Metrocon Jonah

Looks like the influence of Alaskan wife still hasn't taken on Jonah Goldberg.

Why not instead focus on the source of the problem: the very small minority of mentally ill people who pose a danger to themselves and others? And, yes, guns need to be part of that equation. But blanket efforts to ban guns seem like an analogous effort to ban dangerous speech or art. About a third of U.S. households own a gun, according to surveys, but the number may be higher than that. Getting rid of guns will infringe on the rights of tens of millions of sane, law-abiding citizens in order to tackle a problem posed by dozens of people. And, like it or not, the Supreme Court has reaffirmed that we have a constitutional right to own a firearm, subject to reasonable regulation.

Nice try.  He's part way there.  But he still doesn't grok the implications of "yes, guns need to be part of that equation."  The march the gun-banners will steal on that concession alone.  Guns were part of the equation.  Over and over and over and over again.  Let's do some formula adjustment on the other side of it for a few, shall we?

I bet he's been shooting visiting the in-laws in Alaska.  But it looks like he may need to go on a few more range trips.  Get out there, and talk to gunnies.  I'd proffer him a bottle of Bulleit Bourbon and a nicer brand of cigar if he'd come out some weekend.  Prolly should do the hosting at MBtGE's.  Better guest rooms.  Better clear it with him and his Missus first before I make TOO many more promises. 

The Best Part...

Now that he is 'retired,' he will need the services of the VA...

Speaking of Only Ones

Speaking of Only Ones...

It's been years since the original incident was caught on camera of a police officer, Lee Paige, giving himself a racing stripe, or cop-leg, or an extra foot-hole, with his 'Glock Fohty' in front of a classroom full of kids.

Over-casualness or lack of safety consciousness has been common among the millions of police officers the world over for a long long time.  But thanks to the internet, this 'oopsie,' that was fortunately non fatal, got wide exposure.  In the eyes of non-law-enforcement, yes, but also within law enforcement itself.

I am wondering if police and prospective police that have now seen that in their web travels are now more careful...  If for no other reason than to avoid embarrassing themselves and getting (in)famous for their boner.  Don't want to be 'that guy'.

If the internet has contributed to generally better gun safety, then that one video may have done a world of good, serving as an example to others, and protecting cops and non cops both from harming themselves by internalizing a bit more caution.  Good.  The internet is better than Goofus and Gallant in modifying some behaviors for the better, perhaps.

(More folks are extending that little trigger finger in pictures these days, all over, than in decades past, too.)

'Nother Only

Another 'Only One' has an ND.  But this time in China.

What If

What if I was still married and had kids.  Those 2 kids would be getting ready for college now.  Plus, raising them ain't cheap even before considering the cost of higher education.

But, a lot of my guns just sorta wandered into the gunsafe.  I didn't pay for them.  Or pay much for them.

A bunch of others were guns I wanted. Just because they are neat.  Not because I had a certain use for them. 

Then there was guns I had a use for and were overcome by events or I learned that my uses were better fulfilled with another model.  A Garand is a perfectly serviceable rifle and a joy to own.  But if you then get a M1A, that Garand becomes a second tier goto.

So.  If I had different financial straights I'd probably have to sell some.  Especially utilitarian stuff that doesn't fill a role or doesn't fill it anymore.

If I needed money for the rice-n-beans to feed the fambly, and get braces on the dog's teeth, and get the worm medicine for the Missus, and pay for a new roof on the oldest child I could pare back.  Ideally I'd have not gone up blind alleys, but sometimes you gotta pay for experience.   

Spree Killers

Listen for leaks.  They always telegraph their intentions and plan months or weeks in advance.  And always leak something.

If someone says they are planning to kill, believe them. 

One more thing...

About this California Douchebag...  (I can't think of a better name for him.  But that's it, right?  It seems to describe him)

[and stupid lack of fodder after a weekend away...]

There is one thing about this case...  The Anti-Gun people piped up right away in their usual way.  And their way hasn't worked for over two decades except against them.  And it pushes those idiot few OC guys in Texas off the front page that was hurting us good guys a little.  And we are deep into election season with the bad guys reminding the world who they are.

So let them step on their own toes over a murdering fellow traveler in one of the most banny states in the country for a little while.  Go ahead, leftists.  Run on a gun ban in 14 and 16.

