The Smallest Minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities. – Ayn Rand
That Was Quick.
I’m now legal to carry a concealed weapon in 30 of the 50 states.
But I still can’t print out an airline boarding pass at home.
So… the FBI is fine with me carrying a concealed weapon, but the TSA thinks I should check in at the airline counter so I can get on a plane – unarmed.
Does this make any sense?
Save us, Obama! Save us!
Via Tam, I visited the Creative Loafing web site for a review of the book She’s Got a Gun by Georgia State University photography professor Nancy Floyd. This book is similar to Kyle Cassidy’s recent Armed America, but it concentrates specifically on the fairer sex. It’s a pretty good piece, and I’ll probably pick up a copy of the book, but the site also has a slide show of some of the images from the book, narrated by the writer of the Creative Loafing review.
You’ve GOT to watch that.
Here are a few images from that slide show:
That last young lady is eleven years old. According to the review, her comment for the piece was “Shooting is FUN!”
Indeed it is.
That Was a BLAST!. (No Pun Intended)
Sunday morning I shot in my first action shooting match, the Steelworker’s match at Pima Pistol Club. Prior to this, my only competition experience had been steel silhouette matches, which are run at a different pace entirely. In this match each shooter shoots five stages, each stage consisting of different quantities of steel targets at various ranges, and from various locations on the range, sometimes with obstacles to shoot around. Each shooter competes against the clock, with unhit targets counting as penalties that are added to your time. This is a “fun” match – it’s not like IPSC or IDPA where there is at least a nod given to “honing your defensive firearms skills,” this is putting lead downrange and smacking steel for the sheer fun of it. To be honest, I think it’s set up mostly for creaky old guys who aren’t too good at kneeling and laying down rapidly, much less getting back up again, so it’s fine by me.
I shot my Kimber Classic using my preferred handload of 200 grain Speer Golds Dot over 7.0 grains of Unique, and I think I did pretty well for a newbie though the scores are not posted yet. About 25 people turned out for the match, and I’m hoping I finished in the middle of the pack for Stock pistol. I only made one really stupid mistake. The fourth stage was “El Presidente” – a fairly common stage at most pistol matches. Three roughly IDPA-shaped targets are set up about 10 yards downrange. Facing downrange, the shooter “makes ready,” by loading and holstering his gun. Then, the shooter faces away from the targets and puts his hands in the air in the universal “surrender” position. At the sound of the buzzer, the shooter turns, draws, engages each target with two rounds, reloads, and again engages each target with two rounds for a total of twelve. If you miss, you may continue to fire until each target has been hit the requisite number of times. This stage is run twice, with the fastest time being the one recorded for score.
My pistol magazines hold eight rounds, so I drew, shot, dropped the magazine, inserted a fresh one, and shot again. At the end of the stage, I took out the second magazine (which now held two rounds) and put it back into a magazine pouch on my belt. A fresh magazine was inserted, and I was ready for round two. After the second run, I cleared my pistol, picked up my dropped magazines, reloaded them, and proceeded on to stage five.
Stage five was four steel targets of various sizes behind a barrier with two windows and a pair of swinging doors. The instructions were to shoot each target twice from the first window, from the swinging doors, and from the second window. Four targets, two shots each, so assuming I didn’t miss that was one magazine per position. Loaded and ready, I awaited the buzzer. At the sound, I proceeded to the window, drew, and put eight rounds on steel. Moving to the doors, I changed magazines and dropped the slide.
Two shots, and I was empty.
I’d drawn the magazine from the end of the first run of “El Presidente” that I’d put back in the mag pouch and hadn’t reloaded. Out of five magazines on my belt, I drew the ONE that had two rounds in it.
Needless to say, my time on the fifth stage was not stellar.
Still, I had a great time, and I’m looking forward to the next match, which will unfortunately be in April, since the fourth Sunday of March will be Easter.
Oh, while I didn’t do a precise round count, I do know that at least 125 rounds of my ammo went down range, and damned near all of them hit what I intended them to.
CNN – The Most Busted Name in News.
Nothing like accuracy in journalism. Reader “homeboy” emailed me a link to a CNN report on YouTube designed to inspire PSH among the citizenry over “painted guns.” Yes, the “Hello Kitty” AR-15 and various other firearms refinished in Gun Kote and other finishes. They even get a spokesman from Law Enforcement to inform the public about the dangers of pink guns. As SayUncle put it, “if you see a gun-shaped object then it is in your best interest to assume it is a gun and act accordingly.”
