Articles by Herschel Smith

David Codrea.

… Assemblyman David Chiu, resurrected a gun-grabber dream list priority, microstamping, a requirement for firearms to mark an identifier on ammunition casings, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Disregard for a moment that professional reporter Alexei Koseff and his editors seem confused at times and tell readers the “unique imprint [will be left on] on bullets that are fired.”

That’s not what it’s about anyway, since, after then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (warned ya!) signed microstamping into law in 2007, manufacturers stopped introducing new models …

It seems to be happening with regularity in places that aren’t otherwise amenable to God-given rights of self defense.  Concern for Coronavirus patients isn’t his primary concern.  Control of people is.

I’ve said it before, the desire to control others is the signal sociopathology of the wicked.  And I hate to say it again, but if you waited until now to get your firearms and ammunition, you waited too late.

From reading reddit/firearms and other sites, it’s obvious that run-of-the-mill progs (i.e., the ones not in charge) who are hunting for weapons at the moment, first of all seem to have given up on their anti-gun fetish (it only takes a pandemic to jettison foolish ideas).

Second, they are finding that it isn’t as easy to get them as they had been told, are having to wait, and are paying higher prices than if they had jettisoned those beliefs long ago.  Finally, they’re finding that there is no ammunition.

So sorry.  We told you.

Shooting Illustrated.

1X magnification, of course, obviously meant for a MSR.  Decent price point: $365.  Auto dot shutdown upon no movement for five minutes, total of 1000 hours on middle setting.

Ammoland.com.

While the news is filled with gloom and doom over Coronavirus scares, some good news came out of the West Virginia earlier today. WV Governor Jim Justice signed a bill that reinforces the state’s preemption law. Senate Bill 96 is part of a concerted effort by pro-gun politicians in WV to prevent anti-gun municipalities from passing anti-gun local ordinances that could restrict the rights of WV citizens.

The wording of Senate Bill 96 is very encompassing and deliberate. This is ideal for any legislation dealing with fundamental human rights as it helps prevent future politicians from resticting those rights by playing on the ambiguity them.

Well good.  But we’re not finished yet.  Not even nearly.

What about HB 4168?  I see the governor hasn’t signed it yet.  In fact, it isn’t clear to me that anything at all has been done with it since introduction.

What gives?  Why won’t WV legislators support gun rights?

This is an amazing video.  Watch it all.

As best as I can ascertain, the special agent was investigating corruption in the Franklin County Sheriff’s department.  It appears that the deputy in question wrote a ticket, and then rescinded it because the person to whom the ticket was issued was politically powerful, wealthy, or otherwise connected.

The FBI was investigating that (I would surmise, among other things).  He called the deputy’s cell phone and chose a time and place to avoid letting the Sheriff’s office know about the investigation.  Makes sense to me.

What happens next is … well, just watch.

USA Carry.

In what the Dallas Police Department is calling an expansion of alternate reporting methods, they are amending their response protocols to limit officer contact with the public for non-emergency and property-related offenses. They say that this will not affect their responses to crimes against persons and other “High Priority Calls”.

Instead of officer responses, victims are being asked to use the Dallas Online Reporting System and click on the “File a Police Report Online” tab. The Dept says that an investigation will be conducted just as if an officer had taken the report at the scene.

Among the low-level crimes affected are Burglary of a Motor Vehicle, Criminal Mischief, Reckless Damage, Shoplifting, Property Theft (Auto Accessories), and similar.

As a reminder to regular readers, and a brief primer for new readers, the police are under no legal obligation to protect anyone.

Castle Rock v. Gonzalez

Warren v. District of Columbia

DeShaney v. Winnebago County

For home invasions, I cannot offer legal advice, but it’s not a safe bet that the invaders are only there to steal property.

And just a reminder – never talk to the police.  That’s your lawyer’s job.

I was shocked to see this post over at Say Uncle.  I’m so very sorry to him, and words cannot possibly convey my heartfelt sympathy or the pain and grief he is bearing right now.

I’m sorry for your loss.

From a reader, news from North Carolina.

The Wake County Sheriff’s Office will suspend pistol and concealed-carry permit applications until April 30 as demand surges amid the coronavirus outbreak, Sheriff Gerald Baker announced Tuesday.

Applications that have already been submitted will continue to be processed, Baker said during a press briefing.

Pistol permit applications last week averaged 290 per day, or more than three times the roughly 90 applications per day during the same time period a year ago, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Baker said his office needs time to manage the backlog.

“This decision does not limit anyone’s right to purchase a handgun,” he said in a news release.

Of course, that’s a lie and he knows it.

