The Gun Blogs

Yep, today marks the second year of The Gun Blogs.

Give yourself a pat on the back.

Magnum Research wants to know if you want a .22 plinker in 15 + 1 capacity.

So, let them know!

Via Kim.

Via email:

Have opportunity to buy a Kimber conversion of Swede M96 Mauser to 7.62NATO. Barrel cut down to Ranch rifle and forward sited scope mount permanently pinned into old leaf sight box (minus scope). Price is $250.00 tax & all. Anybody hear of anything about these Kimber conversions? And what scope would you suggest for a "ranch rifle"? Good deal? Bad deal?
Sounds good to me, but I'm not a Kimber person.

Any input? If so, head on over to the Alehouse and say your piece.

Just got this via e-mail:

CHANGE TO CARBINE SALES DATES: Inspection & Repair and grading of M1 carbines has progressed faster than expected. CMP will now accept mail orders for Saginaw, Saginaw S'G', and National Postal Meter carbines on 28 April, 2008. Order acceptance date for Standard Products and IBM has now been set as 7 July, 2008. For operational reasons, we have set a limit of one carbine per customer per manufacturer for each of these manufacturers until further notice. A small quantity of these manufacturers will be available at both CMP stores. For additional details, please see http://www.odcmp.com/rifles/carbine.htm

NORTH STORE RENOVATION: The Grand Re-Opening of the CMP North Store is still scheduled for 12 march, 2008.

HRA GARANDS NOW AVAILABLE: CMP is now accepting orders for HRA Service and Field Grade Garands. For additional details, please see http://www.odcmp.com/Services/Rifles/m1garand.htm

PRICE REDUCTION - NATIONAL MATCH M1 GARAND STOCK SET: CMP price for Item #085 has been reduced from $124.95 to $94.95. This stock set is listed under the 'commercial parts' tab on our estore http://estore.odcmp.com/Store/catalog/catalog.aspx

Gun dealer used by Va. Tech shooter sold supplies, holster to NIU killer

"I was just shocked," said Eric Thompson, 34, whose company TGSCOM Inc. sells weapons over the Internet. "There are over 90,000 licensed dealers in the U.S."

Shocked. Shocked!

The shop is in a working-class neighborhood. Signs in the front yard say "Tony's Guns and Ammo." The shop is in a fenced-in building behind a home.

Sounds shady to me. Call the Goon Squad! This article isn't really infected with PSH, it's a carrier.

I wouldn't want to be in Tony's shoes right about now.

I'm sure the ATF is already in motion.

Before posting this, I have to apologize. I said I'd cross-post my gun stuff here, and I've been remiss in doing so. I'll do the best I can to get my gun stuff over here. Not like it's hard to do, or anything.

I haven't heard anything more than what was on last night. What's to know? some whack job killed some people.

Now, scores of grieving family and friends wrestle with their emotions and try to figure out what happened, and more importantly, why.

There is no why. Not one that will bring peace of mind. It simply is, and the question now - what do we do to fix it?

Arm everybody? No. That won't work. Face it, most folks don't want to be armed. For whatever reason, they don't think carrying a firearm is necessary. Some folks have no business carrying a gun. Even if they meet the legal requirements, they simply don't have the strength of character necessary to have one.

Ban guns? Yeah, that's been working out well lately. Virtually all of these shootings happened in "gun-free zones". According to the Brady Campaign, Illinois places 9th on their list of best state gun laws. If this doesn't prove once and for all that restrictive gun laws don't work, I don't know what will.

These are the two main courses of action many people call for, neither of which will work. So what to do?

First, we need to get our heads out of the sand and let the people who choose to legally carry a firearm do so. Anywhere and everywhere. Let grown-ups act like grown-ups. We are civilized people, let us enjoy the benefits of being civilized.

To those who don't want to carry firearms I say fine, don't. But be mature enough to understand those who do are as fine a people as you are. They love their families, and love their individual freedom. They won't shoot you if you take their parking spot or grab the last can of wasabi almonds off the store shelf. They know, as you do, it's not worth it. I for one, would hate to have to shoot someone for the simple fact that I don't want to lose my gun to an evidence locker. Not for some piece of crap hoodlum who thinks I might have money.

Will this solve the problem? No. Nothing will ever solve the problem. There has been, and always will be, evil in the world. What else can you call it? We see it every day; women killing their kids, mass shootings, just today a woman's body was found just outside Memphis with no hands, feet, or head. Tell me evil doesn't exist.

Like the saying goes, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke).

That's what's going on here. The good guys are doing nothing. They are hiding behind useless laws and the hope that someone else will save them. Someone else being the law, of course. Not Joe or Jane Average who happens to be carrying a gun. They don't have the training uniform. Never mind the fact that Joe or Jane has put more lead downrange in a weekend than some cops do in a year.

