This is a nifty little pocket gun as pocket guns go.  I’m not really interested in .22LR, but the extremely recoil sensitive or someone who isn’t really a gun person might benefit from this.  I’d actually be more interested in a model chambered for .22 WMR as a pocket gun.

At any rate, for a semi-automatic to cycle reliably with a rimfire cartridge is a feat in and of itself. The external safety is a nice feature for a pocket or purse gun.

Nina Pullano.  The actual title of her piece is Scientists: No, you cannot kill 30 to 50 feral hogs with an automatic rifle.

So while the hype raged on, Inverse turned to the science to see if McNabb’s statement had any truth to it.

Turns out an automatic rifle would simply not be an effective way to get rid of the feral pigs ravaging parts of the country. That’s according to pig experts and Clemson University researchers Shari Rodriguez and Christie Sampson.

“They’re difficult to get rid of in a way that doesn’t educate them on our methods of mitigation,” Rodriguez told Inverse at the time. If you trap and remove most of a particular group of hogs, the others will quickly learn to avoid your tricks next time. To get rid of them, you have to get rid of the entire group.

“So while you may get an animal or two [with a rifle], it’s a drop in the bucket,” Rodriguez said. “It really does nothing to decrease the population of hogs.”

“Also, because hogs are so smart, they will habituate to that method and begin avoiding areas where they think they might get shot,” she said. “It’s not a long-term, sustainable solution.”

Instead, governments need to take feral hogs into account in policies that protect livestock from carnivorous predators, the researchers said.

Hmm … and this passes for research in academia.

Okay, so we have a few things to cover, Nina, Shari and Christie.  First of all, an AR-15 isn’t an automatic rifle, at least, not unless it’s a machine gun that was registered before 1968.  No one uses that for hunting.

The rifles in question are semi-automatic, and if you’re hunting a large population that groups together, that’s the preferred method.  Furthermore, no one with any sense would prefer to have a bolt action rifle if a group of hogs enters your neighborhood and you need to protect your children.  People have indeed been killed by feral hogs, and even in the daytime hours.

The question being addressed by the researchers and you are two different questions.  You’re asking if it’s possible to kill a lot of hogs at one time with an AR-15.  Well of course it is.

At his farmhouse, Campbell goes to his gun safe.

“It will hold about 40 guns, and I’ve got about 25 in there. But I’ve got some really neat guns,” Campbell says. “I’ve got my grandfather’s .22. I have an STW. I have an AR-15. I have a Smith & Wesson .22-250.”

Some of the rifles are for deer. Campbell has many beautiful shotguns because he is an avid duck hunter. He uses the AR-15, which is essentially the military’s M16, to hunt feral hogs. We go out back, and the judge lets fly with the semiautomatic.

“I’ve got a night vision scope on it. And the hogs only come out at 2 o’clock in the morning. There are certain spots they come out at. I drive up very quietly. I’m normally only 200 yards out, and I turn on my little trusty night vision scope and I smoke ’em. All of ’em,” Campbell says. “I can shoot 30 shots in eight seconds, and I’ve killed as many as 26 out of 30 shots at night with that gun.”

The question being addressed by the researchers is one of the strategy of population control, and that’s more complicated.  What they’ve suggested, to wit, “governments need to take feral hogs into account in policies that protect livestock from carnivorous predators,” is completely infeasible, impractical and too expensive.  It also wouldn’t do anything to protect the indigenous species, protect the potable water supply, or prevent crops from being destroyed.  You do realize that all of your food comes from land where these hogs are a problem, right?  You do realize that entire crops have been destroyed and farmers run out of business because of feral hogs, right?

They eat the eggs of the sea turtle, an endangered species, on barrier islands off the East Coast, and root up rare and diverse species of plants all over, and contribute to the replacement of those plants by weedy, invasive species, and promote erosion, and undermine roadbeds and bridges with their rooting, and push expensive horses away from food stations in pastures in Georgia, and inflict tusk marks on the legs of these horses, and eat eggs of game birds like quail and grouse, and run off game species like deer and wild turkeys, and eat food plots planted specially for those animals, and root up the hurricane levee in Bayou Sauvage, Louisiana, that kept Lake Pontchartrain from flooding the eastern part of New Orleans, and chase a woman in Itasca, Texas, and root up lawns of condominiums in Silicon Valley, and kill lambs and calves, and eat them so thoroughly that no evidence of the attack can be found.

