Articles by Herschel Smith

Via SurvivalBlog.

“I do not say that democracy has been more pernicious on the whole, and in the long run, than monarchy or aristocracy. Democracy has never been and never can be so durable as aristocracy or monarchy; but while it lasts, it is more bloody than either. … Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. It is in vain to say that democracy is less vain, less proud, less selfish, less ambitious, or less avaricious than aristocracy or monarchy. It is not true, in fact, and nowhere appears in history. Those passions are the same in all men, under all forms of simple government, and when unchecked, produce the same effects of fraud, violence, and cruelty. When clear prospects are opened before vanity, pride, avarice, or ambition, for their easy gratification, it is hard for the most considerate philosophers and the most conscientious moralists to resist the temptation. Individuals have conquered themselves. Nations and large bodies of men, never.” – John Adams, The Letters of John and Abigail Adams

The notion that 51% of the population can give a giant wedgie to the other 49% is wicked.  On the other hand, there is this.

“We are on the brink of a dramatic change; we are about to abandon the traditional system of money and replace it with a new one, Digital Blockchain CBDC, which will give us greater clarity over every single transaction.” – Economist Pippa Malmagren, speaking at the 2022 World Government Summit.

And I would add, the ability to manage and approve those transactions, as well as provide opportunity for graft and corruption (like bailing banks out with your wealth).

Sin infects every form of government.  It’s all considered building the Tower of Babel to God.  Only nations under the rule of His law-word can survive.

American Hunter.

The shooters tested the rifle out as follows.

That’s an accurate gun for MSRP of $1045.  Not a single 3-round group over 1 MOA.

I am posting this in the spirit of keeping you informed of the current firearms on the market and how they’re testing, as well as what they cost.  This looks like a good deal.

But then there is the old issue over these pages of desiring something with classic, elegant wooden furniture.  It would make a better heirloom, but be much heavier to carry.

Dean Weingarten.

Three bears – a polar bear, a grizzly bear and a black bear.

Kiepertoyo Hinlopen Strait, August, 1995

Another five people of the crew set out separately with only a .22 pistol and a flare gun. After an hour’s march, the second party were met by a bear, 75m away and openly aggressive. The bear was distracted neither by warning shot nor flare and attacked one of the party. As he did so, he was shot, from a range of only 15m and turned against the man who had fired at him. This man tossed the gun to the first, who shot again. The process was repeated, with first one man being attacked and then the other. By the time the pistol was emptied and a knife drawn, one man was dead and another badly injured.

[ … ]

Miller managed to pull out his .357 Magnum revolver and squeeze off a shot, possibly grazing the animal. Then he fell onto his stomach, dug his face into the dirt and covered his neck.

The bear went for his exposed right arm, gnawing and clawing it and chipping the bone off the tip of his elbow. The attack lasted 10 to 15 seconds, then the animal lumbered away.

As Miller rolled over and was getting to his knees, the bear, only about 40 yards away, came at him again.

He managed to fire two more shots, but with his right arm badly injured he thinks he missed the bear. Then he lay still as the animal gnawed and clawed at him.

[ … ]

The hunter received bite injuries to his foot through his boot as he climbed a tree to try to escape the bear. He was taken to Alta Vista Hospital in Las Vegas, N.M., where he was treated and released.

In Thursday’s attack, the hunter told officials he was eating lunch under a tree when he spotted the bear and her cub in a watering hole. He took photographs and started shooting video of the animals when the mother bear got angry and charged. The hunter, who officials did not identify, climbed the tree to escape.

At one point, the hunter fell 15 feet from the tree and then managed to climb back up. He fired his pistol into the air and at the female bear in attempt to scare it, but the animal didn’t leave.

So, in order, a .22LR, a series of misses, and shots never fired directly at the bear.

Dean once again proves himself to be the king of the researchers on firearm defense against bears.

Carry a large bore handgun, practice with it, and hit what you’re aiming at.

You can read the rest of Dean’s analysis at the link.  It’s worth it.

From an engineer’s perspective (I am one), why would any manufacturer make and distribute plastic optic mounting plates?  That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.

Who all does that? They should be ashamed of themselves. And their engineers should be ridiculed.

News.

Texas police are asking for the public’s help after they say a group of robbers pretending to be Houston police officers broke into a sleeping man’s apartment, armed with rifles and handguns.