We've so castrated our society, we can't do the right thing for fear of getting arrested. Have a beef with a classmate? Don't duke it out in the schoolyard, you might get arrested. Your sister's boyfriend smacking her around? Don't go punch his lights out, you will get arrested. Neighbor's dog getting in your trash/garden/stuff? Don't put some rocksalt in his ass, you'll get sued by the owner and PETA.

We have to get back to the point in our society where men and women who take action for the betterment of those around them are rewarded, not condemned. Let grown-ups act like grown-ups without getting bent out of shape over some imaginary comfort zone. There is no comfort zone, there never has been. Evil is out there. It doesn't want you to think about it. If you think about it, you might be prepared.

That was quite a ramble, wasn't it?

Crossposted at the Alehouse

I must confess, I'm shocked - shocked to see this happening in our country!

Felon convicted of lying to buy a handgun

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - An Antrim man has been convicted of lying about his past when he filled out forms to buy a handgun.
Prosecutors say 42-year-old Steven Delaurier, who has past felony and misdemeanor domestic violence convictions, lied about his criminal past.
A jury in Concord's federal court found him guilty. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in April.

New Hampshire, you better get your act together. Your criminals should know better than to lie! It's not nice. Maybe you all should try reasoning with them next time.

(crossposted at Rustmeister's Alehouse)

Through Insty comes these links to new Second Amendment research:

Stephen P. Halbrook, "St. George Tucker's Second Amendment: Deconstructing 'The True Palladium of Liberty,'"

The article also points out deficiencies in Saul Cornell's treatment of Tucker; Cornell has a tendency to quote Tucker's analysis of militia issues as if the analysis were about the Second Amendment, and to gloss over what Tucker actually wrote about the Second Amendment.

"What Does 'Bear Arms' Imply?" Working Paper by Clayton Cramer and Joseph Olson.

Cramer and Olson show that "bear arms" never had an exclusively military connotation, either before ratification of the Second Amendment, or in the following decades.

"Pistols, Crime, and Public Safety in Early America" is another Working Paper by Cramer and Olson.

The authors show that the governments of Founding Era were familiar with handguns, and never regulated them differently from long guns.

Good stuff, there.

Rustmeister's Alehouse is up and running.

Been so busy making sure other bloggers knew this I forgot to post it here. Duh.

Drop on by. I'll be cross-posting my gun stuff here, of course.

Why can't Memphis do this?

If you live in Delano, you could make $200 for giving up your handgun.

$200? Geez Louise. Two derringers and an old Iver Johnson could net me $600! I could get another Service Grade CMP Garand with that money!

Oh, and remember, folks:

We're hoping that if we at least get one gun off the street that maybe it'll make a difference,” said Cmdr. Raul Alvizo from the Delano Police Department.

It will make a difference, Commander. For the children. Just one child, even.

Via Instapundit, comes shocking news we knew all along.

Fantasy play involving weapons and superheroes allows healthy and safe risk-taking and can also make learning more appealing, says the guidance.

Inconceivable!

Via Instapundit comes this report out of New Orleans:

The National Rifle Association has hired private investigators to find hundreds of people whose firearms were seized by city police in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, according to court papers filed this week.

The NRA is trying to locate gun owners for a federal lawsuit that the lobbying group filed against Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent Warren Riley over the city's seizure of firearms after the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane.

Say what you want about the NRA on some issues, I don't see the more strident gun rights groups doing this. I doubt they have the resources.

Hell in a Handbasket covers the age old question to those new (and not so new) to handgun carry:

Where do I put it when using a public restroom?

As of this posting, everyone who has requested an account has been approved or otherwise dispensed with. Sorry we had to go the approval route, but spammers were killing me.

Erratic posting from me till the New Year.

On that note, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Bryan Miller exclaims: You can't make this stuff up!.

Bryan, we don't have to make stuff up, but you do.

You'll see that pro-gunners place much of the blame for Westroads Mall and other mass shootings, including the Virginia Tech gun massacre, on so-called 'gun free zones.'

"So called"? That's what the signs say. Signs that are allowed by law. We didn't make that up.

It's extremely difficult to gain a license to carry concealed in the Garden State, so we don't have testosterone-challenged bozos legally packing heat at the mall. Whew!

I know a lot of women who would take exception to your statement. Then again, compared to you, they may be carrying higher levels of testosterone. Whew!

For pro-gunners it's about arming everyone to the teeth.

Liar. You made that up.

I, sadly, have a little more experience with overwhelming firepower than do the pro-gunners seeking to rationalize their petty personal fears and desires by pretending that they're seeking to defend the rest of us. My only brother, FBI Special Agent Mike Miller, was one of three law enforcement officers killed (a fourth was grievously wounded) by a lone gunman wielding a concealed assault pistol at Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Headquarters in November 1994.

Quite possibly the only true thing you've ever written about guns. I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sorry any time we lose good people to bad ones.

But

What's a concealed assault pistol? No such thing, liar. You made that up, too.