And hopefully I won't have to mention CD anymore.

outhouse 2

And now I find out it wasn't even a shooting spree.  Murder spree.

Well it proves that nothing will stop a determined murderer who springs a surprise out of  left field on the world.

Outhouse Rat...

... goes on a shooting spree.

I go out of town for just a few days and THIS happens?  Sheesh.

I haven't checked the details.  Are all the checkboxes filled in?  Liberal politics?  'Smart'?  Bullied?  Fancy suicide where he is the center of attention?

i think

I will go to a parade.

Extra

Here's a repeat from years ago I posted on the blog because I have been catching Magnum on the TV of late.



Plus a snoring hedghog.

Gone Fishin'

Out of pocket, but wanted to post sumthin.  Maybe Wednesday? 

Glowball Warmening

Sorry for the non gun content but I am away from my computer today and low on fodder earlier last week when I need to post ahead.

Catastrophic Anthropogenic Greenhouse Climate Change.

So I am stepping on Borepatch's toes, this is more his balliwick.

If we are wrong on Climate change, what's the worst that can happen?

-John 'Lurch' Kerry, Sec. State

Well, John, we could have megadeaths.  Not from the weather, but from our own governments.

All this global warming baloney, since the beginning, back in the 80s, never passed my smell test.  It was a solution (Worldwide Socialism) in search of a problem.  And they picked Global Warming when the coming Ice Age they were predicting 20 years prior proved to be a bit of a bust.

If someone came up with a liberty reinforcing and free market solution to counter any CO2 temperature forcings, the Leftists would drop the Global Warming cause like a hot lava hacky-sack. 

But we have actual real world evidence of what happens when you increase socialism...  DEATH.

Duece Duece

So, I am getting reports that the ammo section at the local Wally World is stocked again, according to my contact.  But this person is a casual observer.  He saw boxes.  He didn't know the crucial detail, the bellwether...

What of .22lr availability?

Wal Mart hasn't penetrated down to my neck of the woods because I am too close to DC and Democrats hate it when their constituents save a buck on household purchases or have a good source of jobs, so it is hard to check myself, but...  Lessee what online sources say.  I haven't checked there in a while...

Well, yes, a plethora of varieties are indeed available.  A little on the pricey side, still.  Like double.  So half the equation is solved.

Celebrity

I saw this guy, Jim, at the NRAAM, but didn't know his name.


See?  I may swim in the same stream but I am still highly ignorant of a lot of parts of the gunosphere.  I am only in this world since 2007.  I'm lucky I know as much as I do. 

So, his name is... Jim something. With the voice.

Hollywood

Hollywood get's a lotta gun details wrong.  No news there.  But one detail is particularly pernicious.  The easy removal or replacement of the firing pin.  Two times this happened with a Browning designs.

Bullet to the Head and A-Team.  In Bullet to the head, Sly Stallone's partner takes the pin out of a Hi-Power to keep him from murdering someone.  In A-Team, Hannibal Smith uses the already removed firing pin to pick a handcuff lock, then quickly shoves it into place in his 1911 in time to shoot 2 attack dogs.  Well, to be fair, it is a Para double stack, but still 1911 enough...

Puh-lease.

Now sure, removing the pin on a 1911 is pretty simple, quick and easy.  Just not THAT simple quick and easy.  You gotta get the slide off the frames, you need something just a bit stouter than a toothpick, and you need to not lose the two fiddly bits (that firing pin can sproing away... and the firing pin stop is small and you gotta get it in the slot juuuust right...).

Now, I am totally unfamiliar with the Hi-Power, but the safe way to bet is...  just as fiddly to get the firing pin out.  Or am I wrong?  Based on parts diagrams, I'd say they are pretty close.

NRA Statement on Open Rifle Carry at Chipotle

NRA-ILA | Long gun Open Carriers Havent Learned From Past Mistakes



the cached version that disappeared... Uncle noticed the oddity about it going away.

In caseeven the CACHE disappears, the body of the article on NRA/ILA read:

"Two long-gun open carriers in Dallas put Mexican restaurant chain Chipotle in a no-win situation this past weekend, resulting in the chain deciding Monday to follow Starbucks’ lead in asking gun owners to leave their guns at home."

metro v zed

The Metrocons are FINALLY taking an issue I hold dear, seriously.  They are commenting about prudent Pentagon plans to combat the Zombie Apocalypse.  Well, on-books Zombie prep.  Plenty of stuff in the black budget.  I have an op planned for the coming holiday weekend with RoMERO.  Relax, it's overseas.

