Thursday, July 31, 2014

How to Make Friends and Influence People ... and Drive Them Away

So this new video from Michael Bloomberg's "Everytown for Gun Safety" group has been making the rounds.  If you haven't seen it yet, take 30 seconds and watch it:
What did you think?

If you're like most people, you were secretly (or maybe not-so-secretly) hoping that the woman would pull out her own gun and confront the enraged ex.

Y'know, like in that Glock ad.

The thought that, "someone ought to pass a law preventing this," was not at the forefront of your mind.  You wouldn't be alone, either; even the usually-so-"Progressive"-it-hurts ladies hosting The View didn't have that reaction.

When your "Progressive" cause has lost The View....

Everytown's video fails for a lot of reasons, but if you ask me, it fails because the facts are out there, and most people by now, regardless of their political leanings, realize that:
  • A restraining order (RO) or temporary protection order (TPO) is just a piece of paper, and won't stop a determined attacker; and,
  • Dialing 911 is great, but in the heat of the moment, you are your own first responder; and,
  • Most women (not all, but most) can't physically overcome a man if it comes to fisticuffs, and a firearm is a force-equalizer; and,
  • Existing laws fail to stop this -- people sanctioned under ROs and TPOs (like the angry ex in the video) are already "prohibited persons" in the eyes of the law (i.e. he's already a criminal by having that gun); and,
  • If existing laws fail to stop this, then no additional laws proposed by Everytown would have a chance.
In addition, the title itself, "Will You Stop This?", is meaningless.  No amount of activism will prevent -- let alone stop -- an attack like this, and neither will any amount of funding from Bloomberg.

And finally, when your audience's visceral reaction to the appearance of a firearm in the estranged ex's hand is to hope and pray for another one to appear in the would-be-victim's hands, you've lost the message.

I'd encourage some polite commentary on the Everytown YouTube channel, but I notice that "Comments are disabled for this video."  Do you think maybe they dislike it when anyone refutes them?

(Hat tip to Sebastian over at Shall Not Be Questioned)

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

BREAKING: Appeals Court Upholds BATFE Reporting Demand

Details over at The Captain's Journal.

Herschel is correct: the reporting demand has no basis in federal law.  In addition, it would seem to be an end run around the prohibition on spending federal dollars compiling a registry of guns and/or gun owners, but the courts upheld it anyway.  Twice.

This will send the message that executive federal agencies can create policy from whole cloth -- policy that has no authority in law, yet is as enforceable as if it does -- and the courts will back them up.

And it's likely that, before much longer, it won't be just the southern border states.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Gotta Love Summer!

Here's what was waiting for me when I got home on Friday:
Looks tasty, doesn't it?
The first ripe tomato of summer out of our garden!  For scale, it's just a bit smaller than a baseball.

Now we just need to figure out what we're going to put it in.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

It's Alive! The Rem R51 -- And Remington?

Remington has announced production of the Rem R51 will resume in October. 

Breaking: Remington R51 9 mm Pistol Update - American Rifleman

From Remington's Presser:
"...after initial commercial sales, our loyal customers notified us that some R51 pistols had performance issues. We immediately ceased production to re-test the product.  While we determined the pistols were safe, certain units did not meet Remington’s performance criteria. The performance problems resulted from complications during our transition from prototype to mass production. These problems have been identified and solutions are being implemented, with an expected production restart in October."

Pardon me if I don't hold my breath. As of late, one of the few things Remington has done well was make - and break - promises.

Still, deep in my core, in the dark, dusty, hidden recesses of my sick, twisted, puppy-dog-eyed soul, I'm hoping this is real. I'd love to think that we've seen the worst of Cerberus, Freedom and Remington. I'd rejoice in a revitalized Big Green that was once again filling the stores and safes with quality, affordable, and highly desirable products. Marlin would be churning out some of the best lever actions in the world. And the R700 would once again be the premier affordable turn-bolt. 

But... it's only -- one more promise.

I'm not holding my breath.  




