MAN it was crowded. People off work because Christmas break. People taking out their new toy? Well only if they had bought it, for themselves, a week or more before Christmas.
And, I didn't suck. Oh sure, you can see me getting fatigued as I progress to the bottom right. ANd just when I think I'll have a really good single target with 14 or more good shots in it, a flinchy comes up and bites me in the ass, but... Not shabby. The usual flaw. Which is much better than my usual flaw 3 years ago.
No Malfunctions. 78 American Eagle, 8 yards. 591 rounds through the gun. Had been 22 days since I was last at the range.
“What I don’t understand is how some politicians can consider the
National Rifle Association’s dollars more important than our kids’
lives.” -Sen Duckworth
THe Federalist is right. She has short circuited debate with an emotional appeal that is also factually wrong. That is awful, and in a just world you would never be allowed near the levers of power because of your demogoguery.
"Contact your representative in congress to opposed this gun control measure."
Can't.
It's this guy.
He replaced the guy that ran, and is currently, my Senator. Chris Van Hollen. My other Senator is Bed Cardin.
Who knows what their official ratings are. The NRA makes it hard to find that on their website without giving them your contact info or paying them. But I am sure that is 3 F's.
The thieves wouldn't surrender, but the honest citizens shot out two tires. The bad guys were apprehended down the block because they had two flats.
The gun owners, presumably 'law abiding' CCW holders, disappeared into the woodwork. Cops would like them to come forward.
First, I'd recommend NOT coming forward.
Second, I am little hinky about confronting criminals of my own volition. Moreso about discharging a firearm in public because of a situation they put themselves in. Which is why the quotes around 'law abiding'. They sorta aren't anymore, now, are they?
Shooting near someone to defend property isn't really what CCW is for. Property crime is taken care of by police and insurance companies. That's one side. The other is the bad guys are violating society's rules and disrupting the community with their property felony. Who knows where they escalate from there. Now that community has a reputation about stopping criminals in the act. Not a bad reputation to have. If nothing happens to the gun wielders.
Thank goodness no one was truly injured. Including probably the guy that stood in front of the car with a weapon drawn and rolled on the hood in the excitement.
If someone had been hurt then they should stand by and take the responsibility and the consequences. Now? I wouldn't trust the local authorities not to jack all six of the vigilantes up. So, keep yer heads down self-appointed Batmans. It might be good that you did that, but probably not, and try not to do it again. Prolly lose your CCWs just to make an example of you. Might lose your gun rights forever. If they catch you.
Oh, defend you and yours from harm with every means at your disposal. Let the tools of your hardware store owning buddy go. No one will starve to death if you do.
I like the idea of not locking up people you don't have to lock up. Makes room for the truly dangerous violent and incorriblible criminals to stay in prison, but...
Crime peaked in the early 90s. And went downhill from there until very recently. Cutting the cops off at the knees and provided an incentive for the cops not to be as diligent. So there is a crime rate uptick.
Yeah. And the early 90s were a time of extra incarceration, so crime may have gone down because there was fewer felons in public circulation.
"But they were putting innocent guys in jail!" Yeah, I'm with you there. Don't do that.
"But they were putting guys in jail for just a little weed!" Yeah, maybe weed guy was a very violent felon, but the easiest thing to convict him on was for the pound of weed they found on him? Did guys go to prison for 30 years ONLY for a J hidden in his hat band? We shall see, I guess. If crime rates stay low or lowish, I'll be glad to eat crow. That'd be great. I'll ask for seconds.
We got a king, of Bohemia, it turns out. He notices on a winter's day a subject toiling. He wants to do something nice. He asks a servant if he knows where the man lived. The servant knows his house. Provisions are gathered and off the two go. The slight Page struggles a bit to keep up with the hale king and the king gives him a suggestion to make the trek easier on him. The suggestion works. A feast is delivered to the Peasant and a good deed is done, on the day after Christmas.
That's the story. Of the song.
