A Year In Bearing Arms:

I typically spend some time during each week reading articles from  .   I consider it a 'must read' website, because these folks often address Second Amendment issues which are important to me.

As an annual Review, these good folks have provided a skimming of the stories they considered important to many of us.

A Year In Bearing Arms: 10 Stories About Protecting Your Firearm Freedom:

A lot has happened in 2016; there were more police-related shootings, terrorist attacks and attempted robberies; liberals continued to push gun control; news of gun violence was twisted by the media; and Second Amendment advocates were given hope when Donald Trump was elected president. If you feel like you’ve missed something, here are ten of this year’s most compelling stories.

Limousine Lawyers vs 2nd Amendment

A Pro Bono Dream Team Takes On the N.R.A. - The New York Times:
(NY Times Editorial . 12/17/2016)

A promising new force in the fight for gun control has arrived on the scene. A coalition that includes corporate litigators from seven of the nation’s leading law firms is taking aim at some of the most glaring flaws in gun safety. One is Congress’s restriction of the government’s ability to conduct basic public health research on gun deaths. The lawyers will also seek ways to challenge state lawmakers who have invited millions of citizens to pack guns in public buildings and businesses.

The Coalition of Liberal Lawyers have a head start in their initial announcement to the Egregiously Liberal New York Times.

The article takes a preliminary poke at "...  Congress’s decision in 2005 to shield the arms industry from damage suits — an outrageous protection no other industry has."

 It's no surprise that they came out swinging for the low blows.  This is an obvious First Strike at the PLCAA  (Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act).

The legal fight has been made difficult by Congress’s decision in 2005 to shield the arms industry from damage suits — an outrageous protection no other industry has. But the coalition is considering new approaches, drawing upon public safety, antitrust and property laws to tackle problems like the widespread legalization of guns in public places and commercial establishments. Another concern is the pre-emption of local gun ordinances by state laws approved by politicians in the sway of the gun lobby.

I warned about this on my December 15, 2016 article  which initially noted the support of National Public Radio for anti-Second Amendment movements.  

What do 'they' have on their side?

Untold numbers of Limousine Lawyers looking to make a name for themselves.

What do 'we' have on our side?

Not much.

Only the Constitution of the United States of America.

Oh. And Bette Davis:



(H/T: David Codrea at Ammoland)

The .25-06

Hat-Tip: Paw-Paw's House

It is my personal opinion that the .25-06 is the finest all-around rifle caliber in the world today.
There are those who think that the .270 deserves that accolade, but my experience with the "Bastard Ought-Six" ... while it may not put the lie to that accolade, certainly challenges it.

I inherited my .25-06 from my father, who was a "stock maker" and whose brother (my uncle "Shorty") was a machinist.

My father's favorite rifle was the 1903-A3 Springfield rifle, and between the two of them they built many fine rifles in variant calibers, based on that platform.

They got rid of everything except the action, and from that point they combined their various skills (Uncle Shorty, the machinist; Pop, the stock-maker) to build some of the most beautiful and functional rifles the world has ever seen.

For under $500, including their time.

But the .25-06 was perhaps their finest creation.

My father ("POP") was the imagination.  He conceived of many bizarre configurations of caliber, stock, barrel and accoutrements.  Uncle Shorty did the machining and always worked to spec.

Between them, the most disappointing creation was a .22-250 (obviously not using the 1903-A3 Springfield as a platform .. it was a "spec" creation) which my father built for me for varmint shooting.   I had demanded that they use the entire barrel-blank, to keep the most metal on the barrel so that I could shoot ground-hogs all day from 300 yards to 500 yards and  not warp the barrel.
Pop and Shorty decided it just looked ... ugly.  So they tapered the barrel by 1/8" over the 30" length of the barrel.   Yes, it looked better, and it never wavered from zero at 500 yard ground-hog shooting, all day long.

But I digress ... we're talking about the .25-06.

Pop bought a new .25 caliber barrel (after 50 years, I disremember the well-known barrel maker ... "Black" something?), Shorty tapered the barrel, bored the chamber to .25-06 and fitted it to the action.

Pop fitted it with a "Birds-Eye Maple" stock, with a Pachmeyer Recoil pad (that .25-06 was soft shooting, but after 100 rounds during an afternoon of Ground-Hog shooting in a prone-over-a-shooting-stick position, I was grateful for the padding!)

The stock was a full cheek-piece that lapped over to the over side ... dense wood, lots of it, and it looked as if it had tailfins and a V8 engine it would  rip up a dragstrip and still take "Best In Show" at a vanity car show.

Better yet, I could shoot Jack Rabbits, Mule Deer or Antelope (with the 10x Leopold scope) at distances from 70 yards to 500 yards ... and did!

Okay, I wasn't shooting Jacks at 500 yards.

Deer and Antelope ... yes, after I learned the right "hold".

I initially sighted the gun in at 200 yards,  It was still dead on at "Hopping-Jackrabbit" distances, and close enough at 100-yard "Startled Deer: distances.

But how did it perform at long distances?

I once (nineteen-seventy something) shot an Antelope which was just disappearing over a knoll at 500 yards, from a supported kneeling position.  I held one-body-thickness over the horns, to allow for the time-to target. After a second or three, I heard the distinctive "THUMP" of a solid hit.

Pop and  my uncles, and our host at the private ranch, disbelieved the hit; but when we fetched the trucks and drove over the hill, there was a DRT antelope with a chest shot.

I named him "Fred", and paid $300 to mount the  14-1/2"trophy head.  He hangs over my stairwell today.

It wasn't me; it was the .25-06 shooting 117-grain Nosler Boat-tail bullets during an atypical windless moment in the Rawlins, Wyoming hunt area.

And yes, I have posted this information before, and I'm still waiting for someone to call me 'lair' on it.
It doesn't matter.  I know it was a million-to-one shot, but it worked.  I saved the head and I ate the meat, and the meat was delicious stir-fried in a hot pan with grease and some fried potatoes.\

I also have a very nice .30-06, but I could not have made the shot with that calibre;  I tried hunting with a .30-06  using 130 grain hollow point bullets, but they ruined the meet a close * (under 100 yards distance) * and they were erratic at longer distances.

I love the .25-06 because the ballistics are very easy to dope at various distances, it accommodates a variety of bullet weights, and the ballistics are a gentle arch which allows you to guestimate the proper hold over a wide variety of distances.

And it's a killer of jack-rabbits!

Chicago: "Old News"

Chicago's grim murder trend blamed on light sentencing, misguided reforms | Fox News:

The cycle of violence has resulted in more than 800 shootings so far this year, including seven shootings and one murder on April 4 alone. Escalante’s successor, former Chicago Police Department Chief of Patrol Eddie Johnson, says the rate of murders and shootings can’t be reversed until the criminal justice system begins to hold offenders accountable.

This is "Old News".

I recall an article I wrote a few years ago (2014?) about Rahm Emanuel as Mayor of Chicago (elected 2011) and he wanted to keep the statistics of Firearms Deaths under the Magic Number of 500 deaths.

He and his political machine used every tactic possible to define "death by firearms" out of that official category.