Saturday, July 26, 2014

Schooling "Baldr Odinson"

Baldr Odinson, a.k.a. Jason Kilgore (source)
So our Oregon resident anti-gun personality, "Baldr Odinson" (a.k.a. Jason Kilgore), recently put up a post on his "New Trajectory" blog entitled, "The NRA Now Wants To Make It Mandatory To Arm Children In School!" (link provided for posterity; don't feel obligated to click it) that's just BEGGING for a good, old-fashioned fisking.

I intend to keep an eye on his rantings so that civilized folks don't have to. It's just another service we offer.

We'll get started below the fold. I'm just going over the highlights, not the whole thing (which is fairly lengthy). Unless otherwise noted, all emphasis is in the original and all links are included.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Good Guy With a Gun

It was a gun-grabber's wet dream -- A patient walks into a hospital and starts firing. The word goes out immediately: Shooting in a Hospital! The headlines, press releases and anti-gun bills are almost writing themselves. Then... somehow... things go implausibly off-script. The gunman (never called a criminal, drug abuser or a madman) has been resisted. Someone, who should have been just another tally, one more helpless victim, has used a gun to put a hard stop to the madness.

PA hospital: Wounded doctor fired back at gunman

Emily Miller reports that the media is already losing interest in the story. "Almost zero media coverage of this shooting today -- a doctor was armed and stopped the bad guy."

It takes a good guy with a gun - to stop a bad guy with a gun. 

This essential truth reemerges again, despite what the media, gun banners, politicians and big city police chiefs say. It remains a hard truth despite the hospital rules that ban employees from possessing firearms on the grounds. The doctor is alive because he saw the fatal fallacy of rules demanding helplessness -- and probably so are many, many others.      

Remember that. 

Thursday, July 24, 2014

On "Othering" Allies


Programing note: This blog is about two months old. In that period, I've often felt I was a lone voice crying in the wilderness. However, as of now, there's two voices crying in the wilderness. Please join me in welcoming Archer, a man with definitely a lot to say!

I had originally hoped that my first post here would be lighter and/or more humorous, but inspiration is a funny thing, and we have to work with what we're given.  So here goes.

We hear constantly - in the mainstream media, in online and face-to-face discussions, everywhere about "The Left" and "The Right," and what each side wants.  And we hear each side demonizing and ridiculing the opposing side in a desperate race-to-the-bottom to out "Other" the opposition.

It makes my brain do a fingernails-on-a-blackboard cringe.

"But, wait" - in the words of the late Billy Mays “there's more!"  Not only does The Left try to portray The Right as the "Other" - and vice versa - but The Right tries and generally succeeds at doing it to themselves.

Perhaps these Gallup poll findings should come as no surprise; the number of claimed Independents is at nearly unprecedented levels, as both the "major" parties succeed in alienating the fence-sitting moderates.

And that brings us around to the topic of this post, and the unexpected events that inspired it.

We were at our County Fair recently, and stopped by the local Republican Party kiosk to chat with the folks working the tent.  Oregon recently held its primary elections, and the strongest Republican contenders were Tea-Party-favorite and Oregon-Firearms-Federation endorsed Jason Conger and GOP-establishment-darling Dr. Monica Wehby -- Wehby won on an entirely anti-Affordable-Care-Act campaign and will face our current sitting Democratic Senator in November.

What surprised me, though, was how incensed the people at the tent got when we hit the topic of who would have been a better candidate, based on their respective platforms.  Everyone working the tent seemed to reflexively oppose Conger and support Wehby, even though nobody could seem to agree where either candidate stood on any non-ACA issue.

(Don't get me wrong, I'd like the ACA repealed as much as the next person, but there are other issues I care about, too.  As you might have noticed, this is a gun blog, and Jason Conger is strongly pro-gun; Wehby hasn't formally taken any position on firearms, but her affiliations in the Portland-area ["gun-control"-central in Oregon] and her active membership/support of the AMA [which sees guns as a "public health issue"] make her views somewhat suspect.)

