822

Passes.

Woot.

Next step...

Probably put in a desk drawer and forgotten about in the Senate.  But let's say Harry Reid shows his pro gun colors.  And let's say enough Senators on the Dem side up for re-election don't want to run against the rights of the people... and it gets 67 votes to get past a fillabuster...  and it passes.

Next step...  Obama's desk.  Before November.  He's THE gun control guy, but he might think this is small ball and let it go and wait for something bigger to veto.

I know, I know, but it could happen.

HR822

With this amendment, I am boned:
"Congress offered an amendment to the National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act that would allow a resident of a state or jurisdiction that does not allow concealed-carry permits to obtain the permit in another state and then use it in their home state."

I won't be able to carry in DC, Illinois or Maryland.  Illinois is fine, why would I want to go there.  I could LIVE with DC....

"But, but, but...  it says DOES NOT ALLOW, T-Bolt!  Maryland allows, just only for the politically connected and such."  Yeah yeah, but I wonder how long that word will stick before it is changed to something like 'issued'.

But if it goes through and passes and the President is forced to sign it because of election pressures...  I may be set with the Utah CCW permit.  And there are dang few restriction in MD for CCW.  Bars, drunk, church, schools.  Not that I want to carry concealed in a bar at the local high school and drink a beer or 9 there.  Because Maryland is a May-Issue-Prolly-Won't they never got around to locking down restricted areas.

Update:  No Amendment.  Nice.

Floor debate being liveblogged.

I'm Dry

And a guest blogger isn't ready yet.

My previous guest blogger never heard of an XD having reliability issues or readily breaking.  Like with Glocks the triggers have been know to need service.  Pull it, in nothing happens.

Since my buddy got that XD (I, too, had never heard a complaint back then) I've heard it can do something to lock the slide up permanent, and you need to send it back with a round in the chamber for service.  Yikes!

What other things?  The mad release is easily pushed on an M&P, dumping the mag at imoppurtune times.  The sear can wear on an 1911, making it a 7 round machine pistol.  I've had a pin break on a 1911.  The one that hold the mainspring housing in place.  You need that mainspring to work.  The screw that hold the yoke to the frame on your revolver can back out and they your cylinder falls out of the gun.  

Anything else catastrophically fail, common or not, on a certain pistol type, but not on other types?

WD

I didn't watch Walking Dead.  Second time in a row. I guess I'm cured.  Someone tell me if they fix themselves so I can watch again, ok?

Unpossible!

Shots fired near Whitehouse, an AK-47 assault rifle was recovered at the scene.

That can't be.  The number of guns allowed into the District of Columbia post heller has been enough to keep track of on paper without a computer database.  The city is still mostly a gun free zone.  I'd think they'd have noticed if someone had an actual assault rifle, you know, a MACHINE GUN (select fire, intermediate cartridge, mag fed shoulder arm subject to NFA rules for 77 years), come through the process.  So this gun they found probably doesn't really exist.  DC might have loosened up some, but not that much, and they still won't let Russian military hardware inside.

Hmmmm... maybe it was a Gunwalker gun, and ATF imported it to the Nation's Capital...

Training

The description for this class sounds like exactly what I need.

The 'Basics', reinforced.  Pistol Markmanship.  Highly regarded instructors by all accounts of the students.  TigerSwan.  Sounds like the course was developed just for me. 

The only disadvantage is the location.  It's in Fort Bragg North Carolina. I'm gonna have to make a quest of it, someday, I think.

Guest Blooger

I am one of ''T-Bolt's'' co-workers and he asked me to guest blog.  He has written about me before, but I don't know what nickname he gave me.

Why I chose the XD.  I wanted a pistol for some time and TBolt talking about was the push to get me to buy one.  At the time I knew I hated the Glock cuz the fanbois I read online were annoying, and everyone was complaining about the Smith and Wesson  M and P dropping mags.  And I never saw anyone complain about specific malfunctions with the XD in any of my online searches.  This was 3 years ago.  So XD got it by default this way.  Plus TBolt liked the ones he shot and recommended trying it as a rental.  I tried it and liked it and bought it.

I thought about a 1911, but they were way expensive.  At least among the brands I had heard about.  I didn't want to take a chance at a generic 1911.  So I got a full size gun in .45 that wasn't a Colt 1911 in the Springfield XD45.  When I got it I took it to the range every month or so to shoot it for about a year.  I need to go back and practice more.  It's a good pistol.  I think I'll get a shotgun next for home defense.

Archie Guest Post #2

[redacted] told me not to use the caps lock. Fine. He says to talk about guns, what little I know. I didn't use guns. Only gun nuts played with guns around here. I guess [redacted] is one of them.