This statement was based on a 2014 The Guardian article, which links to a "Chicago Magazine" article:

Stung by a 16% spike in killings in 2012 that led Moody’s, the ratings agency, to downgrade the city’s debt due to its "unrelenting public safety demands", Emanuel promised a tough response. Amid spending cuts, the former White House chief of staff to Barack Obama has ploughed tens of millions more taxpayer dollars into policing. Sure enough, in January he proudly announced that 2013 had seen the city’s fewest homicides since 1965 and lowest crime rate since 1972.
Yet a startling 7,000-word investigation [The Truth About Chicago's crime Rates] earlier this month by Chicago Magazine cast serious doubt over the crime-busting miracle of Emanuel and his superintendent, Garry McCarthy. It identified at least 18 apparent murders in 2013 that had either been quietly redefined as “non-criminal deaths” or shunted off the city’s books by other statistical sleights of hand..

Mayor Rahm has never lost his emphasis on "Looking Good" even though his record so far doesn't excel above the level of competency demonstrated by the corrupt   incompetent earlier Democrats who preceded him in the honorable office of Mayor of Chicago, Illinois.

Hey, Chicago!

Have you ever thought about voting for a different political party?

USA TODAY is worried about firearms accidents over the Christmas Season.

This is the season for gun accidents. Deaths spike during the holidays.:

The happiest of seasons is also among the deadliest: Unintentional shootings spike during the holidays, and are more likely to occur than any other time of the year, according to an analysis by The Associated Press and the USA TODAY Network. 

The newsmag points out that firearms are often gifts, and the recipients are often untrained.

That's probably true ... and who is responsible for that?

The victims were mostly male and young, with a median age of 19. Nearly half the shootings were self-inflicted, and most occurred in their own homes. The victims are people like Tezlar Wayne Ross, a 20-year-old from Gaffney, South Carolina, who killed himself while playing with a handgun at his home last New Year’s Eve.

It's easy to dismiss this as "Darwinian", but one wonders who buys guns for untrained adolescents and/or "young adults"?

The article also mentions "unsecured guns at their homes" and "alcohol" may be involved.

Ultimately, it's not so much a problem with the activity of immature males as it is a problem with irresponsible parents.

Responsible Parents Don't:

• Give their child a firearm until they know he/she respects the gun, and he/she is sufficiently well-trained in firearms safety to always handle the gun safety;
• Give their child ammunition at the same time;
• Allow their child to 'play' with guns;
• Allow their child access to firearms except under direct parental supervision;
• Assume that their child is less of an idiot than his/her parent!
• Note that a pistol might not be the best "first gun".

Articles such as this one might serve as a warning to others, but unfortunately there are enough irresponsible parents to make it unlikely that their children will have learned to be better than they have been taught.

Jake / ChiTown

Chicago goes 4 days without fatal shooting | Chicago Sun-Times:

For the first time in 2016, the city of Chicago has gone four full days without a fatal shooting.

(It's a week before the end of the year, and this is the FIRST TIME in a year when nobody has been shot killed by firearms for four days in Chicago?

Which is a tribute to First Responders, and the incompetence of gang-bangers.
God knows they tried; it's just that they are shooting at each other at ranges over 2 feet.

The amazing thing is that Baltimore hasn't heralded a similar amazingly positive headline.

Well .. no.  It's still a Very Big Deal that ChiTown didn't murder anyone for ...  oh, wait a minute.
That's just Firearms Deaths.

They're still stabbing each other in That Toddling Town.

Sometimes I think they should take that Southern Border Wall proposal, and instead build a wall around Chicago.  Except that 99% of the People are the innocent victims.   That would be like locking the Gazelles in the same cage with the Hyenas.

Oh wait ... didn't they already do that in Chicago?

Bait & Switch: Liberal Style

It's the same old story: Dems Demand Action, but 'Publicans pay the bills'.

Democrats decreed that ObamaCare would save the world; Republicans cried "It Won't Work!"
Dems said "Sure it will, just watch us!" and forced ObamaCare on America.

But now?  Guess who is the Bad Guy:

Democratic governors warn Congress on health care repeal:

Dec. 21, 2016 @7:50 PM ET WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic governors Wednesday warned top Republicans in Congress that repealing the Obama health care law would stick states with billions of dollars in costs for providing medical care to residents made newly uninsured.
-
Signing the letter were Govs. Dan Malloy of Connecticut, Jay Inslee of Washington, and Andrew Cuomo of New York, who dubbed the GOP's 'repeal and replace' strategy "nothing more than a Washington, D.C. bait-and-switch." 

It's just one more example of why the Pie-In-The-Sky Democrats should let The Grown-ups balance the checkbook.

Don We Now Our Gay Apparel --- Random Thoughts Of The Season

There should be a law, I think, which separates the Election season from the Christmas season.   By a few months, at least, to allow us time to recover from one emotionally laden season to the next.

I'm talking Radio, folks.

I cut off my cable TV about 20 years ago and haven't missed it.  But I listen to the radio every day and that miasma combination in November/December makes me feel like that scene in The Clockwork Orange when they tape the guys  (Malcom McDowel) eyelids open and force him to watch "Cinematic Aversion Therapy" videos until he breaks and sends his own mother to the breakers ..... or whatever.

Having suffered through the Presidential Election Season * when we were enjoined to vote for the Least Worse Candidate *, we are immediately inundated with Bad Christmas Music.

I'm not just talking about Bing Crosby and (as I mentioned earlier) "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause" and "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" ... no, there's also "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" (okay, I kind of liked that one).

My Rock Station is playing Christmas Carols.  I had to turn off the radio; I'm listening just now to Dire Straits / "Sultans of Swing" just to give my jingle-jangled nerves a temporary break from the sugar-high which has become The Christmas Season On Radio (and has been Christmas for most of my life!)

If I had a television, I'm sure I would be complaining about that, too.

----

Actually, I do have a television .. which is connected to a VCR and a DVD player.  Christmas celebrations in Geekistan includes all the versions of Die Hard.

Now ... there is a guy who has truly donned his gay apparel!

Or ...

Nope.

I'm sticking with this as my Christmas Music de jour.

UK Kops: "Blame The Law-Abiding Victims!"

Top Met Police anti-terror cop blames licensed shooters for Jo Cox MP murder | UK Shooting News:

17 Dec 2016 – The head of the Metropolitan Police’s anti-terrorist division has sought to blame the licensed firearms community for the murder of Jo Cox MP by a political extremist. 

Responding to a fiercely worded letter sent to him by NRA chief executive Andrew Mercer, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley suggested that the licensed firearms community was to blame because they are targeted for burglaries by criminals. 

Rejecting Mercer’s description of a previous interview with the Daily Telegraph as “unhelpful”, where Rowley had claimed 800 licensed firearms were lost or stolen in 2015 without breaking down the figure, the assistant commissioner wrote: “We do see licensed firearms recovered in criminal circumstances and we do, on occasions, see licensed firearms holders acting outside their licence conditions.”  (sic)

“A recent and high profile example is the firearm discharged in the murder of Jo Cox. This was originally a licensed firearm that was stolen from a vehicle. It then ended up in the hands of Thomas Mair.”

(Mercer/Rowley information link)

Incidentally, Andrew Mercer is chief executive of NRA/UK.