My final remark before we left the tent was this: "The fact that we're even having a discussion like this means a lot of the message is being lost."  And it is, to our detriment.  Conger -- like most primary challengers -- had already been successfully "Othered" by the GOP establishment long before any primary ballots were cast.

Circular Firing Squad
And that, I think, is why the GOP doesn't seem to win any big elections outside their strongholds.  The Left comes in two main varieties -- we'll call them "Liberal" and "Progressive" -- which march in ideological lock-step, differing mostly in degree and method.  The Right, on the other hand, is more like Baskin Robbins' 31 flavors -- moderates, big-L and small-l libertarians, Constitutionalists, Tea Partiers, generic "conservatives," and the Liberal-Lite variety known as "RINOs" (did I miss anyone?) -- and the differences are anything but subtle.  Like a double-scoop of orange sherbert and mint chocolate chip, yeah, we'll mix, but it'll leave an unpleasant taste in your mouth.

Why would we do this?  Why would we waste so much political and monetary capital fighting amongst ourselves that there's nothing left for the main event?

It's no longer any wonder that every election feels like choosing the lesser of two evils.  It's even less wonder why more Independents lean toward Democratic principles.  The Left presents both a unified front and a synchronized message; The Right is too divided against itself to do either.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

ARES Defense Sport Configurable Rifle

Oh, cool: American ingenuity trumps government legislative control.   

ARES Defense has created an AR-15 system compatible lower that eliminates the progressives' panty wadding pistol grip and unicorn killing collapsible stock. Their Sport Configurable Rifle (SCR) is essentially a redesigned AR-15 lower with a shotgun-like composite stock. It retains the magwell of the AR-15 and any compatible upper can be mounted. ARES redesigned the Bolt Carries Group (BCG) and the recoil path to fit the traditional stock. The result is essentially an AR, but with a slightly odd, but traditional look. With many of the laws restricting Modern Sporting Rifles, appearance is everything.

ARES claims their SCR is legal in every state - check your local laws to be damn sure. The SCR also eliminates the bayonet (flashlight or frickin' laser beam) mount and the uber deadly flashhider. Thankfully, the "shoulder thing that goes up" (barrel shroud) is kept.


When is an AR-15 not an AR-15? - aresdefense.com

The SCR is a lesson on the stupidity of the current crop of "Assault Weapon" laws. Anti-gun legislators demonized the AR-15's military-style appearance, wholesaling fears of "battlefield weapons" to an ignorant public. However, without that dangerous silhouette, the SCR is just another rifle. As the SCR and AR-15 are functionally the same, the politicians are left to explain just what is so deadly about a $5 plastic grip or a stock that at its most eeeevil only trims 3 inches off a 30" rifle. To ban these guns, politicians must rail against a relatively familiar shape to a populace growing increasingly skeptical of the elites' leadership.   

But rail they will, so it is important that supporters of the RKBA (Right to Keep and Bear Arms) remain vigilant and resist the coming proposals to ban semi-autos, box magazines and military calibers. The ARES SCR is a teaching tool to show the fatal flaws of the politician's arguments.  

For me, I can't wait till ARES sells the SCR lower. I'll mate it to my beloved DD 6.8 upper, and take it deer hunting without fear of exciting the other hunters. Don't forget, our friends need education, too.   

Monday, July 21, 2014

The 300 Murphy (BLK Irish)

Gun Geekery:

I'm intrigued by the 300 BLK (300 ACC Blackout 7.62x35.) It approximates the performance of the 7.62x39 Russki and is much better suited to the AR platform. It can be loaded super or sub-sonic, and is a natural for a suppressor. In a short barreled/ suppressed firearm, it's well suited for home and urban defense. The donor-case is the ubiquitous 5.56x45 NATO/.223 Remington, cut down and necked up. Use of the 5.56 case allows the 300 to use the same bolt, magazines and somewhat the same chamber design.

And therein lies the problem.