But the point of this post is CNN’s legendary accuracy. It’s real, but it’s NOT a Glock:
But they think it is.
Hey, why not? CNN believed that a post-ban AK couldn’t destroy cinderblocks, and pre-ban AK’s were fully automatic.
There’s not a single recreational shooter working at CNN, is there?
Holster Recommendations?.
I need an inside-the-waistband holster for an Officer’s-size 1911 (my Ultra CDP). I’d like something that puts some leather between me and the hammer. Any suggestions? And a decent 1.5″ gunbelt?
Personally, I Think “Violence Policy Center” is a HELL of a Name
They could use Jeff Cooper’s quote on “violence policy” in their advertising:
One bleeding-heart type asked me in a recent interview if I did not agree that “violence begets violence.” I told him that it is my earnest endeavor to see that it does. I would like very much to ensure—and in some cases I have—that any man who offers violence to his fellow citizen begets a whole lot more in return than he can enjoy.
Life Intrudes.
Remember my long-range rifle? The one I bought back in NOVEMBER? I’ve got it back from refinishing, and I have a scope base for it, but I have yet to purchase a scope for it.
Glass is expensive.
I thought I was at the point where I could afford to drop some fairly serious cash on one, but I need new glasses for my Eyeball Mk. I’s, so I had my (bi-)annual eye exam today. (BTW, my eyes SUCK.)
My new glasses cost as much as a decent scope.
All I’ve got to say is, when they come in they’d better be 4.5-14X and have a mill-dot reticle!
(My eyes have finally returned from being fully dialated, so I can actually read the screen now.)
Quote of the Day.
From Tam:
Look, if I want to read about failed relationships, career problems, family struggles, and substance abuse, I’ll write a friggin’ diary. The characters in the books I like to read have problems, too, but they usually solve them with laser beams or tactical nuclear warheads. I read these books because I wish I could solve my problems that way, too. This is called “escapism”, and is why most folks seek entertainment in the first place.
Hear hear!
This was almost the QotD, from the same post:
See, housing costs money, and you need a house to keep your books in so that they don’t get wet or blow around too much. If it weren’t for books you wouldn’t need a house and could just live under a bridge someplace, which is a lot cheaper and would therefore allow you to retire now.
My only argument with that is that my house also keeps my guns dry and rust-free. Other than that, no quibbles.
You Want Gun Pr0n?.
Via Cowboy Blob, you’ve GOT to check out this estate auction. Six hundred and seventy-two (so far) pieces ranging from the merely rare to the exotic to almost literally unobtanium. Everything from Perazzi shotguns to a Ma Deuce. A 20-round box magazine fed scoped 1903 Springfield (yes, you read that right) to a Boyes .55 caliber anti-tank rifle. Check this out: there’s both a Lahti AND a Solothurn. And don’t get me started on the pistols!
The original owner must have been collecting for decades. UPDATE: He was. He was Bruce Stern, attorney (of course) and NRA director who died last July. It must’ve taken this long just to catalog everything. Dave Hardy said about him last July:
I have been honored to have Bruce Stern as a personal friend for the last 40 years. We met on our first day of active duty in the Army at Ft Lee Va, and served together at Long Binh in Vietnam. I accompanied him several times on “shopping” trips for weapons both in the States and in VN. He was truly passionate about firearms collecting, and I sorely miss him. Rest in peace my friend
Oh how I wish I could win the lottery!
(Tam will be disappointed – he apparently didn’t collect Smiths.)
Movie Gun Meme.
The day before yesterday The Munchkin Wrangler wrote about the best movie prop ever – the M41-A pulse rifle from Aliens. Yesterday, Jay G wrote about his personal movie prop, Judge Dredd’s “Lawgiver.” Today, Say Uncle linked to both of those, and threw in his personal favorite, the gun used by Robocop.
A long time ago I wrote about movie prop guns, too, and coincidentally one of them was from Aliens…
Plus, I was reminded by all of this of the piece I wrote about the making of Aliens about a year later.
UPDATE: Cryptic Suberranean votes for Decker’s “Chief’s Special” from Bladerunner.