Help me work through the logic here:

Basic Background for those unfamiliar with UK gun control laws:

Great Britain has some of the most stringent gun control laws in the world.  The main law is from the late 1960s, but it was amended to restrict gun ownership further in the latter part of the twentieth century in response to massacres that involved lawfully licensed weapons.  Handguns are prohibited weapons and require special permission.  Firearms and shotguns require a certificate from the police for ownership, and a number of criteria must be met, including that the applicant has a good reason to possess the requested weapon. Self-defense or a simple wish to possess a weapon is not considered a good reason. The secure storage of weapons is also a factor when licenses are granted.

• England doesn't allow anyone to possess a firearm.  Except under strict license laws.
• England keeps a record of every licensed firearm owner, available (only?) to the police.
• The privately owned, licensed firearms were stolen by thieves who obviously knew who had them.
• As far as I know, there is no public record of licensees.
• The police have no leads.
• The police are looking for some way to distract public attention from their incompetence. Or malfeasance.

Did I miss anything?

In passing, I note that the lauded "Gun Control" measures imposed in "Civilized Countries" seem only to penalize honest, legal firearms owners.

Criminals can ALWAYS get a gun .. and this is exactly how it works.

That's all I have to say about this.

Cops know who has a CHL

The policeman who pulls you over for a traffic offense knows if you have a Concealed Handgun License.

Another “Achtung Juden!” bill. This time from South Carolina. – Gun Free Zone:

TO AMEND SECTION 56-3-1230 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO LICENSE PLATE SPECIFICATIONS, TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES TO ISSUE A STICKER TO EACH CONCEALED WEAPONS PERMIT HOLDER WHO IS A VEHICLE OWNER THAT MUST BE AFFIXED TO THE VEHICLE OWNER’S LICENSE PLATE TO INDICATE THE VEHICLE OWNER IS A CONCEALED WEAPONS PERMIT HOLDER.

The point of this bill is moot, and serves no useful purpose (unless you think that everyone should know you have a CHL).

Police routinely call in for a check on the license plate when they pull you over, and the information that the registered owner is a CHL owner is available to them.  You may notice a delay of a minute or two between the time you stop and the time the officer walks forward to talk to you.

The polite and prudent thing for the driver to do *while the cop is checking you out* is to use the time  to gather your drivers license, your insurance card and your CHL and have them in your hand when he approaches your car.

Roll your window down, keep your hands where he can see them.   It's not necessary for you to declare whether you have a weapon on your person; he may assume that is a 'belligerent' statement.

And remember the advice of Patrick Swaze in "Roadhouse":    BE NICE!




(Hat Top: "The Gun Feed")

The Dirty-Shirt Draw

A friend sent a blurb from John Farnham's recent issue of DQ Quips, describing a problem that we should all recognize: although we may not all be familiar with it.   Here is an edited version of Farnham's description of the issue:

The mishap occurred during the presentation of the pistol as part of a live-fire exercise.  Drawing from concealment, from a strong-side, IWB,  belt holster, the shooter’s light-weight shirt got between his strong-side hand and the grip of the pistol.  As the pistol cleared the holster, the fabric of the entangled shirt started pulling on the pistol, retarding the draw sequence. Manual safety was pushed into the “off” position, and a finger obviously made contact with the trigger well before it should have. ----------- Here is what I think we can all learn from this: 1) Thin, filmy, flimsy concealment garments are a bad idea!  Whatever  you use to conceal your pistol needs to be substantial enough so that is unlikely to snag the gun itself. 2) Going too fast is a bad idea!  We all need to train well, so that  we can both draw, and reholster, our concealed-carry pistols smoothly and correctly.  Smoothness is the key!  “Pushing the speed envelope” needs  to be done with great caution!  Concentrate on smoothness and correct  sequence.  Speed will come naturally, and in its own good time! 

MY TAKE ON THIS:

This is something which I see quite often teaching the Intro to USPSA class.  Shooters have either an un-tucked t-shirt, or a light jacket, or some other item of upper-body apparel which they allow to flap in the breeze.   

This garment interferes with their safe gun-handling in a couple of ways:
(1) it gets between the gun and the holster when they are holstering, and interferes with their draw because the grab for the gun and the shirt acts as a 'wedge' so they don't have a smoothe draw;
(2) they holster after completing a stage with the shirt in the way, and when they raise their arms (as if to stretch to get more ammunition when reloading magazines) the shirt-tail actually pulls their pistol out of the holster and drops the gun on the concrete.

However, the above narrative is the first time I've heard that it actually caused a negligent discharge.

I categorize this among the Draw-String Deputy kind of story; you can't believe it, but it really happens.

NPR vs NRA re: PLCAA ... RKBA S.O.L.?

When Onus Falls On Gun Sellers, National Concealed Carry Is 'Frightening' : NPR:

I'm not a 'great fan' of National Public Radio.

Well, that's fair; NPR is not a great fan of me.

I'm a white male Conservative native-born American, and I own a gun.
Well ... several guns, actually.  
And that's why they don't like me: I don't fit their demographic.

NPR has declared war against me, and against all legal firearms owners; and against the Second Amendment in general.

This is why I'm sure they don't like me:

There's a new coalition working against gun violence - a group of high-powered corporate law firms. After the Orlando nightclub shooting, a number of prominent attorneys banded together to collaborate - at no cost - with gun control advocates. Their goal is to attack gun issues through the courts and through state regulation. 
Michael Schissel heads up gun safety litigation at Arnold & Porter. The firm's a member of the coalition. And he says that by banding together, corporate attorneys are better able to serve gun control groups.

 MICHAEL SCHISSEL: What they really need is our collective talent and our collective manpower. Everybody knows how well-financed and aggressive the gun lobby is. And I think it's going to require the brute force of the major law firms in this country, and I can give you two examples. For example, there is a law called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act called PLCAA - some people call it PLCAA - which effectively immunizes sellers of firearms from liability except in a few cases. There's no other law - no other law at all - that shields consumer products from safety regulation. And here we're talking about a product that can kill. 

Wow.   I am in awe of Michael Schissel's grasp of the law.

Except that the context of his statement is just a little ... misleading.

I've talked about PLCAA before (go to my website and enter PLCAA in the search box) and my understanding of PLCAA  is greatly different from M. Schissell LLD.

My understanding is that firearms manufacturers, wholesalers and retail dealers are quite as subject to product liability suits as any other industry.

But the firearms industry has one unique vulnerability:  "Nuisance Suits" brought against the industry are often imposed with no expectation of winning (in the exemplar case of a merchant shooting a robber, and the manufacturer/wholesaler/retailer is named in the suit).

Let's look at the difference between product liability and Personal Liability, in the general sense:

Liability; Automobile Version:
If an automobile left idling in "PARK" moves and causes injury or damage, then the manufacturer is likely found liable. There's something obviously wrong with the car; either a design or a manufacturing flaw.

If the owner of the car leaves his automobile idling in "DRIVE", the car moves and causes injury or damage, then the owner is liable ... not the manufacturer (or designer nor retailer).

However, if the owner parks his car and leaves the motor running but the transmission is locked in "PARK".  The manufacturer is to blame

In the case of a rifle which fires when nobody pulls the trigger?
That's a malfunction.   The rifle shouldn't fire.   The cause might be because there's a design flaw (rifles of the same design often malfunction in the same manner), or there's a manufacturing flaw (only the specific rifle has that problem.).

