Archive for the 'Guns' Category

Lucky Gunner recently had a great article on Revolver Velocity Versus Barrel Length that I missed, and I recommend that you spend a couple of minutes studying their results.

Their results might surprise you.  First of all, barrel length doesn’t matter as much as you might have thought, perhaps as much as 100 FPS for barrel lengths in the range we normally carry or shoot.  You have to get really long barrels (such as for hunting) for the length to make any substantial difference.

Second, the +P loads do actually give you noticeably better performance (as much as 100 FPS or more) compared to the regular loads.

Third, as good as the +P loads do compared to .39 Special, they don’t compare to the difference you get with the .357 Magnum, which is as much as several hundred FPS depending upon bullet weight.

Lucky Gunner recommend that you test your own loads, guns and bullet weights if you want an accurate assessment.  They also link this article where a table is included that has good data for your consideration.

Bad day for the home invader.  Good day for liberty.

David Codrea:

“They were tortured with a blow torch and knives,” a chilling Middleburg Observer report about a South African farm attack relates. “A plastic bag was stuffed down Sue’s throat and they attempted to strangle Robert with a black bag around his neck … “In any other country, such a crime would be almost unthinkable. But in South Africa, these kinds of farm attacks are happening nearly every day.”

I’ve told you guys before (see comments) and if you ever had an predilections towards trying to find common ground with the abusers and controllers, you’d better listen to me again.

Mankind is evil.  It’s called federal headship, and it happened in the garden with Adam as the father of all mankind.  God’s saving grace can redeem individual men, and it can change a society by “common grace.”  It has before in America under far different circumstances.  But with the anemia of the church and so-called Christians who have abdicated all responsibility for their culture, there are consequences and they aren’t good.  There is an ebb and flow to this sort of thing until we learn that lesson again … and again … and again.

When I initially read this it reminded me of the atrocities perpetrated by AQ in Iraq when I covered the war there.  They would take drills and drill into the heads of live humans.  Don’t think it can’t happen in South Africa, and don’t think it can’t happen here, and happen to you or your family if you don’t gun up.

Prepare to defend yourself.  A lack of will is even worse than having no weapons, because you may be able to find the weapons if it’s not too late.  But don’t count on it.

Via Instapundit, this report comes to us about defensive use of an AR-15.

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (KTUL) — One person is in custody after three suspects in a Wagoner County home invasion were shot to death Monday afternoon by one of the residents.

According to the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office, the suspects’ getaway driver has been arrested. The 21-year-old woman turned herself in at the Broken Arrow Police Department hours after the shooting, saying she had information.

Investigators haven’t released the names of anyone involved but say the deceased suspects are between 16 and 18 years old. Two of the suspects were armed, according to investigators. One with a knife and the other with brass knuckles.

[ … ]

Mahoney says the suspects broke in through a glass door in the back of the house. After entering the residence, the suspects encountered the homeowner’s 23-year-old son who also lives there.

“There was a short exchange of words and then gunfire happened,” he said.

Two suspects died in the kitchen and a third ran from the home but collapsed and died in the driveway.

Both residents are cooperating with investigators. The homeowner’s son volunteered to go to the sheriff’s office to give a statement.

“Preliminary investigation, it looks like it was self-defense,” said Mahoney.

This is impossible.  We all know that no one needs that awful high capacity magazine, and no one needs an AR-15 for self defense, even against multiple intruders.  And we all know that it’s more dangerous for the homeowner to have a gun than it is for the assailants.  Guns take on a life of their own and turn and shoot the innocent like they have an evil brain.  The report must be mistaken.

No, I’m pretty sure it says what it says, and he is alive and well, and the assailants are not.  He did one thing right, and one thing very wrong.

First, what he did right.  He assumed that if he had not used his weapon, the assailants would have harmed him.  If an intruder is in your home, you must assume they are armed, and armed with more than you can see in the instant you are making your decisions of life and death.  And you must also assume that they are capable of using their hands to kill you.  Finally, you must assume that if they are in your home, they intend you harm.  It may not be correct at the time, but you simply don’t know that and cannot discern their intentions with certainty.

Now to what he did wrong.  He talked to the police.  Boys and girls, don’t ever talk to the police.  Not even if you shot in self defense, not even if you have nothing to hide, and not even if you’re an honest and decent human.  Don’t talk to the police.

Ever.

Shooting Illustrated:

A miniature 9 mm also offers you the advantages of the same manual of arms your larger gun. If you’re used to a striker-fired gun, the operation of the Ruger LC9s or Glock G43 will seem like second nature to you, just like the operation of snub-nosed revolvers mimic the operation of their larger cousins. My fingers goes naturally to the magazine release on my 9 mm Smith & Wesson Shield because that’s where it is on the large semi-automatic pistols that I occasionally carry, and the methods I use to clear malfunctions are pretty much the same between those guns as well.

