Archive for the 'Firearms' Category

David Codrea:

What Trump can do is urge Congress to get the ball rolling, and be a constant voice not to let them drag their feet and drop it. And it can’t just be a halt to prosecutions or repeal of the Gun Free Schools Act, because states have edicts of their own. Withholding federal funds could also come into play (and where fedgov has legitimate authority to disburse such funds in the first place is another matter).

There are certain actions he can take, but honestly, I would recommend the following for him.  He should turn to his strong suit, his strength, his best attribute.  The power of persuasion.

He should return to the people.  Take trips, talk to the people, continue tweeting and avoiding going through the dead MSM and letting them craft their version of your story, make speeches, and above all else, convince the people themselves to take action.

It will take time and effort to unwind decades of bad policy.  Trump isn’t perfect.  Set your sights on the achievable, and remember, we go at this thing little by little, bite by bite.

Reader and commenter Fred sends this report.

A large bear attacked and wounded a North Carolina hunter who says he’s lucky to have survived the encounter.

Mike Wilson was hunting on a hill in Mitchell County, in the mountains of western North Carolina, when he came face-to-face with the 390-pound bear, WLOS-TV in Asheville reported Wednesday.

“The bear was coming up the hill, and I was coming down the hill,” Wilson told the station.

Wilson said he did what any hunter would do in that situation.

“Shoot it, of course. And I did,” he said. “But trying to get another shell in my gun, it just overrun me and knocked me down the hill.”

The bear also attacked three of Wilson’s hunting dogs, killing one.

WLOS reports the bear slashed Wilson in the face and neck with its paw. He said the animal came close to severing his jugular vein.

Doctors stopped the bleeding with 30 stitches.

The bear ran off after the attack and hid in a hole. Another hunter later shot and killed the bear, the station reported.”

They were hunting with dogs.  “The bear got him and got away. It hid in a hole, but not before injuring two dogs and killing another,” according to WLOS.

“A person with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission advised when you see a bear, face it and slowly walk away. You don’t want to turn your back to a bear.”

Hey, I have a different suggestion.  Always carry a side arm when you’re in the bush.  I know that brown bear is especially dangerous on the West coast and Northern states, but black bear can be quite dangerous too.  In addition to whatever long gun you’re carrying, care a pistol or revolver with you, capable of being reached very quickly.  If you carry a pistol rather than a revolver, make sure that you have confidence in it, and that it’s not prone to stovepipes, FTF and FTE.  And make sure you are well schooled in clearing weapon malfunctions under pressure.

One of the most surprising things about this report is that dogs are used to run deer, black bear, mountain lion (in Colorado and other states in the West), and feral hogs, among other animals.  Most animals in North America will run from a pack of dogs.  Not a single dog, but a pack of dogs.  In this particular case, three dogs didn’t constitute a pack.  Mike’s inability to get off another shot probably cost him a very expensive hunting dog.

One particularly amusing things about this report is found in the comments.

I’m not against hunting for food or carrying a weapon for protection, but for the life of me I will NEVER understand hunting for sport.  I cannot understand a mindset that finds pleasure in killing an animal just for fun.  To me, that’s demented.

Well, to each his own view, but let’s be clear here.  As we’ve chronicled before, modern game management techniques have increased herd sizes to vastly larger than they were 100 years ago or even more.  There are too many deer, too many Coyotes, and way too many feral pigs.  Feral pigs have closed down farms in Georgia due to the ecological carnage wrought on the land, and lethal removal isn’t enough.  It’s not even nearly enough.

There are Coyotes in inner city Chicago, and there are wolf-dog-coyote DNA admixtures all throughout the East and Southeast.  As I’ve mentioned, I’ve had Coyotes jogging down the road towards me in my own neighborhood.  The modern Coyote mixture, being a hybrid, is much more aggressive than it once was, and it’s much harder to turn them back.