The Peasant lives 3 miles away, nearer to the mountain and his house is butted up against the forest. yet there he is, gathering firewood and hour from home when his back yard has trees in it. Did he have business in town, and figured he might as well schlep some wood on his trip back? Multi-task a bit. Or was he just trying to look natural to distract from his actual agenda. Plotting an assassination, or planting an infernal device to rid the land of a bier swilling tyrant.
Page knew where he lived? Shoulda kept his mouth shut about. I bet this isn't the first goat rope that king dragged that young man into. "I know not where he dwells, Sire." All he had to say and he could have stayed in the castle safe and warm instead of being forced to brave a raging blizzard at night with a madman do-gooder. I'm sure he didn't get time and a half for that.
And pine boughs? I guess if there is nothing else pine will burn just fine. But it's not my first choice for firewood after you got it started. What grows in the Czech Republic 1000 years ago? No oak? Maybe hardwood is too dear to burn if you can help it, as it is needed for other things. Like charcoal for industry.
His servant flags, near death, in the storm, and Wenceslas doesn't go 'hey, lemme carry part of that heavy burden, as you are just an undernourished boy, unaccustomed to toiling outside in the blow.' What he does do, which isn't half bad is give his lowly Page leave to overlook protocol, which would have the boy to the side and slightly behind his liege. Instead, the kid could walk single file behind the king, ingnoring such etiquette concerns, and walk in the kings footstep. This way the sand people hide their numbers. Also, this way the king trudges through the drifts and the Page's walk is easier, staving off his exhaustion. Perhaps also serving as a wind break for the lad.
We don't hear what happens on the long walk back, after the king and Page and loagy from eating and swilling. It was hard to get there, now they are drunk and even more susceptible to hypothermia in the dark. No one knew they were heading out, the castle would be in an uproar in the moring. How do I know? More senior servants wouldn't have let the king sally forth without greater assistance. That's just not done. And we already established that Peasant was acting in dubious manner. Maybe he fell on the king and dragged him into the forest and stuff his corpse in some crevass. Prolly taint St Agnes' Fountain as he decomposes. Maybe the Page was in on it. It was a conspiracy. Or the Peasant was threatening the Page's family, and he was compelled to deliver the Wenceslas to the murder-hut.
Or maybe it was all as reported. A hard working but poor Peasant and his family got to sup with his ruler on a cold winter night. What a Joy. He who would bless the poor will in turn find blessings. And not one Krampus is sight.
Other conspiracies would play out, but not this one, with the murder hut at the forest fence. And perhaps that Page would be the one that tries to avenge his lord after foul betrayal on some September day.
Yes, cops are trained to handle firearms. And some of them keep at the training and are really quite good shooters. Better than I will ever be.
But the run of the mill cops aren't trained any more than you, dear reader, or our associates that might shoot a box a year. Some cops make safety mistakes.
Summed up: Cop party on the 15th. Sounds like an after work holiday get together. 11 officers there. A gun show-and-tell. Maybe some individuals present were unfamiliar with the model? I could see that. Maybe alcohol was served at this private cop party? I can't imagine that, cops are notorious teetotallers on AND off duty. Right? Back to the facts. Negligent discharge. Sounds like the cop handling it punched a hole in his hand and the bullet went on to struck another's leg. Happens. Even to cops. Maybe expecially with cops as they have that Blue Attitude. You know what I mean. Many of them are on the Dunning Kreuger spectrum with firearms and I've seen many LEO's act a bit more cavalierly around guns compared to other gunnies. Remember that cop on video that shot a hole through his hand and it turns out he'd done the same thing 20 years earlier? I can't find that video but I did find another.
All 11 went on suspension since the incident. Now 8 of those are back on duty.
(I am picturing myself as a cop at this party. I bet I'd be in the John taking care of personal business dropping off kids at the pool, so to speak. Then: LOUD NOISE. Obviously I am not involved, I was in the can. But now I get a paid vacation for a whole week!)
Last week, when Trump was gonna sign a continuing resolution pushing the fight to February, the Feds declared Monday to be an official holiday. Tuesday is Christmas. And the shut down didn't happen until after work on Friday. Next to nothing happens in the Federal government (except sometime the now-fully-funded military) on a weekend. Less happens on holidays. Essential personnel, what few there are, report to the Department of Commerce as usual, so if a pipe bursts someone is there to shut off the water.