Better than them dang radical domestic home-schooling terrists that they have been planning to combat.  Also the threat from Gadsden Flag flyers.  And the IRS has the dastardly Tea Party in check.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Anti-gun strengths:

• While on parity now, money wise, they have the potential of pumping in HUGE quantities of cash from deep pockets
• The Mainstream Media is liberal and in the tank for them.
• Appeals to emotion.

Anti-gun weaknesses:

• They are astroturf.  If you stop paying their spokespeople you'd never hear from them.
• Their 'conventions' and gatherings are no fun at all.
• ONLY appeals to emotion.
• Luckily, few regular people care.  Most side against them if they do care.
• When the Revolution comes...  they aren't armed.

 ----

Pro-gun strengths:

• We are right and in the right, and the Bill of Rights is on our side.
• The statistics are on our side.  We haven't absolutely proved that 'more guns means less crime' but the correlation is tremendous and we have definitely proved that 'more guns does not mean more crime/'
• We have more money on our side in small donations.  
• We are grassroots.
• We are popularly supported because no American of any stripe likes to be told what to do. 
• Gun ownership is widespread.

Pro-gun weaknesses:

• We sometimes eat our young.  (See OC drama llamas and folks that are in the game for the money causing more problems than they are fixing.)
• Overcoming hostile media propaganda and reach low-info voters is very difficult.
• Both sides have crazies, but ours can be scarier because they are armed.

grand slam

Challenge Coin

This is OldNFO's challenge coin.  It's a custom poker chip!  Neato.

I thought I had lost it, and there was no way I was going to admit that and ask for another one.  It was on my typewrite this whole time.  Along with 2 dollars.  Win.

Hey, 'Fo!  Where did you get this thing?  What's the outfit? 

On the obverse is his name and the fact he is retired Navy and left as a Lieutenant.  That means he is prior service.  A Mustang.  A sailor that joined the officer ranks.  It's a complicated ceremony involving blindfolds and paddles and lots of candles.  It's not easy turning a regular salt into a Gentleman.  It requires some magic.  The Darker Arts.

Or, he went in as an officer and somehow managed to stay in for 20+ years only get promoted twice.  Which in itself is a pretty neat trick.  To be that kind of a foul up and not get kicked out for that long. I tried that and the Navy noticed and sent me packing.  Two years. 

OldNFO is SO old that his phone number only has 6 digits.  Another neat trick.

I love this concept

And this quote.  Elegant in it's specificity and truth.  From Joe Huffman's blog, where I first saw it.

This is not a right granted by the Constitution. Neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence. The second amendment declares that it shall not be infringed.

By Chief Justice Morrison Waite in 1875.

 If the 2nd Amendment is somehow repealed, and repealed unanimously, that does not mean you no longer have a right to keep and bear arms.  The right transcends the Constitution and Bill of Rights.  It is Universal.  You have always had it and always well, unjust laws to the contrary be damned.  Just because a British citizen has been proscribed by law from owning and bearing a pistol in a lawful manner by the law of his nation that doesn't mean he has no right to.  He is just allowing the law to trample upon his rights. 

When we settle the issue once and for all, here, in the U.S. we need to push the issue to be recognized in the UN Charter so all humans rights to defend themselves are recognized.

I've talked on this before, but it never hurts to reinforce it.

Archie

If you want to know what my beer nights with Archie were like before his mind started going a couple years ago, they sounded like this.




Similar voice and accent. But Archie was car bodies, and WWII, and dealerships, and Archery, and NW DC, and boating. Not Baltimore, and writing, and publishing, and whatnot.

CCW Fashion Trends

First folks started to find that Kydex wasn't the devil and started accepting hybrid holster instead of all leather.  The was years ago.

A coupla years back, I notice SayUncle, and then others, go from calibers that began with a .4 to 9mm.  The idea was more is better than less ammo in a gun fight.  And 2 hits with a 9mm is better than 1 hit with a .45.  And you might as well, post 2004, when magazine size limitations were in the rear view mirror.  If you aren't restricted to 10 or less, might as well go for quantity and it is easier to get quantity with 9mm than .45.  Plus, pistols are pistols.  If you want a qauntum increase in round effectiveness, switch to a rifle.  9mm is also easier to control, obviously, so shot placement is better for shot #2.