The reasons to carry a subcompact, single-stack 9 mm over a larger pistol are also essentially the same as reasons to carry a small revolver instead of full-sized gun. With the right holster and appropriate cover garment, it’s fairly easy to discretely carry a full-size 9 mm on a daily basis and without tipping people off that you’re carrying a pistol with you. However, it’s even easier to conceal a smaller gun, and a smaller gun also opens other options like pocket carry that are even more discreet.

When it comes to defensive applications, the subcompact single stack 9 mm has several advantages over snub-nosed revolvers. The thinner, slimmer design of the semi-automatic means it can slide into locations for concealed carry that aren’t available to thicker, bulkier revolvers, although, counter-intuitively, I’ve found that unless you pay attention to holster choice, a small .38 Spl. revolver forms an indistinct lump in a front pocket that’s easily mistaken for a wallet and keys, while the flatter, more angular form of a mini 9 mm sticks out and says “gun” more readily.

Another advantage of a mini 9 mm over small revolver is ammunition capacity. Subcompact single stacks typically have at least six rounds of ammunition in the magazine and one more in the chamber, and extended magazine that pack in eight rounds or more are not uncommon, By comparison, six rounds is maximum amount of ammo in most pocket revolvers, with five rounds being the most-common option available.

I’ll grant the point about capacity, as well as the ability quickly to reload.  But for those of us whose hands don’t readily shoot the small subcompact with accuracy, and who simply do not run the gun well, it makes no difference.  Sometimes these arguments are semantic and pale in comparison to whether you can operate the system and hit what you’re aiming at.  As to whether I can conceal a smallish .38 Special revolver, I have no problem at all keeping my air weight S&W wheel gun on my ankle or anywhere else.

And I never worry about whether a round is chambered, or whether it will work when it’s supposed to.  A round is ready, and it will work.  I know that without a doubt.  The wheel gun will never go out of style.  It may be that I carry it as a backup gun to a 1911 on my hip, or sometimes I have to carry only it depending upon circumstances.  But I will always carry a wheel gun, regardless of what LEOs choose to do.

WSPA.com:

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) – A woman is expected to recover after an early Saturday morning shooting, according to Greenville Police.

The shooting happened in a moving vehicle around 3 a.m. Saturday near Ridge Place.

All four occupants of the car reported they were traveling on Hooker Road toward Ridge Place.  As the driver made a right turn onto Ridge Place, a handgun belonging to the back left passenger fell to the floor.

In an attempt to catch the gun, the back left passenger accidentally pressed the trigger and the gun discharged, striking the driver in the back.

The driver of the car was transported to Vidant Medical Center for treatment and is expected to recover.

The rear left passenger, Joshua Strong, was cited for discharging a firearm within city limits.

The Police are annoying.  But even though they determined there was no foul play involved, and they did, they must have had to cite the accidental shooter with some code violation in order to have a police report for the hospital visit.  Or so I’m assuming.

Folks, it’s been said a thousand times.  For modern firearms, there is absolutely no reason to try to catch the gun if it’s falling, it is drop-safe.  Trying to catch it may very well end up shooting somebody because not only might you catch the gun with the trigger, the natural tendency when anything is falling, including yourself, is to grip tightly.

This is a sympathetic muscle reflex, and as I’ve discussed before, it’s possible with many thousands of hours of training to overcome this and train this out of you.  But you don’t have all of that training, and you likely don’t have the time for it.  Neither do I.

Let falling guns fall.  Take it to a gunsmith to repair the ding or scratch.  It’s be a chance to get that brand new Cerakote finish you always wanted for that gun.

NY Daily News:

North Dakotans will no longer need a permit to carry a concealed weapon after Republican Governor Doug Burgum signed legislation lifting restrictions, a victory for gun rights advocates that came a week after South Dakota’s governor vetoed a similar bill.

The law, which takes effect on Aug. 1, mandates that gun owners only need a North Dakota driver’s license or state identification card for at least a year before they can carry a concealed firearm in public.

Under current regulations, applicants must take a test to obtain a permit which entails fees of more than $100.

The measure, signed late on Thursday, was approved by the Republican-controlled legislature despite concerns over public safety if the state made it easier to carry hidden weapons. Advocates framed the issue in terms of the constitutional right to bear arms.

“North Dakota has a rich heritage of hunting and a culture of deep respect for firearm safety,” Burgum said. “As a hunter and gun owner myself, I strongly support gun rights for law-abiding citizens.”

The legislation makes North Dakota the 12th state to allow gun owners to carry their weapons without a concealed-carry permit, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which opposes the practice.