First off.  When All In the Family came out, the people down at the Marina where I kept my boat said I reminded them of Archie Bunker.  That's where [redacted] got my name. 

I do remember some stuff from during the war. I was on an attack transport and my duty station was below decks so I didn't get to see much. I do remember when we were anchored off Leyte after all the fighting was done, I asked somebody what all those trees were doing sticking out of the water. They weren't trees, they were ship's masts. Once I got to the see the before and after of some island that was shelled. It was covered with palm trees. Looked like a tropical paradise. The next moring it looked like the moon with only one tree still standing.

When the Gyrenes went to chow I'd sneak into their berthing spaces and inspect their greaseguns. It fascinated me that something that cheap and made by Guide Lamp could work like that. I was always interested in mechanical devices, and made a bunch of labor saving devices in my time. And I was a body man, so cars also held my attention. Add Guide Lamp to an cheap mechanical thing and you got my attention. Every bunk had a greasegun on it. The Gyrenes were told not to carry them around, so there they stayed. I didn't see any other type of soldiers gun the whole time I was in the war. Just Greaseguns, that I remember. But my ship didn't put to sea until early '45.

We had LCPs stacked on deck to land those Marines. I never saw a lifeboat on board but I knew if the ship sank those landing boats would be where I'd head. When the deck apes were lifting them from the deck to put in the water with booms they were hell on the motor winches. My duty station was at the main electrical panel and the damn deck apes would constantly push the lever to full power, then off. It was my job to turn the rheostat so that when they dropped the electrical load it didn't flip the breaker from the generator and it was some job.

Late in 1945 we got back to Frisco and I went home. I was supposed to head out for the Bikini tests with the ship after the war, but got out of that, Thank God. I'd have died of cancer long ago if I had gone, I'm sure.


[ed:  Happy Veterans Day to my fellow vets.  Some contributed more than I or even Archie.  Extra kudos to those that have.]

The Marriott Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine is run by unpatriotic jerks

Yay, metadata!

ARCHIE GUEST POST

I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT BLOG MEANS AND YOU WANT ME TO DO IT FOR YOU [redacted]?  WHAT DO I KNOW ABOUT GUNS?  THIS IS JUST FOOLISHNESS.  TMZ IS COMING ON AND I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS.  I HAVE TO SEE IF SWEET DRAWS IS GOING TO JAIL.  WHATS HER NAME?  SHE WON'T SPEND ANY TIME THERE.  THE BRIBE CHECK  IS IN.  THATS HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS.  ITS ALL CROOKED.  OH, THANKS FOR REMINDING ME.  I NEED TO TAKE MY PILLS.

[ed.  I've been busy with the stupid novel and am experimenting with guest bloggers to fill in for me.  This is the first]

Even a Metrocon

Is noticing stuff wrong with Walking Dead.  NRO's Jonah Goldberg, not the biggest gun nut, wonders why no one has found a single M16 anywere amoung the hundreds of dead National Guardsmen Zombies

Gumshoe Novel Update

For what it's worth, that gumshoe former Marine I am writing about carries a 1903 Pocket Hammerless in his pocket.  It was a gift, and it is his constant companion.  When expecting trouble he dons the shoulder holster with his Colt .45.  In his desk drawer is a 1917 S&W revolver, and he has a Model 10 stashed in his car, and in his bedside table.

I figured he'd have the Model 10s from his time as a cop, and the other were associated with his service in the Marines, both in WWI and in Nicuragua.

19 chapters outlined.  So 2600 words per chapter to get to 50k.  It's not working out like I planned.  I have a feeling I am writing a novella, and not a novel, and will come up short in the end of month deadline for word count.  And I am behind.  Only a bit over 10,600 words by the middle of Chapter 6.  It'll be a full sized chapter, this one, at least.  The long weekend will help.  I fell behind because of my brother's wedding last weekend.   I will endeavor to persevere.

It's Not Just Women

Men might have easier fashion options for holstered CCW of a real gun than women, but that doesn't mean it's simple-easy.


Finding a way to carry a full size pistol, especially in warm climes, concealed has always been an issue.  August carry for men still is t-shirt, hawaiian shirt cover garment, and cargo-type shorts with a belt.

But the other question that vexes is weapon choice.  What is the lowest profile full size (in this case, meaning full size caliber, or at least that is what I am going with) gun that you can still shoot well?  Sure, there are now mini-9's out like KelTec and Kahr and that new Boburg thing.  But, from anecdotal reports, they are a bit hard to shoot well.  And if others are having issue with snappy recoil making second shots harder, I know I will.  They need more weight, methinks.   And weight consideration have never been a priority for me.