Anyhoo, 1911s in leather IWB holsters give way to M&P 9mm in kydex IWB holsters.

Now, the SayUncle bellweather has notice a new fashion trend.  Appendix carry.  With it's pluses and minuses.  It's faster, but there is a risk to the femoral artery.  Maybe this will stick, too.

And this doesn't count 'fashion' trends in history.  Like the 'Wonder 9' trend of the 80s that went away and then came back.  The .45 trend already mentioned.  6 o'clock IWB for a time, I believe, was a 'thing.' (Thank you Eddie Murphy's 'Axel Foley') The .380 pocket auto was huge for a while.  The post Miami shootout that got 10mm popular for a time, and then .40, and from that .357 Sig, and all 4 are fading now.  CCW doesn't go very far back beyond that, but I am sure there were other trends for various firearm and firearm accoutrement selection decisions before CCW was a thing.  Shoulder holster carry, I guess.

There were reasons, of course, for each trend swing, but not really HUGE ones.  It's just 'cuz,' kinda, really.  It's all in pursuit of making oneself a more effective shottist, but it's also splitting hairs to the point of being similar to the clothes fashion world.  I mean if the trend were to go back to 1911s folks wouldn't really be handicapping themselves.  Or even back to revolvers.  It just seems sort of fickle. 

Not a criticism, just an observation.

But I wonder what the next trend will be?

So, the well is dry

Got a lotta mileage out of the NRAAM for blog fodder.  It was a good time.  But I went in with easy to achieve goals.  Walk the floor once, meet new people.  Done and done.

If I go to one of these again I'm going to try to concentrate more on seminars. 

But now, I am bupkis again. 

An idea has been rolling around in my head.  But it hasn't fully gelled, and it's probably mere fantasy and totally an unworkable non-starter.

Democrats tend to be Leftist.  They are anti-gun.  They want to ban and confiscate firearms from a sizable proportion of the US public.  To ban guns they want a registry list.  There are a LOT of them.  And that pesky 2nd Amendment keeps getting in their way.

Also, heinous headline making mass shootings lately, while initially 'appearing' to the news media talking heads to be 'obviously' the work of a 'right-wing nutjob', after a little digging, if anything, the murderer tends to have leftist connections.

And, statistically speaking, very little of the shooting out there is right-wing on left-wing.  The majority of the killing is done by the left.  Statistically speaking.  Blue State on Blue State violence is the norm, sadly.

So...  My odd idea...  To make the perma-outrage left half of the country happy...  Amend the 2nd Amendment making it not apply to those murderous Leftists.  We already have registry lists of Democrat voters.  Order all of them to turn their guns in.  Or any other left of center political party. 

MILLIONS fewer gun owners!  Just like they want.   By their calculations, crime would go down, and it might.  If a Democrat needs protection they can always dial 911.  The freedom loving side of America will have a glut of surplus guns and ammo to perhaps buy up if they want.  It's win win!

If the Leftists then decide they made a horrible mistake, well, they can repeal the ban laws if they want.  It's just laws.  Not like it's a right that require Constitutional means to re-restore to them anymore.  At least for them it's not a right.  Right?

And if they decide that the ban on themselves worked so great that maybe now they can change things and make it apply to the right of center liberty loving half of the country and get a bun ban on them?  Come take those guns?  Well, they can certainly try to come and take them...

Lefty 1911

1911's are already left handed.  The mag release is perfect placed for the social finger, and the slide release is perfect for the index finger of you strong hand.

You don't to make em special at all. Except for that little nub of the slide release that sticks out for my other strong hand's index finger to hit in a thumbs forward grip.  Oh, and the thumb safety is on the wrong side.  But that's it!

If I got one of these fancy lefty 1911s I'd have to relearn everything.  Locking the slide back would be easier, empty, with no mag in place, but I'm never in a hurry doing that.

Necessary Evil

At the NRA convention I saw the Navigator, Russell Gackenbach, of the Necessary Evil.  A B-29.  The camera plane on the Hiroshima mission. 

The WWII veterans all look like how I remembered WWI veterans now. 