Both are situations where the owner might sue for redress against the manufacturer.   If an injury is caused, the damages might be extensive and an entire product line, or only a specific manufacturing run, might be recalled.

On the other hand, there may be no malfunction involved.

The owner of the firearm might point the rifle at another person (either negligently, or purposefully) and pull the trigger; the gun goes BOOM!, someone is injured ... but the rifle performed according to specifications.  That's either a Personal Injury issue or a Criminal issue.  It's not the fault of the gun.

If the rifle performs according to specifications, neither the designer, nor the manufacturer, nor the wholesaler or retailer, are responsible for the negligent or criminal actions of the person with his finger on the trigger.

The PLCAA is the law which protects the manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer against "NUISANCE SUITS" brought by someone who is either personally injured by a firearm, or representing that person or 'other interested persons' (family, etc.)

Those nuisance suits undermine the validity of RESPONSIBLE manufacturing and firearms-handling.  The PLCAA protects firearms manufacturers/sellers who are not responsible for unsafe gun-handling on the part of individuals.

It serves no other purpose.

From the referenced dialogue:

 CHANG: If I could just address PLCAA - this is the federal law which protects gun manufacturers and dealers from liability when people use their guns in crimes. Make the argument for me. Why should manufacturers be held accountable for the actions of the individuals who buy their products?

SCHISSEL: Well, it's not just manufacturers, and that's really the important thing. In fact, my firm has been involved more on the retail level. 

 CHANG: OK, fine, retailers. 

 SCHISSEL: Yeah, it immunizes sellers. So, for example, there are state laws that literally immunize a gun seller of any liability even if that gun seller knows he's selling a gun to a criminal. 

(emphasis added)


NO!

Schissel, knowing the laws that require a DEALER to check a BUYER on the National Instant Check System (NICS) to determine whether that BUYER is legally allowed to purchase a gun from a DEALER, should know that  the seller is not "immunized .. of any liability".  But he deliberately ignores those laws to suggest that a Dealer can knowingly sell a gun to a Criminal.

Once a Dealer has checked a Buyer via NICS, the dealer can confidently assume that the Buyer is legally permitted to purchase a firearm.

Schissel's entire argument is undermined by his peurile counter-argument that a dealer can knowingly sell a firearm to a known criminal ... without penalty and without being audited by the ATF.

There is no no 'wiggle room' here.

The man is a liar, who deliberately convolutes the strict interpretation of the law to suit his own political agenda

Even ABC Admits Gun Control Fails To Stop Gun Violence

ABC News: Obama Big Talk, 'Little' Action on Guns Since Sandy Hook:

The Sandy Hook attack was carried out by a gunman who stole his firearms, killed his own mother with one of the weapons, and thereafter, went to the school and killed 26 innocents. Democrats seized on the attack as an opportunity to pass gun control. They pressed for universal background checks in Manchin/Toomey, and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) pushed an “assault weapons” ban. Obama supported both measures, yet both went down in flames. This was largely because neither action would have stopped another Sandy Hook attack.

[emphasis added]

(H/T: TheGunFeed.com)

S,C deputy: "It Just Went Off! I don't know how it happened!"

Was this another "Blame it on the Buckle" Incident?

Upstate deputy transported to hospital after accidentally shooting self, sheriff says:

Anderson County Sheriff's Office officials said that one of their own was taken to AnMed Hospital after accidentally shooting himself in the leg. Anderson County Sheriff John Skipper said that the deputy was coming home from an extra duty assignment at NewSpring Church. As he removed his gun from its holster, it went off and the bullet struck his leg, Skipper said. Skipper said the deputy is regularly assigned to Westside High School as their resource officer.

Somebody ought to shoot his Training Officer, too, for not teaching the deputy to keep his finger off the trigger until he's ready to shoot somebody.   (Preferably, somebody else!)

Considering that the deputy is a high school "resource officer", it might be a good idea to reassign him before he shoots a kid.

Either that, or fire him

PS:  The headline line quote I added wasn't in the article, but you can bet that's what he said to shis sheriff.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Snow in Geekistan!

Freezing rain changed to Sleet this afternoon.  At 8pm there's almost a half inch of snow in Geekistan.

That's significant, because it's the first measurable snow we've had here since February 07, 2014.

Which looked like this.

It's not nearly so impressive today.

Yet.

Somebody Up There Likes Me

Last weekend, while I was grocery shopping, I bought a suet block and a 'suet feeder cage' to hang from the fence around my patio.   I had heard it was going to be a cold week, and it seemed like a good idea.

Yesterday, one sparrow and three blue jays came by for a snack.

Today the temperatures hover around the freezing point.   Sleet, ice pellets, freezing rain at various times of the day.

Looking out my patio door, I counted as many as eight sparrows fluttering around the feeder.

The suet block is 2/3 gone, already.

Tomorrow, I'll have to go buy another suet block.   It seems very popular.

In fact ... I might as well stock up.   Those sparrows eat more than I do!

Big Trouble for Dingey Harry?

A $2M check, Harry Reid and one frustrated prosecutor | The Salt Lake Tribune:

Shurtleff said he asked Johnson why he considered the $250,000 a bribe and not just "straight-up lobbying" money — as Swallow has argued it was. "He says, 'because I bribed Harry Reid before,' " Shurtleff recalled in an interview with The Tribune.

(Hat Tip: Codrea, The War On guns)

California: "Second Amendment? What's That All About?"

WARNING: California Law Now Allows Police To Seize Guns From Your Home WITHOUT ANY CHARGES:

A California law now allows police to seize private, legally-owned weapons for as long as three weeks without charges and without allowing the citizen to contest the seizure. The law, known as AB1014, was passed last year after the Isla Vista shooting where teenager Elliot Rodger went on a shooting spree near the University of California campus in Santa Barbara, killing six people before turning his gun on himself.

Everybody in California is as crazy as Elliot Roger, right?

OH ... only those who are elected into public office.

Okay.  I understand it now.

(The best day of my life was when I moved back to Oregon after 3 years in California!)

Where's the Ticker Tape Parade for the hero Alan Horujko?

Give them a thin week to tweak reality; Anti-Gunners can turn a COME TO JESUS moment into ... any way you want to name it ,,, obscurity!

When a freak Muslim Marauder (let us call a Spade a Spade; he wasn't a Scientology Extrovert) decided to run down a herd of turtles on an Ohio sidewalk (for the greater glory of Allah), and who then waded into the crowd with a carving knife, Ohio State University 'Campus Cop' ALAN HORUJKO turned that moment of opportunity into a life-saving glory because he just happened to be on the block; he was performing other duties, and he was armed.

He (ALAN HORUJKO) saw <name with-held> wading through a crowd of students on the sidewalk, and imposed his own sense of right by drawing his issued pistol and drilling said Jihad Warrior through the heart.

Which was, under the circumstances, the just and right way of stopping a Jihandi DRT.

                                                  ( "Dead Right There!").

No, it was not a matter of the University of Ohio having the prescience to station an armed policeman in what was essentially a "Dead Zone" (not specifically protected by Campus Cops) ... he just happened to be there tending to 'other business', and when the Asshole Assailant started Slicing and Dicing (after having already mowed down his daily Game Bag of undergraduate lemmings via Volvo), this Ohio Hero  ... did I mention that his name is Alan Horujko?  ,,, waded in and killed the M.F. in his tracks ... arguably saving the lives of tens or twenties of clueless coeds in the process.