And eat red-cheeked salamanders and short-tailed shrews and red-back voles and other dwellers in the leaf litter in the Great Smoky Mountains, and destroy a yard that had previously won two “‘Yard of the Month” awards on Robins Air Force Base, in central Georgia, and knock over glass patio tables in suburban Houston, and muddy pristine brook-trout streams by wallowing in them, and play hell with native flora and fauna in Hawaii, and contribute to the near-extinction of the island fox on Santa Cruz Island off the coast of California, and root up American Indian historic sites and burial grounds, and root up a replanting of native vegetation along the banks of the Sacramento River, and root up peanut fields in Georgia, and root up sweet-potato fields in Texas, and dig big holes by rooting in wheat fields irrigated by motorized central-pivot irrigation pipes, and, as the nine-hundred-foot-long pipe advances automatically on its wheeled supports, one set of wheels hangs up in a hog-rooted hole, and meanwhile the rest of the pipe keeps on going and begins to pivot around the stuck wheels, and it continues and continues on its hog-altered course until the whole seventy-five-thousand-dollar system is hopelessly pretzeled and ruined.

So as to the question of lethal removal, here is your answer.

Lethal control works. Alaska uses aerial wolf control to manage wolf populations as well as long term hunting and trapping seasons with generous bag limits. Wolves will have dramatic impacts on moose and caribou populations if allowed to increase in numbers unchecked. Natives in western Alaska will tell you that there was never any moose in western Alaska until wolf suppression was initiated. Moose in Alaska have been expanding their range because of wolf (lethal) control. State Fish and Wildlife personnel use aircraft to control wolf populations. Abundant moose and caribou populations are the result.

Your pig problems could be managed the same way. Aerial lethal suppression coupled with an open hunting season on pigs until you achieve the numbers, in terms of managed populations, that you want.

If eradication is your goal, then lethal removal is the only option. If the State is serious, your pig problem can be solved.

Remember, countless millions of bison, packs of wolves, plains grizzles and the prairie chickens (extinct,) were removed from the great plains with single shot front-stuffers (in large part.)

The scoped AR seems IMO, to be the best platform for ground based pig control. What fun!

As long as leased hunting property owners make money on hog hunting, as long as the use of firearms in suburban areas is frowned upon, and as long as ignorant people are taught that there is any other method to deal with this invasive species, there will be a feral hog problem.

When people get serious, for example, when there isn’t enough food to go around for urbanites, they will decide that feral hogs need to be killed.  Until then, researchers are tilting at windmills.

This video shows what a scoped AR can do to feral hogs, even in daylight.

Something tells me you’ve never been in the bush before, have you Nina?

News from near the viper’s pit.

HAYMARKET, VA — The middle of the night is a perfect time for a black bear to go wandering through a neighborhood in a Washington suburb. Chances are slim the bear will come into contact with a human, making it easier for the bear to enjoy the sights and search for food without interruptions.

[ … ]

If a bear is in your yard and it approaches you, make yourself look big and make loud noises. Remain at a safe distance and throw rocks to make the bear feel unwelcome.

Yes, chances are slim.  And that’s exactly what I recommend you do, folks around the beltway.  Scream and throw rocks to make it feel unwelcome, if you can find any rocks after Pedro has manicured your lawn.

Meanwhile, I suppose governor Ralph “Kill the babies give me all your guns” Northam is proceeding apace to ensure you are incapable of any defense against Mr. bear, so just don’t go out anywhere at night.  Or let your pets out.  Perhaps poochie the dog can take a crap on your carpet.  Is that okay, mommy?

I offer this video with absolutely no commentary whatsoever.  Learn from it if you wish, or disagree with it if you wish, or ignore it if you wish.

Via Insty.

“Why do good people support Trump? It’s because people have been trained from childhood to believe in fairy tales. This set their minds up to accept things that make them feel good. The more fairy tales and lies he tells the better they feel. Show me a person who believes in Noah’s ark, and I will show you a Trump voter.”

Hey Chuck, show me a naive goober who believes in the fairy tale of socialism, and I’ll show you an imbecile. Show me a fool who vests all power in the state, and I’ll show you a moron.  Show me a person who believes in the religion of collectivism and I’ll show you an ignoramus.

News from Virginia.

As a symbolic opposition to the bills, more than 100 Virginia localities have become Second Amendment sanctuaries.

Meanwhile, gun sales have shot up 35 to 45 percent at one gun store in Abingdon.

Employee Josh Petry said Christmas is usually a busy time of year, but he has noticed extra concern among some customers.

“I think people are a little scared and nervous of what the governor is proposing and some of the legislation that’s already been filed early,” said Petry.

“The new proposed gun laws have really awakened a lot of people who didn’t really play attention to politics before,” Blevins added.

“Symbolic opposition.”

So here’s a question for the controllers.  If this “opposition” is merely symbolic, and if they plan on turning their guns in to governor Ralph “Kill the babies give me all your guns” Northam, why would they be spending their hard-earned money on buying more guns?

Ponder that.

I told you when speaking to The Washington Post editorial board.  “It isn’t clear what sort of mental gymnastics would make the editorial board believe that folks in Abingdon, Damascus, or Franklin County would comply with any new firearms laws.”

Because I know the folks around Abingdon and Damascus, and the controllers don’t.

You know that little sporting drone you bought at the sporting goods or hobby store, or perhaps even if you didn’t buy one, you know someone who did, or looked on and wished you had one?  Well, FedGov wants to control it.