I visited Archie this past weekend at his new digs in a Hagerstown assisted living home.  He hates it.  The loss of control over his life.  He constantly talks of escaping, but then, where would he go?  He knows he can't. 

Getting old sucks.

Metrocon

"Anyway, the party at the Kevoians’ was full of great American spirits (and I’m not talking about the liquor). Afterward, Becky and one of her friends — female friends — were comparing their guns. Not their muscles, but their firearms. To see these two feminine ladies discussing the fine points of Glocks and so on was a hoot."

One of the nicest metrocons, Jay Nordlinger.  Old school, almost patrician republican, but conservative in the Buckleyite tradition.

And this visit has to be around the time frame of the NRAAM.  I don't remember him in the press room, if I missed him, what a shame.  I'd have like to chat with Mr. Nordlinger.

Guns are just a bit outside his experience I suspect.

S&W 640

I, like many, don't like the lock on post Clinton Era Smith and Wesson revolvers.

This dislike is mostly irrational.  Oh sure, folks worry about the lock engaging when you don't want it to.  But that is such a remote event.  It is ugly, yes.  And it does represent a time when S&W surrendered to the forces of darkness back in the 1990s.

Despite this irrationality, I still choose to avoid purchasing new S&W revolvers because of the 'zit' on the side of the gun.  It's just the way it is, upstairs, in T-Bolts brain. 

Smith and Wesson has emerged back into the light of the bad old Clinton gun banning days, yet still put that lock on the side of most of their wheelguns.  (I don't know what they were thinking.  Were they just going to be a handcuff manufacturing company?)

It's sorta like a Smart Gun.  It became a feasible option, so anti civil rights states like my own (for shame, Maryland) mandated them, for the most part.  Never give an inch.  I am willing to compromise with the anti-gun side.  But OUR side has been doing all the compromising.  We need decades of compromising from THEM before I will consider it a reasonable idea to give up some ground to them.

Anyway.  The lock on revolvers.  If S&W got rid of it, I'd buy more revolvers.  And at the NRAcon I noticed a brand new 640 (one of my favorite models) without a lock.  Ka-loo, ka-lay!  It also had tritium sights.  A plus.  AND is cut for moon clips.  Seems you can get it through their Pro Series section. A good development, I think.  Incremental improvement from S&W.  Good job.

If I ever get a 9mm, I've been more impressed with the M&P, too, of late, and would give it serious consideration.

So that's TWO new guns to add to my List of secondary or tertiary wants.

Gimped Chicken Wing

I know a woman that kinda wanted to go to the range with me, years ago, but begged off because she had a tendon thing in her forearm near her elbow.  Injured in a car accident, and has since had surgery,  But still not 100%.

I took my father to the range.  He had some slowness cocking a hammer as he had had surgery on the tendon for his thumbs.  They work ok, but still a little weak.  Pushing, like with the cylinder release was ok, but pulling was not 100%.

Alphecca's arthritis has been bothering him lately, and I bet I'll get arthritis soon enough.

James at Hellinahandbasket helps new shooters, including those with physical handicaps that restrict their ability to get the most out of just any firearm.  Though some potential pupils are a lost cause.

Obviously this will be highly situational, but what is a good gun to select when you are tender from the elbow down?  We can't all have the vise like hand grip of Jerry Miculek, though that would be ideal.

Breda's Bersa or JayG's Snubbie from Hell are hard on the hands, so that's out.  Something easy to grip, so the fatter double stacks are out.  I'm looking at YOUR product line, Sig...   Probably should avoid the really robust cartridges and get a fullish size gun to keep the recoil manageable for weaker shooting hands.  9mm striker fired items is probably the way to go if you find you can manipulate all the controls there at the gun shop display counter.  The XD slide spring is famous for being extra robust, so check that.  But I'd lean toward Glock or M&P.  Any platform I'm not considering?

Ohhh, rifles!  For home defense certainly.  That's a possibility.

Oooooo, Thumper!

Nifty!  A new Thumper! 

You take your AR10, swap it for this upper, and you can fire 300 grain .45 caliber bullets loaded out of a neck up .308 parent case.  They're calling the new round the .45 Raptor.  Better than the .458 SOCOM.  Now you can go hunting with your AR!  And really, you only need to swap out the barrel.  The bolt is the same.

