wild west. Not enough local breweries and such. Beer is too perishable. Now, sure enough, Anheuser Busch did a good job shipping kegs around on ice... But if I was thrust into the life of a gun fighter, I'd be out of luck.

As the years went by I developed more of a taste for harder liquors I did not prefer in my youth. Particularly bourbon. As a wee bairn the 'sips' I got from my parents were Budweiser and Bourbon and water. Specifically Kentucky, Early Times. I appreciate Knob Creek now. Which is nice because there is a machine gun shoot there. Totally unintentional on my part.

But if I was back in time, I'd be ok, now, as long as I could find decent bourbon.

St Looey Shooty

Just heard a news report on the St Louis shooting. They said lots of stuff, but I am only commenting on the gun content.

Some guy went postal at his place of business and shot up the place.

We won't know the REAL details for some time. The news media is notoriously bad at getting the details right. For instance, the shooter is reported to have used, "An AK-47 and a .30 caliber handgun..."

Let's fisk, shall we?

With the poor record journalists have, that AK clone (it almost certainly wasn't an actual Kalashnikov) could just as easily be a pump shotgun.

...and .30 caliber handgun? Interesting. I wonder what that is? Could be another AK type, and it shoots a .30 round, metric it's 7.62x39mm:



Or maybe a variant of the C96 'Broomhandle' Mauser. THEY fired a 7.63 x 25 mm cartridge:



Or perhaps it was a great big revolver that shoots .30 carbine, like this discontinued Taurus:

But I half expect the new people got it wrong and the handgun is .38 or something. We shall see. In time.

Terrist

Whenever a Terrist tries something on an airplane (including this last time) it more often than not turns out that the guy was a single young male flying on a long trip with a one-way ticket paid for with cash and sans luggage.

Then someone suggests that maybe we shouldn't let young guys fly that pay for one way tickets with cash and also lack a suitcase. It's a regulation you can put in place just like that.

Scolds then shout, "that will NEVER work! The Terrists will just buy a round trip and pack a bag!"

Yeah, they might do that. Still. What would it hurt to maybe take a second look at all youthful males buying one way plane tickets with cash and seem lacking in Samsonite products? Make it a universal rule for a while. Just to see.

Cheap Kukri Review

So, I got 2 cheapy modern Kukri knives, somehow. I wanted them for machete purposes.

A Kukri is a Burmese-style fighting knife and these are in no way as good as a real one. And there are lots of fake ones out there that even look like real ones from a distance, but they are kinda cheesy knockoffs, too. The real McCoy is legendary, and you never wanted to face an angry Ghurka armed with one.

One is from Cold Steel, one is from Ka Bar. Well, the Ka Bar one isn't exactly a Kukri. I't is Kukri-esque. It's got a heavier front end, but the blade isn't canted forward. The Cold Steel is the classic Kukri shape. Ka Bar DOES make one in a classic shape.


I wouldn't hesitate to buy another from Ka Bar, even though it is at twice the price. The edge came sharper out of the box, and, more importantly, the blade is twice as thick. It's thicker than a silver dollar at the spine. It's give the blade a lot more stiffness and weight for proper chopping. Though I can use the the Cold Steel for stuff where knicks to the blade are more likely. I'll care les about the Cold Steel, but if I can only take one short machete style knife afield it will be the Ka Bar.

I'm sort of curious about the Ka Bar Kukri now.

What do I need a machete for? Well, for clearing out a deer stand it's nice. And when you butcher a deer a chop to the pelvis to split it in 2 is good. As is chopping off the feet.

Don't get me wrong about the Cold Steel one. I've seen MUCH chinsier machetes. Cold Steel's version is halfway decent, and at least it isn't as thin as some of the one that look like they are made out of HVAC ducting sheet metal. The handle isn't as nice to grip as the Ka Bar but it's better than most others.

Word

You know what's a new word that everyone seems to be using all of a sudden? Trope

I, too, am guilty of this recent faddish overuse.

It's what 'awesome' was to 1981. Or 'paradigm' to 1991.

Could it be? This word I keep using? It doesn't mean what I think it means?

Inconceivable!

What Caliber for Whitetail?

I was thinkin'...

Now .30-30 has probably dropped more deer in this country than any other caliber. Followed closely by .30-06, or, north of the border, .303.

But I was watching Winchester '73 with Jimmy Stewart and that got me a pondering: What bullet did hunters use most commonly over 115 years ago to hunt whitetail sized game?

The Winchester model 1973 shot .44-40 and .38-40 as well as smaller rounds. I don't know if those would be ideal for hunting, but they'd just might do the job. Folks hunted deer in Indiana with .357 this year, using 1894C's. So those smallish rounds are doable for deer, certainly, but were they DONE? The rounds are big pistol cartridges and would have been black powder back then, so I don't know if they'd have the 'oomph'.


.45-70 was the military round at the time, pre Krag, and it could certainly bring down a deer. Heck it was used on buffalo on the plains. The .45-70 and the .50-70 were natural buffalo rounds post muzzle loader era, and the .30-40 Krag will do fine for deer based on the number of sporterized versions out there in gunstores for sale, but I'm interested in what hunters shot BEFORE the Krag came out. That window between the Grant Administration and the McKinley Administration. (ooo, the first pres without facial hair in some time...) I'm wondering if .45-70 was considered 'too much gun' by contemporaries and what a deer hunter would have used. Before Grant, some muzzle-loading caliber of shotgun would have been the hunting ammo of choice.

Was there anything between the .44-40 and the .45-70? .30-30 was first out in 1895, and that would do, but it didn't have time to become the most widely/commonly used round in the window of time I am considering.

What think you? Am I overlooking something? Or was it all buckshot.