What about the Sig I own?  That's full size, at .40.  When I carry the Sig 229, it's is bulky in the IWB.  The grip bangs and hangs on wooden chairs and the like.  But it is better than the even larger service size pistols (or actual full size pistol, like you find in a Police holster or with the Military, niether of which worries about concealment.).  It was an attempt to solve the problem I, and others, have that didn't quite get there for summer carry fashion.  And the newer Sig grips are slightly skinnier, but not enough to write home about, it seems to me.

The same applies to other double stack pistols like Glock/XD/M&P in my situation, even thought they get a bit slimmer than the Sig.  I'm talking the compact sizes.  I shoulda mentioned that curtailed grip of the sub-compacts is a non-started in my evaluation for the same reason that the mini-9s are.  Though sub compact is a way to go.  Full size caliber, and a bit better than the mini's for shooting.

The closest I've come to solution, the compromise that answers nearly all conditions, is the Colt Commander.  Slightly shrunken length, full size caliber,  and with regular grips it's slim, with slim grips it's even slimmer.  Which is why I bought it, and them.

It's also why my fantasy gun is a plastic .40 single stack that could be as slim or slimmer than the venerable 1911.  Really, I only choose .40 in this fantasy because it allows more size reduction in the grip.  And begins with a .4x.  But that gun ain't been invented yet. 

No worries.  I guess I have found that single stack .40, and it has the added benefit of being a .45.  And a 1911.  And I already own it.

Time to transition to it.  The Commander.

[One other thing, had my fantasy single stack been invented and released last week... Do you know how long I'd have to wait for the holsters manufactureres to catch up?  At least with a 1911 choice there is a plethora of aftermarket support on the accessories.]

Who Says Zombies Have Jumped...

The shark...

Kittehs!

Gumshoe

You're a gumshoe, in the depression.  You spend your time tracking down husbands that having an affair for the wife's divorce attorney.  But sometimes, things get sticky.

What Gatt do you choose?

I ask because I trying to write a pulp detective novel.  Just a dash off piece of dreck, not intended for publishing.  Just to see if I can type 50,000 words in November.  I'm just curious to see if I can do it.

One of the things that got me into actually doing this National Write a Novel Month thing is the fact that I write nigh daily here.  Got me in the habit. 

I'd also have written a novel long before now, but I've never actually had a plot gel.  I get halfway through an narrative's outline and then not know where it was going or how to wrap it up.  This one just sorta hit me.  I'm decent at details and mood and dialog, to my ears, but the conflict and resolution was always an issue.

I sorta have the details on the protagonist's roscoe, but I like to hear alternates, maybe.

And when this is all done, I'll maybe have a rough draft.  Maybe I'll post an excerpt after that has had a rough polish.  If it isn't embarassingly bad.

Oh, and because of the novel, I have less time for the blog.  Not to worry.  I might have some guest bloggers lined up...

{I'm behind scedule..  Only 7000 some words so far.  Stupid wedding...}

Guns Magazine

Old Editions Headlines

March of 1957 "Is this the next GI rifle"  It shows and AR.  Answer: well, no.  The M14 is coming for a few years first, as the magazine will note in the June 1960 issue.  Then 50 years of AR.  Unless you meant the AR-10.  Which they did. Features I didn't know about...  The original magazine was aluminum and never meant to be reloaded.  And a backpack with belted ammunition feeding the rifle was considered.  Sounds great, in theory.  In August of 1961 the magazine was printing the M14 was obsolete before it had really been deployed.  Bad scene.

May of 1956 "Can burp guns replace rifles"  Answer: no.  After 65 years that answer is pretty much settled.  Though it tried for a good while.  Unless you consider an AR pattern a burp gun.  Money quote: "the burp gun symbolizes the most important revolution in military tactics since the invention of the breech loader."

Doctor X

What a lovely piece of Pulp made into a movie.  The camera work and the sets are astounding.  Worth watching for that alone.  Neat old lab equipment.  And in color!  1932 color.  Doctor X.

It's about a group of PhD types that are implicated in a series of murder/mutilations that occurred on the full moon.  The head of the institution convinces the police to allow him 48 hours to do the investigation to find which of his colleagues may be the dastardly villain.  The repair to his estate at an isolated mansion on the shore and use SCIENCE! to try to puzzle it out.  Suspense!  A bumbling reporter gets in on the act.