Wait a minnit.... if I have an AR10, and want to go hunting, why am I not just go using the .308/7.62 round? Save money by not buying an upper.

I like the idea of this.  It's neat an all.  But that old Jeff Cooper quote comes to mind:  "What's it for?"

Odorless Gun Solvent

No really, it was!  Eviroclean FA, by Ogre Manufacturing

When you wear media creds you get buttonholed sometimes, but this booth was the nicest people.  Mom and Pop shop.

I know there are other near odorless solvents out there, but if you are shopping for some, you might want to try out stuff.

I do my cleaning in the basement.  Regular solvent doesn't seem that strong, but the little fumes I DO get can't be that good for me. 

Crud

My gunsmithing class scheduled for this weekend?  Postponed.  Poo!  Now I'm bummed.

Apparently, of the people that signed up, I am the only one that paid.  They need 5 folks in the class to justify it.  Totally understandable. 

Man it would have been nice to get a one on one instruction session.  I'd have paid double for that. 

I did pop for the Wilson ambidextrous safety, and installed it myself.  Just to see if I could.  And hey, it works.  And, hey, I can.  I didn't have the confidence last month to do that.  Initial function test dry firing is successful.  So in a way, the postponed class is good.  I get to take it to the range to test this change before the next class when more changes could happen.  I'd hate to try to diagnose a problem when 4 seperate things are different from the last working range trip.

It's different than the other ambi's out there.  A better link between the two halves with more surface area bearing on each other, and a catch on the 'right' side with the hammer pin instead of a little tab that goes under the grip panel.  That catch used to be a screw, but now is just a machined little 'nail head.'  Seems more fool proof.     

Mavrik Scram Pack

This was an intriguing backpack get up I saw at the NRAAM.   The Mavrik, from Red Rock.  But I can't find a link to this specific item anywhere.

That's it, exploded.  All zipped up it looks like a backpack.  Or a parachute.  And it has a hip belt.

Sort of the ultimate Go-Bag, with everything super easy to find.  Organize everything in the customizable pockets with the only thing 'loose' being a thin jacket or summat.  Socks, undies, gloves, and poncho could be in one of the pockets.  Very good for accessing your first aid stuff you might need in a hurry.

It's customizable.  All those little pouches are attached by velcro.  So one of those pouches can be a mini-Go-Bag if the small backpack proves too bulky somehow.

If you are allowed to carry in your office, this would nice in case of an active shooter.  Put a trauma plate in the bigger pouch and switch the pack around to the front.  That way, you can have your hand on your pistol in case you run into a bad guy and need to defend yourself quicklike.  But when you get out of the building and encounter law enforcement, you can raise your empty hands and not be shot my nervous cops that see a gun carrier come running out. 

NRA going SoCon

I don't mind the NRA expanding their scope some.  Some.  I don't think it wise for the phrase "ONLY in the case of rape or incest," or any non-firearm related foreign policy angle bullet point, should ever come up at a NRAAM.  Too far.  But to be a more overt Bill of Right absolutist organization won't detract from its success, in my opinion.  But it must MUST count to 10 like:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Brass Catcher

 THIS was a neat little gun range accessory at the convention.  The Ammo-Up brass hooverer-upper.  Sure beats a broom and dust pan or a squeegee, like I've seen at all the indoor ranges I've been to.  If I owned a range THIS is what I'd use.  

Little fingers on the drum grab brass and dump them in its bin as it rolls along the floor.  They were constantly demonstrating it on the carpet in their booth and it seemed to work flawlessly.  They also had a version for shotgun shells.  I don't think it would work as well on grass, and I wondered how soon it would be before the finger wore out and stopped picking up stuff as well, but if it lasts a good while it should be at every range that can use it.

Starts at $495.

Metrocon Report

Charles Cooke comments on the frustration of folks in hostile-to-rights states at the unwillingness of the Supreme Court to resolve a split Circuit on the idea of bearing arms outside the home.

Good for Cali, Hawaii, and Illinois, not so good for Jersey, Connecticut, and Maryland.  With patience and luck, maybe someday soon.

A New Rifle

Someone new is adding their voice to the 'we need a new weapon' debate.

American Soldiers Deserve a Better Weapon.