300 BLK in a 5.56 AR Pistol Barrel -- guns.com
Murphy, the patron saint of all things mechanical, initially formulated his infamous law as: "If something can be installed incorrectly, it will be." A 300 BLK round can be installed in a 5.56 gun. And as any math major can attest, 300 goes into 5.56 only once.

The design of the 300 BLK allows it to fit into a 5.56 chamber. The Intrawebz holds this to be impossible, but there are too many reports and photographs of 300 BLK being (un)successfully fired in a 5.56 firearm. The shooters have not been noobs: most have been experienced and competent AR gunners. The .30 caliber bullet's ogive can neatly nestle into the 5.56 chamber's shoulders. The bolt closes and the trigger is pulled, and barrel, gun and shooter comense to having a very bad day. So far, there have been no reports of serious injuries. However, it's only time before "Someone gets kilt." 

300 BLK v 5.56 - onpointsupply.com
It's obvious that 300 BLK must be kept out of 5.56 guns. But, how do you bell that damn cat when the 300 uses the same mags ('cuse me: clips), bolt face, and at a glance can look much the same as the 5.56? The obvious answer is a strict policy of separating the 300 from the 5.56: in gun cases, range bags, mags, ammo, work tables, shooting benches, etc. Good luck with that in the chaos system that is the usual shooting trip. Some shooters mark their mags for 300 only, some use only one mag type (PMag or aluminum) for the BLK. I think I'd also paint the 300 BLK's mag's feed lips red, International Orange or Yum-Yum Yellow. And perhaps paint the mag well and magazine sides the same colors.

Who am I kidding? I'm much too much of an adherent to Murphy's Law to be completely  comfortable with these solutions. This idiot needs idiot proofing. Perhaps, I'll just have to continue with my 6.8 SPC II experimentation.

Until someone comes out with a foolproof solution, I fear the 300 BLK might well be renamed the 300 Murphy, or alternately, the 300 BLK Irish.

It's best to keep in mind  O'Toole's Observation on Murphy's Law: Murphy was an optimist.



Sunday, July 20, 2014

The Sensei

Massad Ayoob
Massad Ayoob

A true five-tools player: instructor, author, expert witness, shooter, cop. He's been there, done that, given the scars. Through his Massad Ayoob Group (MAG) he provides some of the finest self-defense training available. I had the privilege of attending his MAG 20: Classroom – Armed Citizens’ Rules of Engagement: an eye-opening, life-changing experience. Can't wait to add the shooting portion of MAG 20. If you're interested in self-defense, and dammit, you should be, look hard for a MAG class coming anywhere near you.

Massad is also releasing several books, including the upcoming Deadly Force - Understanding Your Right To Self Defense.

Photo by Tamara Keel, of the most excellent View From the Porch blog, who reserves all rights. Why this post? I just like The Tam's portrait of Mas.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

California Anti-Gun Bill Signed

Cal Gov Jerry Brown - 10 News
CalFFL: Gov. Jerry Brown Signs New Handgun Ban AB 1964

Inaugurating California's festive anti-gun legislation season, California Governor Jerry Brown has signed AB 1964: Unsafe Handguns: Single-Shot Pistols

This bill eliminates the exemption of singe-shot pistols from the California "Not Unsafe" Gun program. Single-shot pistols must now be approved by the expensive and onerous CalDOJ testing process before the gun can be sold through California FFLs. Since single-shot pistols are by their very nature a low volume item and it wouldn't be economical for a manufacturer to pay for the testing; this law effectively bans new single-shot pistols from California.

Why this niggling bill? That's a much deeper question. It speaks to the relationship of California's ruling elite to a despised minority in their Golden Utopia: the gun owner. An uncharacteristically truthful legislator once spoke of his desire to hurt gun owners in any way possible.

We've been hurt yet again. 

Friday, July 18, 2014

Friday Funnies

Ripped off from Facedbook:
Meth-Devotee Tyler Aingston

For local meth-heads, Facebook group “Everytown For Gun Safety” known as “EveryTownperson We Can Rob Safely” 

Even in my life-threatening caffeine-depleted state, I can appreciate and steal appropriate brilliance.  