Talk of riots and massive fires in DC is fiction. Locals with relatives in from out of town they were going to entertain by dragging them to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, well, they will have to think of something.
But the partial shut down doesn't REALLY start til about 7AM Wednesday, the 26th.
I say 7AM because with their faults as inefficient putterers when it comes to their job, Federal workers do like to get in early. More than average. You avoid some traffic and have more time in the afternoon for personal stuff.
So that is when their extended holiday starts.
They were to be paid on Friday the 28th. (ed: they still will be, the machine for that direct deposit can't be stopped now.) If the government is still closed then they might not be. That'd be the first real hardship. For what they do, gummint workers are decently paid. If they don't have some money set aside for shutdowns then that is on them. And it's not like they won't be paid eventually. For not working. That money might be delayed, is all. Never in my lifetime has a shutdown caused a federal worker to lose a dime of pay. Next payday: 11th January.
No the people that set up a food truck next to a government campus, THEY will lose some money, yes.
But don't feel bad for the civil servants. Well, some civil servants. More than half of them aren't impacted at all.
And TSA screeners are essential personnel. FAA is funded. That's the flight controllers. If someone tells you your flight will be delayed because of the shutdown, they are wrong. Or the screeners are conducting shennanigans.
----
Addition. Oh, Federal Contractors might get hosed over, individually, if the shutdown is long. Depending on their company.
I assume the crime he plead to, 3rd degree assault, is not a felony in Colorado? No, it is a misdemeanor, so is the sentence of probation doesn't count as jail time presumably the FBI agent can keep that gun.
So, maybe you would get off as light. Who do you work for? Do they have any sympathy with the court like the FBI might?
---
In other news, the gun appeared to be drop safe it that situation, just not finger-on-trigger safe.
They are mostly done by Millennials. After the Luby's massacre there was a quiet period... Until Columbine. The Spree killers since those early Millennials were all the same cohort, except for some exceptions. I count Millennials as anyone born between Reagan getting shot and the Twin Towers collapsing. Columbine to Virginia Tech to New Town to Parkland. The Aurora theater shooter, the guy that shot Rep Giffords and others. Pretty young when they do it, too.
I don't count the Ft Hood shooter, because that was all War on Terrism stuff. He was born in 1970.
The Vegas Bump Stock fellow was old. Had a lot more resources than any Millennial. 1953. A Baby Boomer.
And the Anti-Semite in Pittsburgh was older, too. 1972
But the other were all young folks. I guess we have to see if the peeps born since 2001 will take up the mantle of evil and go on killing sprees.
I mentioned Luby's, and there was the McDonalds massacre in the 80s, too. And the Texas Tower in the 60s. Those were done by Baby Boomers. Born betweeen Hiroshima and Kennedy getting one to the dome.
But Gen X seems pretty chill. Except for a few hatemongers, like the above and McVeigh. And they were adults. Fully grown when they did their evil deed. It was on them, not the way they were misraised and not fully formed. The South Carolina hatemonger/murderer was pretty young his ownself. Obviously, something was wrong. Morally and mentally. In all these people.
It's just interesting. Be nice to get to the bottom of the commonality, especially if Generation Z keeps on the same path.
Is it something in the water, frustose, soy milk, aspartame? Too much helicopter parenting? Not enough church? Not enough mental health attention? TOO MUCH mental health attention and subsequent over-prescription of psycotropics? Not enough lead in the air? Porn and Video Games?
And if we fix it by adjusting one of the above, and cut back the young people going on murder rampages, do we then get higher violent crime rates, but more retail instead of wholesale, like we had in the 70s 80s and 90s?
Anyway.
GP That’s because we GenXers are awesome, Doc. Hippie Boomers and Millennials? Crap.
"I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do." R. A. Heinlein.
Yeah, THIS is why I prefer to CCW instead of Open Carry.
Now if I was with a dozen other gunnies all OCing, I might reconsider. But that scenario rarely happens, But it might deter folks like the knucklehead.