At around 12:30 a.m. on March 18, several people broke down a Houston resident’s door, home security camera footage shared by police showed.

The intruders, armed with rifles and guns, yelled “HPD” as they entered the home, the video showed.

The resident of the apartment was sleeping at the time and told police he heard someone attempting to kick down his door.

He grabbed his handgun and told police he “did not think that they were the police” and fired his gun several times, according to a news release from the Houston Police Department’s Robbery Division. The resident believed the suspects, who he said were men, were there to rob him.

Clad in black masks and dark clothing, the attempted robbers fired their guns, causing shots to go through the walls and into other apartments, police said in the release.

Police said the men then fled the area.

The video doesn’t show very convincing posing to me.  However, consider the fact that you’re asleep, and the noise at the door indicates that LEOs want in.  Judgment before 30 minutes after waking up is impaired.  Studies have shown that you need 30 minutes before you can make good critical judgments.

I’ve documented this three other times in three other locations: California, Norfolk, Virginia, and in Houston, TX.

It’s also happened in Oahu, Hawaii and New York.

I’ve also pointed out before that police should understand that while they are recklessly invading homes, they aren’t just putting our lives at risk.  They’re putting their own lives at risk too.

They must understand that criminals have caught on to the game.  Announce that you’re police, yell obscenities, scream for people to get on the floor, and instinctively some people will do that.

But understand that we can’t do that.  We … cannot … do … that.  We don’t know who you are and we have our own lives to protect.

So by employing this tactic, police all across America have made the situation much more dangerous for the ordinary homeowner.  That moment of hesitation waiting to be sure of who is at the door could spell the end of some homeowner’s life.  That moment of quick reaction if it is cops could spell the end of some cop’s life, thus ensuring an awful trial for the homeowner in which s/he knows that the judge and jury will almost certainly side with the cop (because that’s what they do).

You can blame police for this conundrum.  And it’s far past time to end no-knock home invasions by cops as if they are playing soldier-boy.  If that restricts evidence gathering to more time consuming means for police (like good old fashioned detective work), then so be it.

I don’t care about convenience for cops.  I don’t even care about their war on drugs.  It’s not my war.

They didn’t really get to the main question.  Lever actions, why you need one.  Well, they’re cool.  We all learned on them.  They can take cartridges that you can’t really put into an AR without an awful lot of weight.  The recoil of a .30-30 is highly manageable and tame, and the recoil of a .45-70 isn’t much worse than a 12-gauge shotgun, which isn’t that bad.  It’s something I operate rather than a machine.

This is for starters.  Besides, lever actions are cool.  Additionally, lever actions are cool. Finally, to my last point, lever actions are cool.

I thought the line in the middle of the video was amusing.  Park ranger to dude – if you’re in the middle of the bush and a grizzly turns on you and you have a .357 magnum, use the gun on yourself.

Hey listen dude.  Some dogs are smaller than other dogs.  Don’t just tell that little dog to stand up for himself.  Take care of him yourself.  He’s yours.

Hey daddy, look what I made!

Uh oh, don’t tell daddy please.  I don’t want to get in trouble.

You hurt my feelings.  See, dogs have feelings too.

Where’s Fred when you need him?  This big cat needs some love.

Elephant to Crocodile.  Don’t screw with me.

That’s one beautiful cat!

Or at least the pretensions of one.

Alabama lawmakers on Thursday advanced legislation aimed at resisting a half-dozen executive actions by President Joe Biden to combat gun violence.

The Alabama Senate voted 24-5 for legislation that would prohibit state and local officials from participating in the “administration or enforcement of any presidential gun control order.” However, the bill includes an exemption if doing so would jeopardize federal funding.

Nope.  Kill the bill.  It’s not good enough, you cowards.

Remove the exemption.

Go back to the drawing board and don’t leave the room before you get it right.

These results are very interesting.  The 14.5″ and 16″ barrels had greater penetration, but obviously the 20″ barrel tore up the medium better.  It’s almost as if genius Eugene Stoner designed it that way.

Now.  Do 77 grain.

Via reader Ned.

Absolutely absurd.  And listen carefully to the cop’s testimony.

What is it?  Does the haircut make them stupid?  Do they hire the dumbest guys around for the job?  Does it have to do with being beaten up on the schoolyard playground?  Is it just a “controller” complex at work?

Don’t answer.  I think I know the answers.