Good for North Dakotans.  Now, some enterprising reader could prepare an FOIA request (or perhaps it doesn’t even require that?) and research violence with guns in North Dakota over the next several months and years to see what happens.

Here’s a prediction.  Nothing.  Except a loss in revenue by CLEOs for their new Dodge Chargers, rifles, fancy comms gear and SWAT training.

So what’s the holdup in South Carolina?  Why are we having to wait for this?  Are you guys in South Carolina going to prove yourselves to be communists by letting constitutional carry die in the House or Senate?  And what about North Carolina?  We have a constitutional carry bill too.

See, it’s possible to be lovers of liberty.  You just have to have courage and principles.

Rapid City Journal:

The Senate approved the measure 34-13 on Tuesday and the House passed it last month. It would allow people 18 and older to forgo background checks and classes that are now required.

Supporters say the bill promotes constitutional rights and allows protection from criminals. Critics worry it could lead to more shootings as people with less training would be carrying weapons.

Approval of the bill in both the Senate and House generally fell along party lines in the Republican-led Legislature. GOP Gov. Doug Burgum hasn’t said whether he would support the measure and sign it into law.

“He hasn’t seen the bill and won’t make a decision until he receives it,” said Mike Nowatzki, a Burgum spokesman.

It’s time for North Dakota readers to get busy with letters to the governor.  Let him know that he’s a target for replacement if he doesn’t comply with God-given rights to bear arms.

Say, there’s a bill that will soon be debated in the South Carolina legislature on constitutional carry, which also happens to include provisions for de-criminalizing open carry.  This bill needs to pass with no opposition from the GOP.  Why is South Carolina so late to the game?  What are you doing, South Carolinians, to make this a reality?

From reddit/r/firearms:

Just received this email

” We recently let you know that the following product you received may differ from the product described on our website and may not perform as expected: Howard Leight by Honeywell Impact Sport Sound Amplification Electronic Earmuff, Classic Green (R-01526)

Howard Leight by Honeywell did not manufacture or supply the item you previously purchased through the Amazon.com website and it is not subject to Honeywell’s warranty. Because that product may present a safety risk, we strongly recommend that you stop using the item immediately. If you purchased this item for someone else, please notify the recipient immediately of these safety concerns.

In addition to the balance for the purchase price that we will provide to your account, we would like to offer you a discount of $5 off each replacement pair of Howard Leight by Honeywell Impact Sport Sound Amplification Electronic Earmuff, Classic Green (R-01526), sold by Amazon.   To claim your discount, simply visit Amazon.com, and enter the following discount code during the check-out process: HONEYWELL5  Please note that the discount is only valid for offers by Amazon, not third-party sellers.”

That’s not all.  In the comments, there are other complaints, like this.

I’ve purchased more than one firearm-related item on Amazon that turned out to be counterfeit. One was a Midwest Industries QD sling mount. Shipped from Ohio but arrived in a “Made in China” bag. I even got two–I guess that was supposed to make me feel better about being lied to. Nope.

I’ve mentioned I got a counterfeit as a warning in reviews but every time Amazon knocks them down. I get my money back, but that’s it.

Amazon seems to be suppressing its counterfeit problem while dealing with it internally. That’s pretty anti-consumer and I’ve started dialing back my purchases.

And this.

It’s about time. They’ve let counterfeiters take over the site and it’s going to hurt them in the long run.

If you want to buy something like a replacement battery, good luck on Amazon. About a 50/50 chance of getting a battery that’s either way out of date or just such a poor counterfeit that it won’t hold a charge.

And this.

I’ve purchased more than one firearm-related item on Amazon that turned out to be counterfeit. One was a Midwest Industries QD sling mount. Shipped from Ohio but arrived in a “Made in China” bag. I even got two–I guess that was supposed to make me feel better about being lied to. Nope.

I’ve mentioned I got a counterfeit as a warning in reviews but every time Amazon knocks them down. I get my money back, but that’s it.

Amazon seems to be suppressing its counterfeit problem while dealing with it internally. That’s pretty anti-consumer and I’ve started dialing back my purchases.

Apparently the knock-offs are getting pretty good, but pretty good doesn’t cut it in many cases, and it also goes to the issue of intellectual property theft which is a pet peeve of mine.  What I’ve found in my general dealings with much of the stuff made in the far east, whether China or Japan, is that they still simply haven’t inculcated the notion of QA into their culture yet, and I don’t know if they ever will.  Japan is better than China, but they both still lag far behind the U.S. in terms of quality reliability.

If Amazon wants to go out of business, this is the way to do it.  Readers beware of buying products distributed by Amazon, and always demand your money back when you’re not satisfied or the product is a knock-off.  Especially if the product is a knock-off.