Hunters will tell you that they can deal with one Coyote.  And they will tell you if they’re hiking to a tree stand in dusk and see multiple eyes on them (Coyotes also travel in packs), hunters will get out as quickly as possible.  If you are ever confronted by a pack of Coyotes, you’d better have means of egress or a good semi-automatic rifle.  An AR-15 would be perfect.  It wouldn’t for bear, black or brown.  Even carry a gun with you while you’re walking your dog.

Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel:

A man walking his dog Tuesday night near his home shot two people who tried to rob him, killing one and wounding the other.

Deonte M. Thomas, 17, of Milwaukee was shot to death and his 18-year-old companion was wounded, police said. The 36-year-old man had a concealed-carry permit.

The incident happened about 10 p.m. in the 6500 block of W. Euclid Ave. when the two robbers were driving around looking for a possible victim, Ald. Mark Borkowski said.

“Obviously these people picked the wrong person, but not everyone has concealed carry,” Borkowski said Wednesday. “We all get a sense of security because it’s our neighborhood, but we have to be diligent.”

The attempted robbery happened two blocks from St. Gregory the Great parish on Milwaukee’s south side in Borkowski’s 11th aldermanic district, an area that’s normally a quiet neighborhood, he said, but “I think it’s anywhere in our community.

“It’s my understanding these kids were looking for trouble. They had been involved in trouble prior to this incident,” Borkowski said. “To pick a guy who can defend himself has showed that regardless of whether you’re going to engage in this kind of criminal activity, you really don’t know. You may meet your match.”

Milwaukee Police Sgt. Timothy Gauerke said the two suspects may be responsible for an armed robbery about 8:55 p.m. Tuesday, about an hour before the incident on W. Euclid, in the 2200 block of E. Park Place.

Thomas was arrested as a juvenile for criminal trespassing and armed robbery in 2014 while the 18-year-old man, whose name was not released, was arrested in 2014 for auto theft. The 18-year-old man is facing charges of party to the crime of armed robbery and homicide in connection with the incident on W. Euclid Ave.

Gauerke declined to release information about the number of wounds the robbery suspects sustained nor the type of handgun used. The 18-year-old was still hospitalized Wednesday afternoon. Thomas died at the scene.

The 36-year-old man stayed at the scene following the shooting and was interviewed by police. The case will be reviewed by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office to determine whether any charges will be filed against the 36-year-old man.

This man only made one mistake.  You get one guess as to what it is.

KVRR.com:

A North Dakota State Representative wants you to be able to carry a loaded concealed firearm without a permit.

Eleven other states have implemented what are called “constitutional carry laws” while another four have adopted limited versions of the law.

In North Dakota, an open carry state, Representative Rick Becker says he doesn’t believe passing constitutional carry would make much of a difference.

“This bill allows people to do the same level of carrying as a class two without going through the process and payments and all the requirements,” said Becker.

Although gun advocates might like the idea of not having to go through such a rigorous process to conceal carry, constitutional carry could pose possible issues for law enforcement.

Falling short of endorsing or opposing the bill, law enforcement said part of the application process requires license holders to register with the BCI.

It helps police easily identify who may have a concealed fire arm.

Aha, I see confusion.  I think I can be of help here.  The police should assume that everyone is armed all of the time and proceed as if it’s their right to be armed.

Now that we’ve dispatched that roadblock, I’m glad I could be of service.  Drop by any time.  As for the police, I should charge for my advice, but I don’t.

Popular Mechanics:

Garand never accepted royalties for his work and instead gifted the gun’s design to his adoptive homeland. Congress tried to grant him a $100,000 reward of gratitude, but nothing ever came of it. Garand continued working at Springfield on other designs until he retired in 1953. He died on February 16, 1974. He was 86.

Approximately 5.5 million M1 rifles were made between 1936 and 1956, and then proved themselves in some of the most difficult battles ever fought by the U.S. military. The M1 was finally replaced in 1961, by the select-fire M14, a rifle which owes much of its lineage to John Garand as its receiver, bolt, and sights were nearly identical to the M1.

I didn’t know that about John Garand.  By my estimation, the U.S. has had three premier weapons designers: John Moses Browning, John Cantius Garand, and Eugene Morrison Stoner.  It’s a shame that the complete Stoner system of arms wasn’t employed by the Army and Marines, including the Stoner 63.  It’s my understanding that the Stoner 63 is actually still in use among SpecOps today.