Hunting was less the pleasant pasttime it is today than it was a means to put meat on the table for the family, I'm certain.

[aaaaaaaand, just after I wrote this I noticed Tam's reference to an earlier post she wrote in her year end recap. Pretty cool stuff, but the whitetail question isn't quite answered. I thought the serendipity cool, tho.]

Stoopid Tea Baggers!

Obama is not coming after your guns! Duh. Can't you cousin humping gun clinging rednecks read?

Well except:

"As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Holder told reporters.

the president said during a press conference in Mexico City in April that he has "not backed off at all from my belief that the assault weapons ban makes sense."

Yeah, can the anti-gun leftists drop that position about Obama never intending to go after guns, now?

Cool!

Vintage gun ads that you can buy.

What?

You're trying to tell me this isn't REAL?! But I've been training so hard. I've given Master Bunqeau so much of my money in tuition. He PROMISED!

National Review Nod

Another reference from National Review on CCW and 2nd Amendment. Hooray, Metrocon attention.

RFB

h/t Uncle for the link to this review...

Of the Kel Tec RFB

Kel Tec is known for decent inexpensive pistols and carbines. A little cheap-looking and mostly plastic.

And then they came up with the RFB, a bullpup major caliber rifle with some novel innovations, and now I don't know what to think of them. It's like they are pursuing a military contract.

I'd have to hold and use the RFB to properly judge fit and finish. A lot of the proof is in the trigger feel. Can't judge that via a 3rd party. But if those factors are good, what is Kel Tec doing making such a great rifle.

While shopping for my M1A I considered waiting for this model to check it out before deciding, but I just couldn't wait. Naturally the forward ejection of brass appealed to me, the left hander. I gotta hand it to Kel Tec, though. I think they deserve a bravo for this rifle.

(commercial disclosure: Kel Tec did not pay me for this review but if they sent me a free RFB I'd be happy to keep it and write another review of it that I am SURE would be glowing)

If you don't want that Ford...

How about a VW?

Nice urban Zombacalypse Jetta.

Zombie Vehicle

Found another ideal Zombocalypse vehicle.



The turrets are for fire suppression hoses, but I'm assuming any self respecting gun enthusiast will have swapped those out for belt fed remote mini-guns.

Seats 2, one driver, one gunner.

Guns in DC

So, homicide in the city that anchors my major metropolitan area, Washington DC, are at the lowest levels since 1964. Yes, the 'Murder Capital of the World' that city of less than half a million that saw more than a murder a day in the 1980s is now almost pleasant in comparison.

After Christmas I heard of a player of our local basketball team, the Washington Wizards, got in trouble with the team and the league when it was discovered he had 2 unloaded pistols locked in a case in his locker.

[BTW: The recently dearly departed changed the team name to 'Wizards' from 'Bullets' in the early 90's. Musta been pressured by the Brady's back then during the height of their power. Trying to change the national culture, them. Bullets is too violent a name, dontcha know, especially for a city beset with gun crime.]

Anyway, I thought that outrageous, but understandable. Despite the Heller decision being ABOUT guns in the District of Columbia, the new gun laws that 'allows' firearms to once again legally exist in DC haven't really gelled. Yes, still haven't. And when they do gel they certainly will make no allowances for much carry of any sort of firearm outside the home except under specific rigid conditions. House to car, car to gun range outside the city, then back again. With no pitstops at a drive thru even to get a cup of coffee. Much less a pitstop at a place of business to conduct said business while the guns are safely store away. Even if that place of business is a professional sports arena. Even if you have a buncha political pull because you are a rich and famous athlete. So, worse than New York City, where rich and famous athletes only get in trouble if they have a Negligent Discharge. Little hope for regular folks.

So, outraged I was.

But apparently my deduction of the situation was in error and I hadn't heard the whole story...

It wasn't just an innocent storage of secured firearms issue. Apparently two players had WORDS. And those two may or may not have both pulled out a gat to continue said words, but at a higher level. And that circumstance has the team and the league a bit understandably upset. That's different. The story goes from victimized responsible party to 2 irresponsible parties being stupid and violating a whole host of laws. Laws in the District, but also laws that would be in place in Juno Alaska. Even gun friendly municipalities frown on the resolution of arguments over gambling debts via Mexican Standoff.

But, again, true facts seem to be pretty scarce on the ground about this incident. I look forward to more details getting divulge as time continues apace.

Of course, all upstanding gun owner all over the country condemn such improper gun handling as a matter of course. If the facts and motivations and sentiment known so far are true in this case, these 2 chuckleheads are not to be emulated. Sort of a Goofus example to some unseen Gallant. Gallant would be carrying in a legal venue and not drawing his hogleg over heated words.

[update: and a few hours after I wrote this post on Saturday I saw Uncle's link to it.]

Newt

Saw SIH refer to Anarchangel which has a David Horowitz Restoration footage of Newt Gingrich suggesting it might be a good idea to maybe watch Newt talk.

I disagree. It should be a requirement you watch it. Watch it. And I, like Snowflake and Angel, am not 100% on board with what Newt did in 90's.

NRA in WWI

H/T Snowflake... (and then Arms and the Law obviously)

I LOVE stuff like this. History. Rifle Vs. Volley Doctrine. Free Citizen-Soldier Vs. Peasant/Subject. Thinking and Individual Initiative, Vs. Mindless Automatons that follow orders and do and die.

10/22 mags

MBtGE shoot 10/22s at times, but has been vexed with after market mags that are either unreliable or WAY too expensive. He'd probably be happiest if Ruger made 20 or 25 round factory magazines, but they don't.

I wonder if he's tried Black Dog, and I wonder how well they perform.