The top U.S. aviation regulator on Thursday proposed a rule that would allow for remote tracking of most drones in U.S airspace.

The Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, said the proposed rule would require all drones operating in the United States to be compliant within three years.

Congress directed the FAA in 2016 to issue regulations or guidance by July 2018 to permit the public, the FAA, law enforcement and others to remotely track and identify drones and their operators during flight.

One commenter at reddit says this desire for control might have something to do with this.  Good point, but only if you stipulate that the FedGov wants a monopoly over that kind of violence.

Then again, you have to note that the U.S. certainly has all of those assets and capabilities too, and yet a bunch of uncivilized goat herders drove them out of Afghanistan.

This is interesting.  The current 5-round magazines are just that because of additional and unnecessary spring under the follower rather than any other reason.  He does a good job with his explanations, and reloading is a wide open field for this cartridge.  H/T Sanders.

Be careful what you ascribe to county Sheriffs and just how much faith you place in them.  These statements ring troubling.

“As a constitutional officer — as sheriff — I’m here to protect the rights of citizens against things like unlawful search and seizure. State and federal agencies don’t come in unless we ask them to. As far as sanctuaries; the individual has the right to bear arms. As long as they have proper credentials, then that’s fine. Our office isn’t going to knock on doors and we aren’t going to allow people to come in and round up firearms and what have you. If [the individual is] mentally competent and not a felon, there shouldn’t be a problem. As long as the Constitution reads the way I read it, we’re going to be okay,” Hill said.

He’s surely lying or very misguided if he says that changes on the state level are to “ensure the safety of everyone and shouldn’t impact those who should be able to have guns.”

He’s surely got to know better.  He must know the true nature of the controllers, and he has surely seen the proposed laws outlawing modern sporting rifles, a feature of discussion in virtually every resolution I’ve seen (with citizens defending their right to own such weapons).  If by “who should be able to have guns” he means bolt action rifles, that won’t be good enough.  And if he means that as long as the FedGov or state doesn’t red flag someone or put them on a prohibited list then he’ll let them exercise their rights, that won’t be good enough.  He has surely read the proposed laws and seen the debates.  He’s troubled because the times are troubled, and he’s currently riding the fence.  He doesn’t know what to do, and thus reverts back to the “wait and see” approach.  The controllers aren’t backing down, and this is going to happen.  Wait and see means don’t bother me with this right now.

He finishes up with this.  “That’s the ultimate goal to keep guns away from felons and those with mental disabilities. They want to put up safeguards to keep people safe. But coming in and taking all firearms? That’s not going to happen,” Hill said.  So, he support red flag laws.

“Then, we’ll have to look at these laws in cooperation with the commonwealth’s attorney. Personally I’m in support of the Second Amendment and will not be enforcing any unconstitutional laws,” Simpson said.

Simpson said there are hundreds if not thousands of law-abiding citizens in Appomattox, but he believes, should some of the proposed legislation pass, they would “instantly become felons.” Simpson said for him, he feels much of the proposed legislation is unconstitutional and currently isn’t sure how his department would work with the Virginia State Police if legislation is passed.

“Wait and see.”  “Unconstitutional laws.”  But what will you do when this happens, as it surely will?  What will you do when a judge declares that what the Virginia controllers do is constitutional, as some judge surely will?  “Isn’t sure how his department would work with the Virginia State Police.”

This is the best part.  He will be expected to cooperate fully, and according to the controllers, nothing short of this is acceptable.

Folks, in between now and just a few weeks, men will have to steel and resolve themselves and reach some point of cognitive rest on these issues.  Time is short, too short for “wait and see.”  These are issues of morality, scruples and character.  It doesn’t take bad laws to declare your county a 2A sanctuary, as we’ve seen in some counties already.  These are decisions you make long, long beforehand based on world and life view, not pragmatic concerns.

These men need to be replaced with someone who believes in something.  There are perhaps others like them in Virginia.

NRA.

As the Nation’s oldest civil rights organization, we recognize civic engagement as a virtue not a vice. Liberty is reliant upon the participation of free people, and this includes the vast number of  citizens and communities who are lawfully exercising their rights under the First Amendment to defend their freedoms under the Second. It is the tyrannical nature of politicians that triggers sanctuary, not the other way around. The NRA has steadfastly defended freedom for nearly 150 years, and we have no intention of suppressing virtuous voices against governmental oppression—censoring is what our opponents do.

I had not run across this before, likely due to the fact that it says nothing.

Can you imagine a more tepid, frightened, worthless statement by anyone on 2A sanctuaries?

Perhaps if they had made a stronger statement, Wayne would have to leave his Dallas mansion and come to Virginia and be a part of the movement.  He might not get to use his perks if he actually had to do something like this.

And notice carefully how no one in the MSM has been able to say that this is some sort of NRA-led rebellion, because clearly it isn’t.  They’re sticking their finger in the wind to see how all of this settles out.  If it succeeds, they’ll try to take credit for it.