On a related note, Military.com has a history of long guns recently published, dealing in part with the M1.  I find it amusing that Lee Ermey is still complaining about the loss of the .30-06 round in favor of the .308 NATO.

“This was really a game changer as it was semi-automatic and held eight rounds,” R. Lee Ermey, better known as the “Gunny”, former United States Marine Corps staff sergeant and host of the Outdoor Channel’s “Gunny Time”, told FoxNews.com. “It could be argued it helped win World War II.”

After the war the military planners sought to find a one-size fits all rifle, and the result was the M14, which was actually developed to replace four different weapons systems that included the M1 rifle, the M1 Carbine, the M3 “Grease Gun” submachine gun, and the M1918 Browning Automatic Bar (BAR). The upsized M1 had its fans, including the Marine Corps, which still issued one to each platoon in the Vietnam War.

“The M14 could hold its own against the bad guy gun, the AK-47,” added Ermey. “The problem is that it went with a smaller round than the M1, so it lost some of its punch.”

I find this video to be very helpful regarding 1911 lubrication.

Denver Post:

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The U.S. Marine Corps has selected Magpul Industries as the exclusive maker of ammunition magazines that Marines will use in combat.

Magpul is a private company that makes accessories for firearms, including magazines, grips, sights and slings. The company also recently started selling soft goods like hats, belts, shirts and gloves.

The operations, shipping and manufacturing portion of Magpul is based in Cheyenne, while its headquarters is located in Austin, Texas.

A press release from Magpul says the Marine Corps selected Magpul’s GEN M3 PMAG series of magazines after several years of testing.

The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports that the company had added a second shift to handle demand for its products. Magpul started with 102 employees in Cheyenne but now employs 380.

Magpul, which used to be based in Erie, pulled out of Colorado last year in protest of a gun-control bill that Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law in 2013 prohibiting the sale of gun magazines that hold more than 15 rounds in the aftermath of the Aurora theater shooting.

I’ve seen comments to the effect that the Marine Corps has been using these for a while.  Yea, well, not so much.

Perhaps individual Marines have had these magazines shipped to them by their families while deployed, and their commanders allowed their use rather than throwing them away, but I suspect most Lt. Colonels wouldn’t want to see pictures of their men using these things, only to have the promotion board asked if there were other instances of use of unauthorized equipment.

These guys can be rather puckered when it comes to authorized equipment, especially if some Marines have it and some don’t.  This way, everyone will have the best, and they will have the same thing.

Congratulations to Magpul.

H.R. 3799 is in the top ten most viewed bills the week of December 23, 2016.  Simply put, this bill would do as follows.

… amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) eliminate the $200 transfer tax on firearm silencers, and (2) treat any person who acquires or possesses a firearm silencer as meeting any registration or licensing requirements of the National Firearms Act with respect to such silencer. Any person who pays a tax on a silencer after October 22, 2015 may receive a refund of such tax.

The bill amends the federal criminal code to preempt state or local laws that tax or regulate firearm silencers.

The equivalent bill in the Senate is S 2236.  I assume that once voted on, a committee would be assigned to work out any details if there end up being differences.

By the way, Pat Toomey was asked about his support, and he wrote an entire letter without answering the question.  Don’t wait on that wet noodle to support any bill recognizing your just liberties.  Would someone in Pennsylvania please run for his office?  No, wait.  No offense to the ladies reading this, but if he has male plumbing, I want a man in the office rather than Pat Toomey.  Ladies who support my liberties are just fine.  I don’t want any more eunuchs.

It is encouraging, though, that the interest seems to be there, and people are asking.  Note to Senate and Congress.  We’re watching and taking names.

I find that concealed appendix carry is acceptable for me while standing or even walking.  I simply cannot do it comfortably while sitting.  I must carry 3:00 or thereabout, and my carry in the small of the back advertises too much.

Of course, open carry is the most comfortable.