He thinks the M4 is inadequate, and the M16 the Marines use is better, but still not good enough.  And all the programs to upgrade the platform have been wasteful and unserious.  And that Robert McNamara is at fault with saddling us with the anemic cartridge and rifle.  He really hates McNamara, but who doesn't?

Welcome to the party pal.  The guniverse has been rehashing this since the internet got up and going.  Before that, as I'm sure he knows, the military has been doing the same thing since LBJ.  And there are big time gunbloggers participating in the discussion thread. 


We've been over this.  Yeah, the AR class has its drawbacks.  There are tradeoffs with everything.  But what do you replace it with?  Hard to see a way forward.  A way that justifies a switchover. If we went to an all 7.62 force, folks would worry about weight.  And if we went to some 6.5mm alternative, overcoming the current inertia would be formidable for arguably marginal gains. 

I can't wait for his followup article.  Maybe he has a new idea. 

And Colonel Kratman has Sinatra-blue eyes.  Better than that Farrow kid with the fake blues on MSNBC. 

Gunbox

Speaking of gun safes, from last Friday...

I got butthonholed by the people at GunBox at the NRA Convention.  It's a single pistol storage solution with some interesting features.

First, it doesn't LOOK like gun safe.  It could be a room de-ionizer.  Or a weird charging station.  It has 2 usb ports in the back you can use to power your iPad or other devices. 

You can screw it down to something, of course.

And it is a biometric device.  Now I know what you are saying.  Biometrics can be finicky, true. But it stores 100 different 'fingerprints'.  I would do that for 100 people, but I would do all my fingers, the pads of my hands, my palms... Any possible thing I might put on the safe in the dark to open it, and it doesn't matter if you put the print on sideways or upside down.  It alarms when a unrecognized user attempt to access it or jiggle the safe.  It also opens with the accompanying RFID wrist strap or finger ring. 

Starts at $300.  The GPS tracker model adds to the price.

It's an intriguing hide-in-plain-sight solution if you have kids in the house.

--------

Speaking of gunsafes...  When I started blogging, the convnetional wisdom was that a electronic combo was the more secure option over the old style dial/mechanical combination lock.  There have been too many failures with electronic locks and too many known ways to hack them for my taste.  If I buy a BIG ol' 500 pounder someday as my primary safe, I'd get the dial-combo lock.

Who says 'Reloading'?

In a gun fight, and now needs to cut it out?

Do folks doing race-gun stuff actually do that?  Unless there is something going on there I don't know about CCW folks usually train, and compete, singly, most of the time. 

So that leaves cops and soldiers.  People at a shootout with other people on their side.  And, yes, that seems to be the target audience for that site.  Police.

So, let me understand...  You, police officer, shoot 12+ shots at the bad guys.  You partner has shot or is shooting 12+ rounds at the bad guy, and shouting 'Reloading!' gives away too much tactically?  Or, you, solo cop, trained to shout it, do it automatically as part of your conditioning when all by your lonesome.

I may be off base, but this sounds like the fear the bad guy CHICOMS in Korea would hear your Garand clip PING.  With all that shooting, it's a wonder you'd hear anything.  My gut says this is a mythical event.

But it certainly wouldn't hurt not shouting it.  Just like it wouldn't have hurt if Garand clips were silent.  Just in case and all.  Not to ingrain any conditioned response of that nature into your regimen.  Like cops that look around for the brass can to dump their revolver's spent casings, just like they had to do in training.

Thin Guns, Short Guns

I prefer the 1911 because it is thin.  One of many reasons, but that's a big one.  But I like to keep my options open and look around.  Double stacks just feel annoying in a IWB holster.  Wouldn't be a problem with a duty belt.  One thing about the Open Carry fans, OC is a lot more comfy.

This is the first XDs I've seen and handled.  And I've liked how XD regulars have shot for me in the past compared to other plastic guns.

The grip is a bit short.  But it is thin.  Luckily it was next the 1911 Springfield display.

Squared off at the front a bit on that XD, huh?  I wonder if a melt job would be something you'd want to do with an XD?  Naw.  Just don't carry it felony style. 


I like short guns, too.  Full size grips, but shorter barrels.  I used to be on a Commander size kick but there are fewer options out there for me there.  And you definitely need to keep on top of a Commander's recoil spring.  Why short guns in the IWB?  The 3/4 of an inch saves me from extra pressure on my sciatic nerve.  Anyhoo, my predilections toward shorter barreled pistols, plus my childhood worship of the .357 cartridge that still tickles the back of my mind, had me absolutely gaga over the Coonan in a Commander Size pistol.  Bigger brother present for scale.