Very little gun content, but Fay Wray had a pistol to confront the snoopy reporter with.  He even asked if she had a permit for that thing.  She said yes.  The movie isn't even in the Internet Movie Gun Database, so I'm having a hard time placing it.  A little pocket auto.  If I had to guess, it was a chrome 1908 Colt Vest Pocket.  Or Colt Pocket Hammerless.  Except I don't think it had that little dimple under the barrel where a guide rod would be.  I only caught a glimpse, but I want to say it was smooth there.  I may have to buy the movie now just to see.  I like the styling of a typical Browning pistol.  The dustcover under the barrel.  The aesthetics of a Browning.

I wonder if that Fay Wray person did any acting after 1932...

What ifs

I was checking out these grips for the Browning Hi Power.  You know, that Hi Power is a relatively handsome gun.

It made me wonder... let's say John Browing lived until he was 101 instead of 71.  And let's say he was an active designer for the entire time, in full control of his faculties and just as good as ever the whole time.  And ALSO let's assume that HE finished the Hi-Power on his own and it looked pretty much as it does now.  Now, one further what-if...  What if the US Army said "the 1911 is good, but lets modernize the army pistol and bring it up to 1950 modern standards.  Design something new for us."

In 1955 he comes out with his final design submission.  What do you think it would look like?

He had the influence to maybe sway NATO to a new round, or to keep the .45ACP. 

I wonder how it would look.  Externalish extractor like on the 1903 Pocket Hammerless and Hi-Power?  How bout an improvement on the staked plunger tube of the 1911?  I know it would look good.  Elegant.  Moreso than the Hi-Power and 1911 that already look functional and elegant.  Look at the swooping sides of the Hi Power slide near the fore end.  Maybe this fantasy gun would have the .41 caliber I have longed for.

It would be expensive, as even in the 1950s the plastic revolution was far in the future, and machinists and final fitting by experts would almost certainly be required.  I'd still pay for that.   Could Browning have gone for an alloy frame?  Maybe...

That's the thing about what ifs.  No way to know what route a gunsmithing genius would have travelled.  And what of a John Browning Jr.  Designing guns into the 21st Century with the new materials available now.  We have inspired gunsmiths nowadays.  Gaston Glock is no slouch.  But is he in the same league.

Meh, I can wish in one hand and poop in the other and see which fills up first.

50%?

50% of the zombie movies have been made since 9/11/01

Is that because we in America see the Islamist Terrists as an unstoppable horde?  I don't know about that.  There was more worry about a horde Asian Communists in the late 60s, what with the war in Indochina and the CHICOM human wave tactics in the Korean War still in the collective memory.  Now THEY knew how to do Hordes.

Zombies as mindless consumers got their day in the Media portrayal of the Reagan era when consumption took such a spotlight in the economic calculations.

No, I think zombie got the resurgence for other reasons.  A few clever send ups in entertainment, with items like Max Brooks' offerings and the Resident Evil franchise building on the earlier Romero offerings getting the ball rolling..

I Feel Like I've Felt This Before

"It's like a million Orange Gunsite trainees cried out... and then went silent"

Is it just me, or does it seem that a lot of people are putting their 1911 in the safe and taking up a 9mm S&W M&P.

SaysUncle likes his 9, though I'm not sure if it's an M&P.  Caleb likes his M&P.  Even TAM might have gone over semi-permanent-like!  I thought Tam had 1911 embedded in her DNA.  (But I also think Tam goes with what works and doesn't let old habits or sentimentality stand in the way of effective personal defense.  I also don't think Tam is about to spit on 1911s and go full fangrrrl for other things.  I look forward to a post of hers that goes into this, and respect her enough to take a hard hard look at her reasoning.  She has forgotten more stuff about the subject than I will ever know, and hangs out with people that are the same to her.)  It all this might have something to do with this guy.

It's like a bunch of Star Wars fans saw what Lucas made of the best scifi franchise EVER with his horrid prequels and then... went out and bought a t-shirt that reads "Joss Whedon Is My Master Now."

Jeff Cooper is dead.  The wheel turns.  The pendulum swings.  And high capacity 9mm pistols are in vogue again. At least among folks I am paying attention to.

What prompted this?  Kick ass high quality trainers that like the M&P 9?  Ammo cost?  The inability to get a decent 1911 in the half a kilobuck range?  Flash Mob robberies where a few more than 7 rounds is handy?

Beats me.  If it's a bandwagon, I am not hopping on.  And if it's not a bandwagon I am not hopping on, either.  What I got is fine.  I just want to get better with what I got.  If arguments that brought M&P 9mm to the fore front can sway me, I'll go with my P229, and figure out a way to CCW it.  If they aren't and I can improve myself, I will lean to the 1911 and get comfortable on carrying IT in condition 1.

I should just stick with revolvers exclusively... I still shoot them best and carry one the most.  I wonder if THAT bandwagon is ever coming back.