Lots of wondrous snark at WonderDonkey.com

HT: GrantCunningham.com

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Armed Citizens Making a Difference

Detroit Police Chief Gives Credit to Armed Citizens For Drop in Crime

Detroit Police Chief James Craig - TDN
I'm really liking this guy.

But, it seems, to quote Josey Wales: "When I get to likin' someone, they ain't around long."

We worry, because Detroit Police Chief James Craig has been a lone voice crying in the concrete wilderness - insisting that armed citizens deter crime. As the Detroit News pondered the causes of the significant drop in Detroit crimes, they didn't want the armed citizen to look too good. They led the article with an elderly homeowner they characterized as having "an itchy trigger-finger". Even thought he actually didn't defend himself during the home invasion robbery, and therefore actually isn't part of the story's subject matter, he did take a pot shot at a TV news crew who wouldn't get off his porch. While we applaud him for his public-spirited action, it doesn't really reflect well on armed homeowners. Which was obviously the intention of TDN.

The remainder of the article is mostly well-balanced; even though Josh Horwitz, Sad Panda of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, rears his misshapen head for a discredited platitude or two. Chief Craig credits the good work of his department, but also affirms that armed Detroiters are part of why crime is declining. TDN buries the article's money quote: “If I was out there now robbing people these days, knowing there are a lot more people with guns, I know I’d have to rethink my game plan,” said Al Woods, 60, a self-described former criminal. "They’re less likely to do so if they think they (the citizen) might be armed.”

  Well... duh. 

  Recommended reading.

  HT: The Detroit News

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

A Favorite Gun Range

A right is like a muscle, to stay strong it must be exercised. One of my favorite ranges to exercise my Right to Keep and Bear Arms is the InSight Range of Cerritos, CA.

Please note: I have absolutely no ties to the InSight Range. Except when, on all too rare occasion, I throw money at them. 

Here in the aptly named LA Basin, Southern California, shooting ranges are rare. Good ones are my preciousssss. InSight boasts 20 indoor 25 yard lanes, well lit and ventilated.  There's plenty of space behind the lanes for observers and equipment. Jacketed bullets are required, but you can shoot commercial ammo as well as your handloads. Handguns up to .44 Mag are allowed, as are rifles in pistol calibers. There was some talk about equipping some lanes to handle 5.56, but they found at 25 yards the AR-15 pills drilled right through the vendor's gar-run-teed backstop. Opps. Shotguns can be patterned as long as you use the range's #8 shot loads. Lane fees are reasonable and not time limited. I've hogged a lane when slowly working up a lever action and a couple of pistols and .22LR rifles, and got nothing but polite interest in my process. 

There's an adequate number of staff, who've always been friendly, competent, safety orientated and reasonable.They run a tight ship, but without the constant autocratic irritation of many ranges. It seems after your first few trips to the range, you become a known and trusted customer, with friendly nods from the owner, his wife and son. Their range rules are well thought-out and rational. Wait times are hardly noticeable.

For $10, you can rent ALL of their ~40 guns. THAT'S A TREMENDOUS FREAKIN' DEAL!!! Most other ranges around here charge $10 per gun for a much smaller selection. There's no better place to take someone unsure of the gun they want to buy. 

InSight offers a full service FFL with a small - but interesting - selection of firearms for sale. I've transferred several guns and bought a stripped lower through them and found them competent, efficient and cost effective.

In addition, the InSight Range is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, providing meeting rooms to the NRA Membership Council and support for shooting events.

There may be better ranges in other, freer areas, but for urban SoCal, the InSight Range is pretty damn good. And they're setting a standard that many ranges should aspire to.                 

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

This is My Shocked Face (More IL Gun Laws)

"It's Groundhog Day here in Chicago."

The irony: it burns.