When you compromise, you are supposed to get something in return. Now, as a trade item I was ALL for compromising away bump stocks. But we've been one-side compromising for decade. I want my cake back. A start would have been Reciprocity and Hearing Protection Act. We deserve more, but that'd be a start.
Now, we got nothing. And I am pissed.
"But Gorsuch and Kavanaugh!" Maybe we did get something. It's a pig in a poke at this point. Time will tell, but we wanted something concrete in return.
Because it surely means the opposite. And the forces of good and civil rights are about to surge forward with many successes.
There types of Lefty prognostications are invariably the inverse of reality.
And really.... it's E. J. Dionne, fer cripes sake. If he predicted the sun would rise tomorrow I'd be worried we'd enter an age of darkness.
"So please open your mind to this:
Taken together, the events of 2016 and the results of the 2018 election
will be remembered as the beginning of the end of the gun lobby’s power.
Supporters
of reasonable gun regulation have been so cowed by National Rifle
Association propaganda over the past quarter-century that we are
reluctant even to imagine such a thing."
Buddy at work got himself an FN .45. (Bought it at the PX?) He is kinda new to shooting and is worried about gun safety. He likes the decocker feature. He wished his S&W M&P had a way to decock the hammer.
I told him the good news. The Smith doesn't HAVE a hammer! Ta-da!
He was doing show and tell with an older inlaw that had spent 30 years in the Royal Navy. Before handing it to the Faulklands vet he un-magazined it and checked the chamber to be sure it was empty.
And good thing, too.
Just because you are a 30 year military veteran doesn't mean you won't muzzle every thing you can see in a matter of 2 seconds. So a training timeout was called and the two went over the safety brief together one more time for the first time.
I mean, I am sure their are plenty of longtime .mil folks that haven't even touched a pistol. Especially things like Snipes, which this guy was. Or, if you had, you were in the British service where gun safety consciousness and culture might be different.
----
And here is a former 5-Star pointing a revolver RIGHT at another's guy's belly. 60 years ago or so. At least he has the cylinder swung out, so, safe enough, if not best practices
Oh fer... Look at the date. A week before the inauguration. So it was a study done with the over-long Obama economic malaise. 8 years of feet dragging and managing the decline. It might be different now that they've had a chance to catch up in a halfway decent economy. They'll be alright if we don't hamstring ourselves again at the next economic downturn, and extend it overlong.
All that? I've held that our majority on SCOTUS is decent but not really all that, even with Kavanaugh, and we really need to pick the Breyer and Ginsberg replacements, but it's not all bad. The Senate is GOP controlled and still ostensibly pro-gun. Same with the Whitehouse. I mean the Deep State has strong hooks, but...
Do you think they can really force by the House to go full confiscation THIS next year?
Oh, they are talking state efforts. Like in New Jersey with magazine limits dropping to 4, max. And they think they have momentum in Washington State to keep the gun control rolling from last session, and maybe they can start making some inroads in Florida.
To tell you the truth about Maryland.. The state may be ruled by Dems and only a liberal Repblican can get elected governor and he is squishy on gun rights especially when faced with veto proof bills but... They don't really have much appetite to push gun control in this state out of the clear blue sky. You'd need a tragedy to get a lotta gumption. Oh, they'll put up stuff half heartedly, but it doesn't often come to much. Not that I like any of it.
And, oddly, a whole lot of New York state isn't going along with the governor's signature Safe Act, so Elmira will have to wait until some Long Island police make their way up there to get a chance to get confiscated.
So we'll have to wait til Chuck is majority leader and Alexandra Occaisional-Cortex is inaugurated in 2021 as the youngest president at 32 years old to get the Federal level gun confiscations.
Got the letter in the mail. I expire in February 2019. There was a scare last time that they might not renew.
Let's see what it says.
Ah HA!
Simple renewal. $25 for non resident. If you do it online it;s $25.75. I have to send them a picture of my home state's CCW permit IF my home state honors the Utah permit. Maryland does not.
Heh. Maryland could start to honor Utah resident permits... That would really be a wooden shoe in the millworks for folks like me.
