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.