Although Chicago Police Superintendent Garry (hippie parents much?) McCarthy was decrying the recent spate of gun violence in the gun-free paradise of Chicagoland, he could have been ruminating on the all-too-predictable response of the politicians to a firearms related tragedy:
  1. Run to the sound of the ambulances. (There'll be cameras!)
  2. Hold a press conference. (Extra points for using cops and families as props)
  3. Decry the loss of life. (Try to find a KIA that wasn’t a banger or terminally stupid)
  4. Blame the easy availability of guns. (In Chicago? For Reals?)
  5. Pound the table about the lax gun laws. (In Chicago? For Reals?)
  6. Propose yet another anti-gun law. (Disarm and punish the law-abiding)
  7. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Predictable as a tax increase, Illinois governor “Pat” Quinn bellies up to the cameras to bloviate for another law banning “Assault Rifles”, limiting ammunition capacity, and increasing background checks. The fact that the law would have actually done nothing to stop the violence goes without saying. It’s just the natural political cycle.

One we have to break.

HT: TheTruthAboutGuns.com,
       The Federalist Papers

Monday, July 14, 2014

Canadian Gun Rights Struggle

Americans are typically barely aware of things up north: there's usually nothing happening in America’s attic. When reminded, we tend to think of Canadians as unfailingly polite, slightly goofy, somewhat condescending, and wholly irritating. Irritating, because we've realized that the Canadians have sent us Justin Bieber, Celine Dion, Jim Carrey, Neil Young and James Cameron, and now refuse to take them back. Bastards.   

They’re also our neighbors involved in a daily struggle for gun rights.

Canada is usually assumed to be a largely disarmed nation, similar to England, Australia, and New Zealand.  Actually, Canada has a long tradition of hunting and self-reliance, a significant number of firearms owners, ever growing target, clay and action shooting cadres, and the frontier’s self-reliant sensibilities. As Canada grew and “civilized”, there was the usual pull of rights into government control, resulting in an authoritarian series of registration requirements, permitting and handgun and long gun restrictions. To resist the government’s grasp, a vibrant rights community has sprung up, defending and even reacquiring lost rights.

Canada has no Constitutional protection of the right to keep and bear arms; the defense of firearms rights is purely political. There’s also no Gun Culture 2.0 as exemplified by the American concealed carry movement, so the resistance must center on the hunting and sports communities. The Canadian Shooting Sports Association (CSSA) and National Firearms Association (NFA) are the major rights organizations above the border. Both orgs struck a blow for freedom with the recent elimination of the expensive and largely useless national Long-Gun Registry. The NFA has struck a cord with their aggressive “No Compromise” stance. It’s good to know that Canadian citizens have such snarling watchdogs on their side.

A wood-fired Intranet is embraced by Canadians as a natural tool in the defense of their rights. There’s a bunch of uniquely Canadian forums, blogs, podcasts, and magazines. Some standouts include the Canadian Gun Nutz forum, and the Slam Fire Radio and Action Shooting Radio podcasts. The ‘casts are especially worth a listen, but be sure to have your toque screwed on tight. Take a look at The Hunting Gear Guy for his long list of gun tinged forums. 

The right to self-defense and the attendant right to keep and bear arms is a human right. Those rights go far beyond the US borders. We should be aware and supportive of the efforts of our brothers and sisters in the Frozen North.
  
They are the Eh-Team when it comes to defending Canadian firearms rights.

Additional Linkerage:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Canada
http://www.gunownersresource.com/Topics/canadian-gun-rights/
 

. 

This Can't Be Good

Holder: 'Homegrown Violent Extremists … Keep Me Up at Night'

Any bet as to what flavor of "extremists" are hiding under Holder's bed? Certainly not the ones killing people in Chicago. Probably these guys: Holder sees 'racial animus' in opposition. Dang those bitter clingers.

 HT: Drudge

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Regulations

"Actually, the first question should be whether or not something should be regulated. After all, all of you “reasonable people” have created a huge, unreasonable, bureaucratic burden on most people."