I also need to take a digital picture of myself. Easy Peasy. Every smartphone in the world can do one up good enough. I really should get one of them phone thingies...
Yeah, but he DOES insult other people. A few times. Initiates the insults. So much for not doing that to other people. And if I pointed that out to him he'd have been mad and may have shot me.
Agreed. The NAACP is right to call the NRA to account. This isn't 'wait til all the facts are known on this case before the law.' This is core principles. And about some cases that are fully adjudicated and part of history and a distinct pattern.
SAY something NRA. Even if it's a weaselly, "We disapprove of cops shooting folks of any ethnicity that don't need to be shot."
I know you have been working long and hard behind the scenes to get the general police population on the same side as the Second Amendment. I remember the late 70s and early 80s when cops said on the news we shouldn't shoot back and take the law into our own hands. And I remember in the 90s when it was only the upper echelons of law enforcement that pushed such dribble, and now when only some big city police commissioners spout it. I understand. It is great that cops are generally on our side.
But that's not mutually exclusive.
But say something. There is a trend at this point. The NRA can gain
valuable new friends without alienating old allies. Cops don't like
shooting people that don't need shooting, and don't like it when other
cops do it either.
Wait, I'm the NRA! Like the old magazine ads said. I'm the NRA.
"We disapprove of cops shooting folks of any ethnicity that don't need to be shot."
But say something, NRA. There is a trend at this point. You don't have to come out like Wayne LaPierre is the reincarnation of Malcolm X. The NRA can gain valuable new friends without alienating old allies. And you know what about them allies? Cops don't like shooting people that don't need shooting, and don't like it when other cops do it either.
---
Note: I'm not fan of the NAACP. Their left lean on many issues unrelated to their core mission is not palatable, and this complaint about the NRA is probably in the service of the leftist causes rather than the NAACP cause. But taken alone, they are right, either way. The NRA dropped a ball they did not have to drop, and can still pick up without humiliating themselves. It's all I'm saying.
You can even say I'm selfish. I don't want the cops to air me out because I KNOW I will never need shooting. If cops are trained better in not shooting black good guys they'll also be better trained at not shooting T-Bolts. So just blame it on that.
To come up with the common sense solution normal people come around on in 9 days after the Parkland school shooting.
Victim disarmament zones need diverse armed security, or it is just a feed lot for predators. Not just one security peep. That one could fail. And he can't be everywhere.
And for next year, when Nancy sends you a NICS check requirement on every gun transfer, add an Amendment that it can't cost more than $25, can't have any serial numbers associated with the check, and can't be delayed beyond the seven days. Oh, and the transferees can change their mind about the transfer after the NICS check is complete, and are only out the check fee.
The Dems will balk at this, then you ask them "I thought you wanted a background check? Is it something ELSE you wanted, because this is a background check that even some gun owners will get behind."
We joke about where do the anti-gunners go for fun? "No-Guns Shows"?
I thought I could make something of this American Thinker article, but I can't find the angle to comment on. It's just how the banners manipulate gun stats to argue their case, while our side is all sunshine in every corner, relying on the truth, with nothing to hide.
Wait, do we have anything to hide? Any inconvenient fact with hide away? Does the NFA machine gun ban save lives? Dunno about that one. We'd have to repeal it for a few decades and note what happens.
Ya know, this is a very mild cold. If you are gonna be sick this year, I recommend it. Just a little bit of stuffiness No real sore throat to speak of yet. Very little coughing. Some sneezing. No achiness, really. My finger joints, mebbe. Not a smidge of temperature.
The only thing wrong with it is the fatigue and ennui. I wanna sleep for 10 hours. Then, when I wake, go back to sleep because 10 hours of sleep is exhausting work. Making me less blog productive.
I guess someone saw something and said something and the police came and took him away. That's the way it's supposed to work.
Look at this guy:
Doesn't look like a typical ISIS supporter. Looks more like a typical pod-eating loser. And he is 21. So. Millennial. I guess it is only now that we will start seeing outrages by the next generation, Gen Z or whatever they end up being called.
Obviously, he is not a fan of the Jewish faith. Also, "He had also expressed hatred for gays, Christians, Catholics, and Jews."