Ain't you never heard of the Sullivan Act

"Oh, don't worry officer, we're married."

What is the oldest anti-gun law that applied to citizens of the United States of America?  I'm not counting that little dust up that lead to Lexington and Concord.  We were Brit Colonials then.  The Sullivan Act?

Well, actually, I think the Black Codes predate the Sullivan Act by decades.  So let's say 1870s.  It always comes back to keeping the black man down, doesn't it?  And this is legit, not like the made up 'micro-aggression' fad on our ivy coveredThere were restrictions on blacks before that, but there were much worse violations happening, too, that being able to strap on a hogleg and walk about unmolested was near the least of black people's worries.

Sure there were CCW restrictions before that.  But that was more social convention.  People feared nefarious intent, concealed but thought nothing of a seen firearm.  Nowadays people fear the deodand object and CCW is more socially 'proper'.  Out of sight, out of mind, for people with hoplophobia.  That why the "Open Carry, yes or no?" is better answered with a "Depends on where you live, and what folks around there are like."

Anyway.

I wonder if the country would have overlooked the civil rights implications of firearm ownership in the Civil Rights Act of the 1964 if the president hadn't been murdered by a milsurp rifle a year before.

The issue could have been solved back then, before I was born, and there would have been no need for a pro freedom movement now to right some wrongs.  For all citizens.  Here.  I am less concerned about the human rights plight of a Parisian, say, at this time.  We can push for a '2nd Amendment' in the UN charter after it is actually inviolate here at home.  Until then.

Mo' Gunsmithing

Uh oh.  I spoke too soon. 

The tool list for the Intermediate 1911 Armorers class next weekend includes a Dremel.  Now I am a little intimidated.  I had a 1990 vintage Dremel for a while, but the bearings were shot on it before I got into the whole gunnie bidness.

I'm a handtool enthusiast for most things, but I am no purist.  While I do have a hand cranked post drill in my shop, the Delta floor model drill press has it's place and I probably use it more.  I have as many types of antique handsaws as I have firearms.  Probably more.  But the bandsaw is there, too. 

I wonder if I could rig up a velocipede style 15,000 rpm dremel-type tool...?  Nah.  But this will be my first battery operated tool I own.  Only getting rechargeable because of the class.

Listen to Jeff

Smart guns are dumb.

To paraphrase my father, "I'd rather see your sister in a whorehouse than a smart gun in you gunsafe."  Then he beat me bloody with a sjambok.  That was 9th birthday.

And that used to be my local gunstore, until it moved to Rockville.  Not like Ted to do something like that.  Offer a product proven controversial with gun customers.  He was the owner once, Ted.  Looks like he has a partner now named Andy.  Maybe Ted is getting out of the biz. 

What do I consider a local gunstore?  One I like and is on the way home from work.  Instead of a store 2 miles from home the 'local' is 2 miles from work.

gun vault

I saw this new gun vault at the GunVault booth at the NRAcon.  Well, new to me.  First I'd seen it.  They call it the AR Safe.  It can hold 2 longish guns and a pistol on the shelf.

It's only 9 inches across the front.  A good size for what I want.

You see, my current safe is a bit over full.  It's also in the armory section of my backyard fallout-shelter/bunker.  If I get the AR Safe, I could put it somewhere obvious, let the burglar take that, and he won't nose around looking for the secret tunnel to the Bolt-Bunker.  Que?   I'd put easily replaceable stuff in there, clearly.  Prices start at $500.

Magpul's booth

I loved the Magpul buses at the NRAcon.  Retro, both.  Both regular and hippy-VW kind.  And able to defend themselves.

There were booth babes at the convention, but that is cheesecake and I am not really a fan.  I didn't get a good picture of Magpul's booth babe but she was different from the others.  You can catch her in the bottom of 3 pics to the left of the rear of the bus.  Retro stewardess or cigarette girl outfit, rust colored get up, with a pill box hat and white gloves and handing out swag from a cigarette girl tray.  Retro, stylish, and classic.  It was a refreshing touch.  Shoulda got a posed pic.