HT: Say Uncle

The gun control industry has mandated all sorts of forms, checks, agencies, checks, databases, controls, etc., at a tremendous cost. To what end?

Take one small example: the infamous NICS check: The yearly budget for the FBI NICS system is $100M. All that money and manpower, wasted hours of gunstores and customers filing out a non-nonsensical form, resulted in 22 convictions over one year.    


More later, when life (and the dawgs) ease up.


Thursday, July 10, 2014

Operation Choke Point

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
    -- Thomas Jefferson


Dawgs

Okay...

Tuesday night our bigboy-goodboy GSD surprised us by vomiting a pint of blood onto the bedroom floor. Since that moment, it's been a roller coaster of vets, tests, hopes and fears. Just got the word: the big guy has -- ulcers. And I wouldn't think he has a care in the world besides keeping his pack-mate off his butt.

Thankfully, his prognosis is very good. Although, he'll probably be putting up with my cooking - a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice - for the rest of his days. VCA was wonderful - and never-fear, very well recompensed for their efforts.

Incredibly, a neanderthalic knuckle-dragger can be instantly reduced to a blubbering idiot by the sight of his on-the-mend furkid. Who knew?

Not me.

Booker - Goofball Extraordinary
 

Monday, July 7, 2014

Oleg Volk: People Control

Sugar and Steel (Oleg Volk)
You should know Russian émigré Oleg Volk, who is famed for his 2nd Amendment photography, graphic design, and artful pitcers of nekkid wimmens. He’s also known for his unique commentary. Oleg lived for years under the failed Soviet socialist system and has an unique perspective on what happens when civil rights are denied.

In his July 1st post, Moving From Gun Control to People Control, Oleg describes historical outcomes of groups being denied their right to self-defense. The best possible result is servitude to those with the power – and the guns.

Been there, done that, Never Again.

HT: Say Uncle

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Training: Project Appleseed

Rifle Training - 80% Off!

Two full days of top-notch training - for only  $80! (Compare to the common $400 cost of a weekend class.) Wow, what a deal! Gonna jump at that with both feet, right?

http://appleseedinfo.org/

Ruger 10/22 Sporter Liberty Training Rifle
This is my Ruger 10/22 Liberty Training Rifle, modded along the recommendations of Appleseed. The eyes are taking early retirement, so I went with a 3-9x scope insead of the uber-cool Tech-Sights. If  I was to do it again -- who am I kidding? -- When I redo it yet again, I'll go with a lower power scope, 2-7, or probably a 1-4x with a long eye box. It also has a bunch of good guy Volquartsen bolt release and trigger mods. Tried a high-zoot nylon sling that wasn't up to the demanding course of fire; Appleseed's less-expensive canvas sling worked much better. I did add a Limbsaver slip on recoil pad to counter the fearsome .22LR recoil - and add a badly needed inch to the length of pull. 

A semi-automatic 22LR is the recommended rifle, but I've seen AR-15s, bolt actions, levers and a even a Mosin-Nagant. However, by far, the most important thing is a teachable attitude. Never doubt that these guys know their stuff!  

A right unexercised is a right lost. Learn, train, practice.

Highly recommended.

The Master speaks:
THE APPLESEED PROJECT By Massad Ayoob
APPLESEED
LESSONS FROM APPLESEED
THE GUNS OF APPLESEED

Saturday, July 5, 2014

50% of Voters Consider Owning a Gun Patriotic

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/07/02/fox-news-poll-is-voting-act-patriotism-what-about-owning-gun/

47% do not. 3% are still pondering what cereal to have for lunch

At a very basic level, owning a gun just seems something that one does. Like maintaining a fire extinguisher, first aid kit, or a well regulated tool kit. Keeping a pair of Channellocks is not patriotic - it's just smart.

Actively supporting the people's rights, learning and observing the political process, engaging others in reasoned discourse, voting -- and standing in the breach -- are the acts of a patriot.        