No hatred for black people? I guess that is a tiny step in the right direction when the murderous crank hate-mongers don't include African Americans in their target cohort.
Maybe a Muslim convert. Not too long of one because he hadn't changed his name. Whatever. I hope he likes the taste of prison food.
All round Algore's interwebz. Most folks make fun of the cops spreading out $75 like it is a fortune.
But let's look more closely at the firearms from this big bust!
First of all, Winchester steel cased ammo. Yup, all this operation's money is tied up in the weed and Glad ziplock baggies. Oh, and scales. Two decent scales cost money.
Looks like a smaller Glock on the right with some after market light/laser (see? Still NEW Jovian Thundbolt. A true gun geek would know the gun model number and the brand of clip on laser.) I only say Glock because of the little tiny take down thingies. On the left, I guess Ruger LCP II? LC9? Though I am not married to either of those choices.
And the mags.
Ok, a single mag for the littler gun, and the two mags that came with the Glock and... what the heck is that on the right, number 4? Did someone have a Hipoint with an orange follower in the magazine then lost the rest of the gun? Is it... for a .45? Maybe it is another type of pipe for smoking the Lucifer's Lettuce. I dunno, I'm not a pothead.
When a bad guy kills somebody, the Mainstream Media tends to blame the gun. Especially if it in an AR. Or Assault Weapon. They rarely blame the evil triggerman Somehow the gun is at fault.
It reminds me of 30 years ago, when SUVs were first becoming a 'thing'. They were popular. You had the roominess of a full size car from 1955 again!
But when an SUV was involved in a fatal crash or struck a pedestrian the press inevitably blamed the SUV. "An SUV ran over a little old lady in a crosswalk." If a Honda Civic killed that little old lady they'd say motorist. Or maybe find out if the motorist had had a beer, then it would be a Drunk Driver.
Woe betide the Jeep Cherokee driver that clipped a pedestrian after consuming one whole 12 ouce beer.
That characterization of SUVs didn't 'take' as well as blaming an Assault Weapon, but they both came from about the same time in media history. By my lights.
It's the gun's fault. Not the killer's fault.
It's only very recently that the other side has been forced to give ground by firearm wielders using their weapon for self defense. But it's still an uphill PR battle.
A MAJOR world event that had a HUGE impact on the late president's entire life was the attack on Pearl Harbor. It sent in motion the arc of his young life. He was 17 and a half.
How fitting that the final duty regarding his long life finally concluded on the morning of the anniversary of that fateful day.
Things I learned this time. Trying to increase your speed is good, but don't forget the fundamentals. I let the 3rd part get away from me recently.
The three parts?
Relax
Front Sight
Make trigger go good.
Not just "my finger knows the way, just like my horse knows how to get home when I have gone on a bender at the saloon." Know. You still have to think on it.
By the third mag I could feel myself tightening up. The fourth, I went a bit faster, and the group drifted more right. Fifth, less fast, still tightish, still right. Tired. After the sixth, I called it. Went home.
I have no idea how I would have the stamina for a long long live fire session with a 500 round count. But I'd only go to a 500 round count class if it was highly regarded by gunnies I trust.
43 rounds of American Eagle, no malfunctions, 513 fired since I built this gun.
Now I really need to find a way to fix my heel to the right.
"Hey, T-Bolt, riddle me this. How come you don't shoot the bottom two targets on these papers you show? Seems like you aren't getting your full money's worth out of the thing."
Well, many readers already know the answer to this.
It's because I am courteous.
I am over 6 feet tall. If I shoot those targets at the usual 25 foot line they are definitely hitting the floor.
Now plenty of other people hit the floor. And this range isn't a stickler about it. Not like the NRA range is. But they don't WANT people damaging the floor any more than they want people shooting the ceiling or target trolley or shooting table.
I'm not really helping them out. But I am not hurting them either, if I can help it. It's the polite thing to do.
Like squeegeeing up your brass when you are done shooting.
And sometime I get to shoot at those when I send the target further down.