And I bet he never even got as much as a kiss from a coed for his efforts.

Well Done sir!

But what does the Lame Stream Media (and the U* of O*) make of it?

Oh,  because OSU (Ohio State University, not Oregon State University) is so terribly, terribly concerned for the safety of their students and faculty, had they deliberately stationed an armed guard in what was a potential kill zone in case some Muslim Maniac decided to start Slicing and Dicing their tuition-paying student body?

Not!

Here's how the efforts of OSU Campus Policeman Alan Horujko were lauded immediately after the kerfluffle, on November 28, 2016:

Monday morning, an “active shooter” alert was sent out by the Ohio State University Emergency Management Team as a man identified as Abdul Razak Ali Artan recklessly attacked individuals on campus grounds with a car and a knife.Artan crashed his vehicle into pedestrians on campus, then emerged from his vehicle brandishing a butcher knife, proceeding to assault several people on the scene.At least nine people were hospitalized, including one in “critical condition,” CNN reported.

Please pay attention:  Alan Horujko did his job, and fulfilled the the destiny of hopeful Jihad Warrior (name not given homage) by shooting the Mortar Forker through the gizzard, with a combination of Speed, Power and Accuracy. The Allah-driven asshole's name is mentioned twice in the article; the hero's name is never mentioned.

(DVC!  And if that's not a real word .. it ought to be!)

Horujko wasn't on-site to shoot potential mass murderers, because OSU didn't expect some Islamic Asshole to drive through the Thanksgiving throngs in his Dodge Dart (whatever).

 Horujko was just A Good Man With A Gun (which you may have noticed that the Main Stream Media never fully acknowledged).  I don't know, he was wandering across the campus collecting for the March of Dimes or some similar benign benefit.    The reason doesn't matter; what does matter was that he was there, he was armed, he seen his duty and he done it.

But does the MSM mention that?

Oh, HELL NO!

And here is how a grateful student body at Ohio State University recognized Alan Horujko's contribution to the longevity of OSU students:


Should Ohio's universities be able to authorize concealed-carry on campus? No | The Columbus Dispatch:

Last week, an OSU student drove his car into a crowded pedestrian sidewalk and then began stabbing students in the vicinity with a butcher knife. OSU immediately activated its emergency operations while one of the university's police officers acted swiftly and admirably to secure the situation and protect those in the vicinity. The only life lost was the perpetrator’s. This incident demonstrates that the extensive planning and training OSU law enforcement routinely undertakes works. 

John R. Lott Jr.: Yes, criminals and terrorists perfer (sic) gun-free zones Nonetheless, proponents of H.B. 48 claim that 1) the current prohibition of civilian guns makes campuses attractive to mass shooters because their plans are less likely to be thwarted by another gunman, and 2) allowing guns on campus would give a civilian gunman the opportunity to neutralize an active shooter and prevent more casualties. Yet there is no evidence that mass shooters intentionally seek out gun-free zones. In fact, 90 percent of mass shooting incidences have occurred in locations where civilians were permitted to have guns, or where armed law enforcement was present. The notion that mass shooters want to avoid law enforcement or armed civilians assumes that the shooter does not have specific motive, and that he intends to survive the incident. Evidence, however, su ,,,,,

So, when did Ohio, and a Grateful Nation give Alan a parade?

Not.  

Alan Horujko ... will fade back into obscurity, because he didn't follow the Main Stream Media game-plan of running around like a chicken with his head cut off when Un-named Asshole started shooting students.

I don't know about you, but I personally think that this is a travesty of justice, when a real-life HERO is ignored, and the Asshole Assailant gets all the press.

This is perhaps the final accolade that a "Grateful Nation" can pay this unsung hero.

Remember the name:

Alan Horujko 

Liberal Focus on Criminals ... and Citizens are criminals

America’s Obsession with Powerful Handguns Is Giving Criminals Deadlier Tools - The Trace:

There are more high-caliber pistols available on the civilian market in the U.S. than ever before. In the last two decades, manufacturers have pumped out huge quantities of these guns, marketing them as weapons perfectly suited for a specific purpose: repelling human attackers.

"The Trace" (arguably, an offshoot of The Daily KOS .. a notorious Liberal blogger who is knee-jerk reactionaryily against the Second Amendment Rights of American citizens) is focusing on the sales records of "high-caliber" firearms.

It's mission statement is:

The Trace is an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization dedicated to expanding public understanding of gun violence in the United States. There is an urgent need for the knowledge that public interest journalism can provide, because in this case one problem — America’s epidemic rates of shooting deaths and injuries, which leave 33,000 people killed annually and another 79,000 wounded — is compounded by another: a shortage of information about the issue. It is The Trace’s mission to close that deficit through daily reporting,investigations, analysis, and commentary on the policy, politics, culture, and business of guns in America.

(Just so we all understand the background of the website.)

Why did The Trace make this statement?

Because it makes the news.

Not because it's a significant factor in The War Against Guns.  It's just another liberal website with the intention to counter Conservative Talk.  They have already established their political stance; now they're pursuing their mission statement.  We could expect no better from them.

The whole thing is (as you suspected) merely a Talking Point which they figure will give them the high ground ... moral equivalence ...because if they talk about POWERFUL HANDGUNS they can make it seem as if standard defensive calibers are somehow A Bad Thing.

Oh, and about that whole ... manufacturers have pumped out huge quantities of these guns    ....  thing?

Well, hell yes!  Any manufacture makes the product which is in great demand by their market.

America ... when's the last time you saw a .22 short?  A .22 Long?  Even the venerable .22 Long rifle has its niche market, which is plinking at tin cans and varmint shooting at close range.   NOBODY today builds a firearm which is restricted to the anemic .22 short or the ineffective .22 Long cartridge.

Of COURSE the demand for more effective (defensive rounds) has increased.  They build the product which sells, and since the recent trend of  'mass shootings' has focused on Public Places, Americans have armed themselves to defend against "The Threat Which Must Not Be Named"!

And since the original article is careful not to define the term "High Caliber", it's logical to assume that (by their terms) the .22 Long Rifle falls within the category.  Or not.

They don't cite the source for their 'statistics'.

And they lament the "... shortage of information about the issue" ??

PS: It's worth your while to see what Herschel has to say about the issue:

Crowd thrilled w/ surprise!

I'm pretty sure I don't understand the vindictive parts.


Kellyanne Conway celebrates her historic win; Left focus on Conway’s body, hurl sexual slurs – twitchy.com: 

Honoring the ultimate hero at the Mercer "Heroes and Villians" party on Long Island. Crowd thrilled w/ surprise!

It must be a Liberal/Progressive thing that ordinary people aren't suppose to 'get'.

Whew!

Thank God I'm not a Liberal Progressive ... the things they say embarrass me, and I'm I'm an ex-Army platoon sergeant.

I thought I knew all the ways to curse someone.  There's a lot about cursing I haven't yet learned .. nor do I want to learn!

I'll never be a Liberal Progressive, if this is the example they embrace.

NSFW!

"Get Training"

The Shooting Wire today included an excellent commentary on the problems of training would-be gun handlers (AKS: "New Shooters") in the safe gunhandling practices, which include drawing from the holster.