“‘Twould be an ill world for weaponless dreamers if evil men were not now and then slain.”
            ― Rudyard Kipling

Friday, July 4, 2014

Have A Happy 4th of July!

Opps -- Wrong One





That's it!
Have a Happy Independence Day
4th of July, 2014!!!
Happy Birthday, Everyone!

Just DON'T!


I know I'm preaching to the choir --  but, firing guns into the air is stupid and dangerous. That thoughtless act taints all gun owners; don't let those around your do it. 

Remember Jeff Cooper's 4th Commandment: Be sure of your target and what's beyond.    

HT: Emily Miller (The cutest thing under 4-11), Fox 5 News D.C.

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Happy Independence Day!

Be safe, be sane. And take some time to reflect on what we are celebrating:

On July 4th, 1776, the American Colonies, driven to desperation by British government malfeasance, declared their independence. The outcome was in no way certain. The Colonies had only a disorganized, fractious, barely trained army of farmers and merchants; chronically short of food, shoes, military equipment - even the lead for their rifle balls. They were challenging the finest, most professional, best trained, equipped and led army in the world, backed by the greatest navy ever seen. The British rightly scorned their foes as hapless rable. With all this, the Patriots put everything on the line, for their children, their country, and an ideal of Freedom.     

Seven long years of bloody struggle followed. Many times it looked like the Founders had lost the bet on their lives. Then finally, implausibly, a Franco-American army encircled the British army at Yorktown and forced its surrender. 

Read the Declaration of Independence - after all these years, the words still ring true.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it."
 Radical, revolutionary words. Fit to change the path of humanity.

Those Patriots gave the country, the world, and the future a tremendous gift, purchased with their blood. It is up to us not to waste it.     

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Our California Looneislature

Here in Californiastan, our full-time legislature is in the process of harvesting a bumper crop of new bills. During a typical year, the overwhelmingly Democrat legislature will pass nearly the same amount of bills as the rest of the nation combined. And since they are such busy beavers, they have years ago gone through all the good-stupid bills, such as the one that allows a student to use whatever bathroom he/she/it feels best matches its/her/his gender identity at that particular moment. Now, the poor legislatures must plow the fields of the bad-stupid bills, like the ban on the free, convenient, sanitary, strong, biodegradable, but, oh so bourgeois, plastic grocery bag; in favor of the bulky, stained, bacteria-laden, hard-to-remember, hated, but hippie-friendly, reusable bag. They focus on these efforts while the state has approximately $138 Billion of unacknowledged debt. All the better to establish a Non-Worker’s Paradise on Earth Gaia.

Be assured, our progressive elites are eying the excessive firearms freedoms we enjoy here in the Grate State of California. This year, there is an overflowing bed-pan of anti-gun legislation. It’d be repetitious to say they are unconstitutional, unworkable, ineffective, expensive, ill-considered and malicious attempts to hurt the unreeducated bitter-clingers that are somehow still in the state.

A partial list (my ulcers) of the proposed legislation includes:
  • Adding single-shot handguns to the “Safe” Handgun List process;·        
  • An expensive and onerous license and individual purchase background check requirement for anyone (legally) buying ammunition; ·         
  •  Criminalizing “homebuilt” (80% lower) firearms;·         
  •  Registration of BB-Guns;·         
  •  And worst of all, the horrendously unconstitutional Gun Violence Restraining Orders and Firearm Seizure Warrants to be issued with a mere accusation.
All is not lost, as our Governor Moonbeam, "Flaky Jerry" Brown, is now an island of reasonableness in the Looney-Left sea of Sacramento. Such is the state of California politics. All friends of Gun Rights should contact the Governor’s Office and politely urge Gov. Brown to oppose all these bills. 
   
Governor Jerry Brown  
c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173  
Sacramento, CA 95814
 
Phone: (916) 445-2841
Fax: (916) 558-3160


HT: https://www.firearmspolicy.org/act/California/

These are just a few of the reasons that, as a Fifth-Generation Californian, I will soon be moving to Texas.