All permitting schemes are an infringement upon God-given rights, including the one in North Carolina.  If the Sheriff had said that he was stopping the processing of concealed handgun permits only, then he might have been correct, but since North Carolina has a permitting scheme for BOTH pistol purchases and concealed handgun carry, that means if someone wanted to go purchase a handgun tomorrow, he would be unable to if he lived in Wake County.

Many other counties are doing the same thing, and unfortunately, the entirety of Pennsylvania is shut down to firearms purchases because the governor issued a shutdown order for all businesses.

Even Hungarians are standing in line for firearms purchases.

About 300,000 people hold licenses for guns in each of the Czech Republic and Hungary, both with about 10 million inhabitants. Licenses are not mandatory for some light arms.

“We are selling five times as much as in a normal March,” said Gabor Vass, who runs three gun shops in the Hungarian capital including the one where Rostas bought his gas pistol.

“We could sell 15 times more if we had any more rubber bullet weapons, but we ran out.”

The shop, little bigger than a phone booth and tucked inside a suburban shopping center on the edge of Budapest, was hardly designed for an onrush of customers. But last week brought a heavy stream, people from all walks of life.

“Prepping” means doing it before, not after.

Las Vegas Sun.

Nevada’s governor has signed an emergency order barring the use of anti-malaria drugs for someone who has the coronavirus.

Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak’s order Tuesday restricting chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine comes after President Donald Trump touted the medication as a treatment for the virus.

Trump last week falsely stated that the Food and Drug Administration had just approved the use of chloroquine to treat patients infected with coronavirus. After the FDA’s chief said the drug still needs to be tested for that use, Trump overstated the drug’s potential benefits in containing the virus.

Sisolak said in a statement that there’s no consensus among experts or Nevada doctors that the drugs can treat people with COVID-19. His order also limits a prescription to a 30-day supply to ensure it’s available for “legitimate medical purposes” and so that people cannot find a way to stockpile the drug.

There are comments to the extent AP has misreported.  But apparently not.  There is also this.

You’ve heard it from me and you’ve heard it from medical experts and other leaders across our country — the best way to stop the spread of this virus is to practice aggressive social distancing and to keep large groups of people apart. This virus is persistent and spreads invisibly, it can live on surfaces for up to 72 hours or more. That’s why distance is so important. It’s our number one defense.

So listen.  This isn’t right.  Isolation, containment and social distancing aren’t affecting the doubling rate.  That’s just false.  As I’ve said before, I’ve been tracking this since before the aggressive social lockdowns, and the doubling rate hasn’t changed except in the second or third decimal place.

Anyway, the governor is a fool.

NY Daily News.

Wait!  You mean that cops can’t be trusted at crime scenes?

But the most interesting part is that cops know when to shut up.  ” … he refused to discuss, on the grounds he might incriminate himself.”  If you are ever accosted by police, you should claim the fifth too.

Yes.

We’ve seen subtle signs of a panic buying here and there the past few weeks but it looks like the lid is about to blow off.

A reader from Arizona, Brent Stuart, tried to purchase two cases of pistol primers last week from Sportsman’s Warehouse in Phoenix, AZ, this afternoon and was told he could only purchase one case. The clerk at the counter told him there was a new corporate policy limiting the amounts of firearms, ammunition and reloading components purchased in a single day. According to the employee, he had received a copy of a memo from corporate headquarters that morning limiting firearm, reloading components and ammunition purchases temporarily.

Online ammunition retailer, Ammo.com, reports a significant increase in sales since February 23, 2020. The company believes that this surge corresponds with the public concern regarding the COVID-19 virus.

Online ammunition retailer, Ammo.com, reports a significant increase in sales since February 23, 2020. The company believes that this surge corresponds with the public concern regarding the COVID-19 virus.

When compared to the 11 days before February 23 (February 12 to 22), in the 11 days after (February 23 to March 4), Ammo.com’sber of transactions increased 68%.

Alex Horsman, the marketing manager at Ammo.com, said of the surge, “We know certain things impact ammo sales, mostly political events or economic instability when people feel their rights may end up infringed, but this is our first experience with a virus leading to such a boost in sales.”

We queried another big box store, Cabela’s and Bass Pro-Shops, who reported that ammunition is selling at a record pace. Week to date tallies for Herter’s 9mm 115-grain FMJ ammunition is 5,589 boxes. That’s 279,450 rounds and it’s not even Saturday. Month to date sales are 40,152 boxes for 2,007,600 rounds and we are not even halfway through March for just that one type and brand of 9mm ammo.

In my little neck of the woods, the shelves at Academy Sports are bare.  There is nothing on them.  The same holds at Cabela’s.  I suspect that even in normal times it would take months to recover inventory.  With the upcoming election cycle, these aren’t normal times.