"Get Training" | Shooting Wire:
(Rich Grassi: December 09, 2016)

We continue to face a huge number of new gun owners and new shooters – something that had its beginning in 1986 with the advent of 'shall-issue' concealed carry permits, continued through the years of the Clinton gun ban from 1994 until its sunset, and really ramped up in the age of internet forums, internet video and the Global War on Terror. Something that continued the drive to more private gun ownership was self-identification of the Democrat Party as the "Party of Infringement" (h/t, Stephen Wenger) and a federal government that continued to be threatening as certain individual states rushed to get state-level infringements of their own passed.  

Still, to the new gun owners and new shooters, we've all been saying "Get Training!"

Grassi points out that there are so many new shooters, there are not enough experienced/qualified instructors to provide the training which they need.   And again, even people who have some experience shooting pistols are usually not experienced in drawing from the holster.

Which is a special skill ... and that is not intuitively obvious!

Trending story that Clinton won just 57 counties is untrue

Well, this is less embarrassing for the Democrats.

But not MUCH less embarrassing!


Trending story that Clinton won just 57 counties is untrue | U.S. ELECTIONS:

NEW YORK (AP) — Dec. 6, 2016 9:39 AM ESTA trending story that claims Hillary Clinton won a total of 57 counties in the presidential election is untrue. The Associated Press finds that Clinton won 487 counties nationwide, compared with 2,626 for President-elect Donald Trump. The story appeared on several viral content sites that cater to some of Trump's supporters. It also falsely claimed that Clinton outpaced Trump by more than 2 million votes in the five counties that comprise New York City, which the story said accounted for the entirety of her lead in the national popular vote. An AP count finds that Clinton beat Trump by roughly 1.5 million votes in New York City. Nationwide, Clinton holds a popular vote lead of more than 2 million. The AP considers parishes in Louisiana as counties in election tallies. Washington, D.C., and Alaska have a single statewide reporting unit. Virginia's count includes 95 counties and 38 independent cities.

[emphasis added]

I love this gag!

Jedi Girl’s Terrifying Telekinetic Prank Is A TOTAL FREAK OUT! You’d Be Freaked Out Too!: What if telekinesis is real? How would you react? Hidden camera experiment captures the frantic reactions of unsuspecting customers at a New York City coffee shop as they witness a most bizarre telekinetic event.

Doctors ... talk funny

Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Line of Fire – Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership:

 Americans have been spared a potentially devastating assault on our right to armed self defense, thanks in no small part to the efforts of gun rights organizations and the votes of gun owners across the country.  But until laws and judicial appointments secure these critical victories, our patient will not be out of the woods.  The Second Amendment has made it to the transplant unit, but continuing efforts are still required lest it succumb. 

 Despite his recent statements, prior to the presidential election cycle Donald Trump’s public positions on the right to keep and bear arms have been at best inconsistent.  It is imperative that supporters of the Second Amendment maintain the pressure on the incoming Trump administration and other politicians to make the appointments and enact the legislation that they have promised.  Until these steps have been completed, our patient is not out of jeopardy.  

 Until a Second Amendment friendly majority is re-established on the Supreme Court, our right to keep and bear arms lingers near death.  Until national concealed carry reciprocity is established, like “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble,” our personal freedoms will continue to end at arbitrary lines on the map.  Until federally mandated, so-called “gun free zones” are abolished, our schoolchildren will remain targets for those bent on evil.  Until the National Firearms Act of 1934 is reformed, pointless restrictions that contribute nothing to public safety will continue to plague us.  Ill-conceived and arbitrary magazine capacity bans will continue to afflict us until that issue is effectively addressed as well. 

But they speak the truth.  (Well, these guys do!)

"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"

"No shit, I was there, this really happened!"

Yep.   Tuned into my local radio station and they're running vintage "Christmas Season Songs" (not carols, but the schmaltzy stuff that I remember from my very early childhood".

I'm tempted to keep tuned until they play "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth", but I don't want to spoil my dinner.

But I don't mind spoiling YOUR dinner!

Hard-Charging Congressional Examination by Senator McClain (2005)

The Greatest Congressional Testimony Ever Given - YouTube:

 Published on Dec 1, 2016 this guy does not care about anything he says whatever he wants video from 2005

No, I have no idea what this is all about.

Apparently, at least some of the participants are equally clueless.

I kept waiting for Drew Carey to appear.  He couldn't make it so he sent this guy.

Actually, I was hoping for Mimi Bobeck's testimony.

The Grown-ups Win One

I'm pleased that at least one California judge understands the difference between Fantasy and Reality.

Shooting Wire:
(December 02, 2016)

 NEWTOWN, Conn. - A California Appellate Court has reversed the Fresno Superior Court's dismissal of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) lawsuit seeking an injunction to block enforcement of the state's ammunition microstamping law and remanded the case back to the lower court to hear arguments. 

 "We are pleased by today's ruling because it means we will now be able to prove in court that this ill-considered law must be enjoined because it is literally impossible to comply with its requirements, and the law never requires the impossible. We have long maintained that this nascent, unproven and unreliable technology should not have been mandated. When we ultimately prevail in this case, law-abiding consumers in California will once again be able to purchase new models of pistols this law currently prevents our industry members from selling in the state," said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel.

What this means, of course, is that California shooters may have one less Impossible Thing to do before breakfast.    Doesn't it feel good when you fight the Jabberwocky, and win?

The YouTube School of USPSA Competition

I'm looking forward to teaching my Introduction to USPSA class this coming Saturday because it's going to be SO EASY!

The class is only 3 days away, and the sign-ups have been available for a month, but so far nobody has contacted me to pre-register!   Which is surprising, because it is sponsored by my home club, and we don't charge you for the class.

And it's too bad, because when you get a chance to learn about USPSA competition and it doesn't cost you anything but a few hours of your time (one Saturday afternoon) and a couple of boxes of ammunition.

That's a bargain that's hard to find.

 Looking at the USPSA website, I can't find any place where people can look up clubs which offer this training.  I think that information should be available for potential new shooters.   And I wouldn't expect to find it on the official website, because most of the people who are doing this training are offering private or semi-private lessons/classes.

But private classes take enough time to deal with each individual shooter to correct problems, provide guidance, and evaluate student performances.  Those which teach a group, rather than an individual, allow students to learn from each others' mistakes as well as their Good Practices.

One resource which I have found (for those who can't find or afford a private class) is You Tube.

I've spend the past  couple of evenings surfing YouTube channels for videos of training sessions.   I haven't seen anyone teaching an actual class, but several are available showing individual training sessions.

Unfortunately, even long videos don't show you everything you need to know to begin competing in USPSA matches.

Usually, the videos are limiting their content to one of three categories:

Practicing "From The Holster"

I ran across an old (2010) article at "The Truth About Guns" titled How Not To Draw A Gun From a Holster

From the article:

The holster action starts at 1:19. The wisdom of holstering a gun on an empty chamber is open to debate. The main disadvantage: racking the slide is a complicated maneuver at the exact moment in your life when you don’t need any complications.

I'm glad to see these young men practicing; they clearly need it.  One guy took about 10 seconds to engage 3 pepper poppers; it took him five shots to knock them down.