So you joined the military and your home of record is in a low income tax state like Texas or Florida. This is perfectly fine, and lots of military peeps keep the same home of record throughout their career. My brother's is Pennsylvania. Most guys with me in the Navy made Texas their 'home'. You just need a mail drop so you can get your tax forms from the IRS and your absentee ballot, and have a place to put on your Driver's License from there.
But that's not important. What is important is how do you buy a gun in Maryland when your home of record is in Texas? (And you don't want to drive to Texas and back.) You transfer a gun in and the gun store FFL here is gonna want to see a Maryland DL. Usually.
Well there are lots of ways. One way that opened up recently is through you PX.
Yes, the Post Exchange on base. A federal installation. With quite strict gun regulations its ownself.
But wait, do you have to adhere to Maryland law when getting your gun on base? Sorta. I know they won't let you have a magazine that holds more than 10 rounds if you buy from a PX in a Maryland military base. That's not a federal law, it's a state one. But you don't need Maryland HQL, or permit-to-purchase. You have to prove you are a Texas resident, but live in Maryland to get it at the Maryland PX. An electric bill is not good enough. A fishing license is. Just, odd. Some Maryland laws apply, some do not. And this varies, state to state, and inside the state.
Thinking of selling some odds and ends. Like a 1970s era plated Commander. Not enough meat on the rails to rebuild it, but it might be the bees knees for someone else.
Heh. I have 3 custom 1911s. What the hell happened to me? But once you have custom 1911s in plentiful quantities, ordinary ones with no other sentimental or historical/collector value seem sorta surplus to requirements.
"Ever think about a 4th, T-Bolt?"
You know, now that you mention it. I have a threaded barrel. I have an unworked frame with my name on it (002) and I have a lotta high end parts, perhaps more than enough to complete a new pistol. And I kinda want a suppressor someday. So, perfect. The only thing I am missing is a slide.
30 years is still a long ways off, but then again it will be here before I know it. I don't wanna have to worry my heirs dealing with a dozen boomsticks. What will I still have when I am 80, I wonder? The 1911 I built and it's backup.
Not just because I am uncomfortable with cops airing out innocent black dudes.
Not just because I am uncomfortable with cops airing out innocent black dudes that have CCW permits and are carrying.
But because I don't want cops airing out ME. A big scary looking white dude with a skinhead and a beard like a biker and a perma scowl and a CCW permit and sometimes carry. If I was a cop and came up on me looking the way I usually do, I'd give me the stink eye. I don't want that cop to automatically shoot me or a black dude.
I know it is hard to not air out anyone with a gun when you are in a scene where shots have been fired and you know little else. I have done that training and have failed it more than once.
----
Others are more moribund on the value of a dialogue. And the pessimist in me fears they are probably right.
Better in that, it was losing focus on making the trigger pull a quality one that was hurting me in previous range trip. I improved that quality by paying attention to it, and results improves. Not perfect, but better.
Worse in that a tiny bit of creep in trigger take up has returned. I will consult with the gunsmith, and make close the hole up. Again. Or try some other brands of disconnector
Anyway, story time. I get to the range and there are a couple good ol' boys ahead of me. Picking up a new gun, there, and going to test it out at the range. They had clearly never shot there before, and they had no idea about range etiquette at the air lock, which is loud. 'Great,' I'm thinking, 'these guys might be new to the whole gun safety thing, and I bet their target looks like a typical 00 buckshot pattern.'
Nope.
I was at lane 3. Next to me was a young ex Navy guy (Navy PT shirt, but full beard about a month old) in 4. Good Ol Boys with new pistol in #5. And some other dude in 6. Unusually, ALL of them were shooting as well as me or better. Not usual these days. All professional with their gun handling. Refreshing.
I was never That Guy with the gun safety. "Oh don't worry if I point it at you, it's not like it's loaded!" But I have been That Guy with the marksmanship. Well, almost. I never hit the target trolley and have me target fall to the floor.
Anyway, 50 more rounds, 21 of them Magtech, the rest AE. No malfs. Shot at 8 yards, except for center bottom, which was 25 yards. Slightly better because of the finger. Better lollipop hold or figure out if I am just heeling.