So, rather than blaming those who would hope to reduce gun violence by seeking to limit the presence of lethal weapons in public, we should applaud and encourage them. We should also enact a meaningful federal Assault Weapons Ban (unlike the AWB that expired in '04, which gun manufacturers figured out how to get around in no time), similar to New Jersey's state ban, that would actually ban the sale and possession of these outrageous weapons. The secret to societal safety is not more firepower in civilian hands. Quite the opposite.

I'll consider supporting a ban if you can tell me, without equivication, what an "assault weapon" is. You'll also have to provide proof as to the effectiveness of such a ban.

Of course, you'll have to do this without making anything up.

(BTW: I urge readers to check out some of the 'you can't make this up' nuttiness that will undoubtedly appear in the Comments section below and has followed each of my earlier entries. Craaaazy!)

You sure do use the word "crazy" a lot. You have facts presented to you, but you refuse to accept them. You belittle anyone who disagrees with you. Is that not crazy? Pro-gun people come to your site, hoping to shed some light on your stupidity. They stay above the fray, calmly pointing out your many inaccuracies, but it's wasted time.

Me? I'm done with that. You call names, get all over-the-top and I'll do the same, liar. I'm not afraid to sink to your level rhetorically. The one thing I won't do is lie, because I don't have to.

You go ahead and get all Carolyn McCarthy on us, I don't care. You honor no one with your antics. Or your lies.

Dear Mr. (me),

Thank you for taking the time to contact my office regarding the nomination of Michael J. Sullivan to be the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for the Department of Justice. Your input is important to me, and I appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts.

Like you, I believe in safeguarding the rights of law-abiding citizens, and I fully support protecting the right to own firearms for shooting, hunting, and self-protection. Furthermore, I recognize the importance of nominating someone who will be a strong supporter of second amendment rights to serve as the director of ATF. As you may know, the Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the nomination of Michael Sullivan and is awaiting full Senate consideration. I look forward to the deliberation on this important nominee and I will certainly take your concerns into consideration.

Thank you again for your letter. I hope you will continue to share your thoughts with me.

Sincerely,

Bob Corker
United States Senator

I'm looking forward too, Mr. Senator.

One: Which (free) blogging service would you all recommend to someone who is considering starting one? Is Blogger good?

I ask because sometimes there's things that need sayin', but they're not about guns.

Two: This site has, at the moment, authorized its 479th blogger.

Why isn't this site the busiest on the internet?

Last Saturday was "I'm bored" day at the Rustmeister household. Steady rain, nothing good on the tube, stir craziness setting in, time to GET OUT. It was time to go shooting.

I knew what was happening, but rather that tip off my kid, I just said "I'm going out. want to go?"

This is hit-or-miss with him, as he's now 13 and sometimes too cool to hang with Dad. Somehow, he caught on (musta been that look in my eye), and came with us. Us being me and my GFs 10 yr old granddaughter (yes, I'm that old).

Now, granddaughter (let's call her Kris) has been around firearms most her life, but never shot. Why is beyond me. Anyway, we went up to the newly-opened indoor range at Brighton Arms and rented us a .22 revolver. Also in attendance - a Ruger Blackhawk chambered in .30 Carbine. It was in need of a holster, and the shop had a big box full of sundry holsters for 10 bucks a pop. Found one, too.

We got set up for the range, all paperwork filled out, ears & eyes secured, ammo purchased. Time for Kris to shoot.

She wanted my son to go first, so he popped off a few rounds in the .22 and then six out of the .30. Big grins all around while shooting that. The Blackhawk has much thunder & lightning going on when shooting. It's a real attention getter.

Then came Kris' turn. We went through the four rules, sight picture, how to load the gun and hold it properly, etc. I also had to get on to her about her bugger hook on the bang switch a couple times, but that's to be expected.

I have to say, she was a natural. The pistol was a single action job, and she handled it well. She even got the off-hand thumb-cocking going on without me even showing her. She even touched off the Blackhawk once, voluntarily, but didn't much like it.

My big moment was when I sent the target all the way to the back of the range and popped off a few with the 'hawk. Shooting offhand, I managed to hit pretty close to where I was aiming. I was pleased. Impressed the hell outta my son, too, which pleased me even more.

It was a couple hours well spent. The kids had fun, a new range was broke in, stir craziness was abated, and we get to welcome a new shooter to the fold.

It doesn't get much better than that.

"Never fight an inanimate object."

-P.J. O'Rourke

This was atop my gmailbox as I look through various snooze alerts. Seemed appropriate.

Via Insty comes this:

"If you create a gun-free zone, you're liable for any harm it causes."

On the surface, it sounds good, but is it? Who should it apply to? State and Federal governments? Private businesses?

I mean, it's a known fact that the police do not have a duty to protect you already. How could this be applied in reference to that?

Common sense, or nannyism?

UPDATE: Robb asks How about the opposite tack?