Here's the video:


(Turn the volume down ... the music is annoying and too loud)

I'm glad to see them practicing, because they clearly need it, but they'r practicing bad habits.

Here's how it should look:



Her time: 13 seconds

Of course, she started with a loaded pistol in her holster.

But his honesty is terrifying

ALL Celebrities are ... almost without exception ... liars, egotists, over-achievers and often insecure.  This category includes specifically Entertainers and Politicians.

If this sounds like an overly broad castigation of people whose names we all know, it's not.

In order to present themselves in front of an audience, these people NEED to be driven to success in their chosen fields.   I couldn't do that, and perhaps you couldn't either.


There's a story about James Dean in the movie GIANT:  he needed to go on camera for a major scene in the movie, and there was a huge crowd of 'civilians' watching the filming at the outdoor location.

When called for the next scene, Dean got out of his chair,walked over to the corral, unzipped his trousers and urinated all over the fence posts.  When he finished, he zipped up and told the Director (George Stevens)"   "Well, if I can piss in front of a hundred strangers, I guess I can do this scene."

That's why Entertainers and Politicians need to be so extroverted:   they have to do the things that not everyone can do.

And that's why politicians need to be Bigger Than Life.  (Ronald Reagan was the perfect exemplar of both, by the way.)

Which leads us to the main point: Joe Huffman

'House Of Cards' Star Neve Campbell Admits She's 'Terrified Of Donald Trump White House Victory' | The Huffington Post:
(01/03/2016 14:52 | Updated 01 March 2016)

“He’s an ideologue, he’s got extreme ideas, and people are looking for a big change at the moment, at the opposite end from Bernie Sanders. “And there is a good amount of ignorance in America, of people who are angry and disappointed but don’t educate themselves in why, and how it can be fixed. “They see someone off the cuff and broad, and they think ‘ok, that’s the voice we need, just someone honest. “But his honesty is terrifying.

"Off The Cuff and Broad ... Honest .. Terrrifying"

Well, yes.   That's the way it should be.  An American President should be all these things.  If the President Elect of the United States of America can't inspire awe in a television actress, how can he be expected to inspire respect and awe in the contentious diplomacy needed to maintain America's image of the Big Dog on the international political scene?

If I exercise my 2nd Amendment Rights, Should I feel like a 2nd Class Citizen?

I've asked this question before, and I still haven't found "A Good Answer".
My  personal answer is to yield to my family preference ... but I've never felt comfortable with it;

New York Times: What To Do If A Guest Wants to Bring a Gun to Thanksgiving Dinner - The Truth About Guns:

No doubt Anonymous’ sister rolled her eyes at the anxiety in her sibling’s voice when the question was presented.Mr. Galanes’ response: Follow up. Ask, “How did Jim feel about leaving his gun at home?” In the event of pushback (or noncommittal dithering), add: “We know that Jim is a responsible gun owner. We just don’t want guns in our home.” If you continue to believe she’s shining you on, install a metal detector at the front door. Happy Thanksgiving!

Yes, I've been exposed to the same question in my family, and I've never felt comfortable with it.

The answer is a personal response, and so far I've always yielded to the preference of my family.

 When I asked "I suppose it would better not to bring my gun to the wedding" (for example), my family has always been negative ... and I have always acquiesced to their preference.

I've never felt comfortable that I bowed to their preference, and I'm darned if I know whether it was better for me to feel uncomfortable, or for them to feel uncomfortable.

Ultimately, I think it's better that they not know that I continue my usual habit of carrying.

If they can see that I am armed, I am not "doing it right".
If they feel uncomfortable knowing I'm armed in a social situation, I'm not carrying "concealed", and that't My Bad; there should never be a circumstance when I'm obviously carrying.

But that's the whole point.  Do I have a responsibility to inform them that I'm carrying?

I feel a responsibility to inform my family that I'm armed in social situations.  Perhaps I'm offering them a choice which is not fair to them, because nobody else in the family carries a firearm.

And perhaps I'm asking them a question  (should I leave my gun at home?) which causes them great discomfort, and in doing so I'm asking them to tell me that I should not carry in a familial situation?  I get the impression that they would rather I had not asked, because they really didn't want to deal with the question.

Should I ask their permission to carry in a family gathering?
Or should I merely tell them, so they are informed?
Or should I just carry without informing them; leaving them outside the "Decision Curve"?

I've been carrying for decades.  My family is aware (although I haven't made an issue of it), and of course there has never been a cause for it to become an issue.  But when I ask if it's 'appropriate' for the moment, the answer from my family is invariably "NO!"

Who do I listen to:  My family (to whom I will lie, and carry anyway), or my conscience?

Ot to my personal judgement?

Rethinking Firearms Safety (Redux)

Beth at Delta Defense has a fresh Point of View about training New Shooters:

She had a "Pointing The Gun At The Instructor" moment, and found herself in an uncomfortable situation which is not unfamiliar to any firearms-for-newbies instructor:

BUT she turned it into a learning experience for the instructors!

Rethinking Firearms Safety | Pacifiers & Peacemakers - USCCA: ;

A few hours later, as we were out on the shooting range, putting their fresh knowledge and skills to work, one of the ladies, excited about her very first shot, briefly turned to high-five her friend … with the muzzle of her revolver pointed straight at my husband. He immediately stepped over and corrected the issue, taking the time to review that the muzzle needs to be pointed in the safest direction (downrange, in this case) at all times! 

(All Emphasis Added)

I quite concur!

In my six  (+) years experience teaching an "Introduction to USPSA" class, I've often seen class participants who become overly exuberant with their newfound expertise ... and immediately forget everything they've learned .. especially that which made them feel so exuberant.

The mantra which Beth & Company have espoused is "Not A Safe Direction" (printed on the shirts of the instructors!)

I quite agree, and I think that there are some reasonable t-shirt designs which I may consider adopting in the near future for the benefit of my own classes ... and for myself!

However, that mantra that I personally inject into my own classes is this:

RULE NUMBER ONE: DO NOT FRIGHTEN THE RANGE OFFICER!

Not as pithy as "NOT A SAFE DIRECTION", admittedly.  And perhaps it's excessively exclusionary.

But I teach the USPSA rules, which include:

1. Finger off the trigger when moving (except when engaging targets)
2. MUZZLE! (keep it pointed downrange)
3. SWEEPING (don't point the gun at your own personal body parts)
4. DROPPED GUN (if it hits the ground and you're not touching it, you're outta here!)
5. D&D (Drunk and Disorderly: which means no intoxicants or rude behavior on the range)
6. Over The Hill (if the round goes over the berm, you go home)
7. Chearing (competition is an orderly sport; if you break the rules, you go home)

Those are my personal interpretations, but for new shooters they're easier to remember than the dozen pages in chapter 15 of the USPSA rule book.




x

Tell It To The Judge

Trump's Victory Has Fearful Minorities Buying Up Guns - NBC News:

 In one high-profile incident, the live-streamed aftermath of the shooting of Philando Castile at a traffic stop at the hands of police in Minnesota sparked country-wide outrage and was ruled manslaughter. That and another death in Louisiana sparked a protest in Dallas, which a sniper took advantage of to kill five police officers.

You don't have to be a threat to the cops.  You just have to be reasonable.

I was pulled over by a local policeman a few years ago for speeding.

He was right; my Lady was sick, needed a refill of her Cancer medicine from the Pharmacist,
I was more concerned about getting the pain-relieving drugs to her as quickly as possible than I was about driving safely.

It was dark when the policeman pulled me over, and I recognized that he may not feel safe in the encounter.   I knew that he had called my license plate in, and they had told him that I had a CHL (Concealed Handgun License).

When he pulled me over, there was a 3 minute delay while he checked up on me through the radio.

During that time I pulled out my drivers license, my insurance card, and my CHL.

When he approached my car, I had the interior lights on, my hands on the wheel, and those three documents in my hand.  He asked me for my drivers license, and I gave him all the the information he needed to know (and which he had probably already received from his station downtown).

After I gave him the three documents, we chatted for a few minutes.  I acknowledged that I was driving too fast, and explained why.  I was in the wrong, so I was not confrontational.

Hell, he had me dead to rights.

But he wasn't afraid of me.

Even though I told him that I had a pistol in the compartment between the front seats.

My hands were in plain sight on the steering wheel at all times ... again, with the interior light on.

I was no threat to him.

He let me go with only a warning.  Well, it probably helped that I hadn't had a ticket in the past 5 years, but I HAD a warning on a speeding charge 6 years earlier.  That didn't matter.

Folks ... if you're pulled over by a cop, you probably deserve it.  Even if you think you do NOT deserve it, the best thing you can do (especially if you have a CHL) is to NOT present a threat!

If you think it's a bum rap, go to court and explain it to the judge.  He probably doesn't have a gun.

(I actually had that experience 20 years ago ... explained the situation to the judge: he let me go because I manned up and because I was trying to merge with fast traffic at the off-ramp of a bridge.)

I'm not black, so I can't speak to their experience.
All I an say is ,,, well, I've already said it: man up, don't be a jerk, take the ticket if you deserve it.

If you don't deserve it, tell it to the judge.

Not Going To Happen

This Lawsuit Could Shatter ALL Federal Gun Control Laws:

Put bluntly, this could be huge. When Shane Cox began selling his homemade firearms and silencers out of his military surplus store, he stamped “Made in Kansas” on them to assure buyers that a Kansas law would prevent federal prosecution of anyone owning firearms made, sold and kept in the state.

For the last half century, federal laws have repeatedly been established as an over-riding mandate over states rights.   So this isn't going to happen.

Eisenhower made that clear in 1954 during "Brown vs the Board of Education" in Topeka, Kansas,
... and later (1957) in Little Rock in terms of segregation:

On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education that segregated schools are "inherently unequal." In September 1957, as a result of that ruling, nine African-American students enrolled at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

I agreed with him (Eisenhower) then, and I still do.  *  I'm not sure today that States' Rights shouldn't get a larger say in this issue, but that's because I'm as biased on the issue of gun rights today as I was on human rights 60 years ago.

But this discussion isn't about home-made silencers; it's about what the Federal government encourages, vs what it discourages.

Basically, I guess my point is that I believe in the rights of the individual.  Whether to get a good education, be treated like anyone else, or to to build his own firearms ... that's an individual right.

When the government supports individual rights, I side with the government.

When the government decides it knows better than the individual, I side with the individual.

I still believe that the government ,,,  municipal, regional, state or federal ... is the servant of the people.

When the politicians begin to think they have the right (or the duty) to restrict the rights of all individuals, then I'm anti-government.

Can't say it plainer than that.

*

NFA Firearms Ads

I have no idea; this is listed merely as a curiosity

NFA Firearms Ads: Listed for sale is one (1) John Benjamin, JCB M16 Autosear, commonly known as a DIAS. As you are aware these come up for sale only very rarely as they allow you to legally convert nearly any AR15 lower to include Colt LE901's into a select fire machine gun. Any SP1 spec/low shelf receiver this is installed into can be configured into any multitude of configurations imaginable. It truly is the ultimate for any shooter in today's market. John Benjamin/JCB DIAS's are considered amongst the most desirable as they are nearly indestructible being made from heat treated oil quenched tool steel. This example has had untold 10's of thousands of rounds and is still using the original trip. Truly drop-in and ready to go. References available upon request. $40,000 upfront funding gets the paperwork processing, on Form 4 in Oregon.

The 'good thing' about driving a Skoda is ... you get to go out in style

Terrified driver decapitated in 119mph horror crash moments after telling police car was 'stuck in cruise control' - Mirror Online:

The modern car's engine screaming at high revs as Mr Gandhi frantically pushed the engine ignition button during the ride of terror in the minutes before his death, the inquest heard. The coroner heard the car was finally brought to a sickening halt when it slewed off the motorway and into the lay-by where the flat-bed lorry was parked. Emergency services who arrived at the scene soon after the crash found Mr Gandhi's headless body in the wreckage. Almost the whole car was embedded under the lorry, with only its back wheels emerging and its roof torn off. The white Skoda hit the huge three-axle HGV with such force that its rear axle was pushed to the front of the trailer.

... but up until then, he looked really good!

(Am I the only one who is unconvinced that the driver couldn't have stalled the car by shifting into neutral, stepping on the brake, or shutting off the ignition?)

Docs hate Glocks

Once again, a physician with an affiliation to Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership (DRGO) speaks truth to the AMA.

You can read down to find the links and the details, but what this doctor is saying to guys who are shooting each other in drug and turf wars,  is:

"You're a bunch of gun-crazy drug czars and you'll be shooting each others for the next millennium.
You'll never change.  No matter what WE do to keep you alive, you've probably going to shoot each other again and again and again ... and it's our job to clean up the mess.

* Interpretation:  Frankly, we're getting tired of this shit!  So since there's nothing we can do to resolve the societal issues which keep you assholes shooting each other, would you please stop it?  You're beginning to piss us off!  (And you don't want your Doctors to "Not Care" when you get shot!) *

*(Not a direct quote ... more of an .... interpretation!)

Can ‘Gun Violence’ Be Addressed as a Public Health Issue? – Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership:

Violence done with guns is constantly in the headlines. Gun control advocates, health care sophists, and President Obama assert that ‘gun violence’ is a public health problem.

The latest volley, “Firearm-Related Injury and Death in the United States: A Call to Action” in the Annals of Internal Medicine February 24, comes from 8 medical specialty organizations plus the American Bar Association.
In the same edition is another meaningless exercise in pointless ‘research’: “Firearm-Related Hospitalization and Risk for Subsequent Violent Injury, Death, or Crime Perpetration”.
What an unexpected conclusion: “Hospitalization for a firearm-related injury is associated with a heightened risk for subsequent violent victimization or crime perpetration.” People at risk remain people at risk, until their risks change. Is it really valid to address gunshot injury and death as matters for public health intervention?
The short answer is that this is a smokescreen. The commission of gunshot injuries and deaths (‘gun violence’) cannot be fairly addressed as a ‘public health issue’, as that phrase has become used in its case.

(If anyone has a different interpretation, please phone me at 1-800-GangBangers because personally I don't much give a shit about gang boys shooting each other except they make the legitimate law-abiding gun owners look bad by comparison

And when the last gang-banger kills the next-to-last gang-banger, it still looks bad for honest firearms owners because the Liberals don't know the difference between us!