Wealth Redistribution

Where is the wealth redistribution that Obama promised? Oh, that's right, we, meaning you and I the American taxpayer 'redistributed' our wealth to GM, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and and a whole lot of other business's that were too big to fail. Us proles didn't get shit.

Top of the Chain's rules for living

As part of my code I live by, I offer the following

No Pictures, they are evidence

No Video, see the rule about pictures

No Audio, anything you say can and will be used against you.

Deny

Deny

Deny

Perhaps this teacher should practice these rules.

Senacritter Claire McCaskill

You aren't doing it right dear. The idea is to spend everyone else's money for us Missourians.
Maybe you should have consulted with Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu.

Oh. Really?

Congress says that ACORN properly spent federal funds.

Coming from that den of liars, thieves, and crooks I'll take the report with a huge helping of salt.

Return on Investment

How do you turn $300 into $30 million? Go make a video of Montevideo being invaded by giant alien robots.



Story here

They are not responsible

Yesterday while at work, a truck driver came in and dropped off a pallet of product for us. He was a talkative guy and he seemed a decent enough sort. We started talking about finances and how where he lives, the area has turned into a boulevard of payday & title loan business'. They prey upon the less financially disciplined. He stated he was worried about how his city was turning into another Jennings or Dellwood. Those two areas are not the shining examples of the St. Louis suburbs. The conversation turned towards his neighborhood and how cars routinely race up and down his residential street. In one particular instance, a group of four candidates for institutional reform whizzed by as he was outside. He loudly remarked and they immediately returned to stare at him for a time. His complaint was that five years ago, the police would have been there lickety split, but now due to annexation of other areas, they were unable to provide faster response time. I asked him if the police were responsible for his safety. He answered with an "I guess not, no, not really." I said you're right, the supreme court decided that police are not responsible for your personal safety, nor the safety of your family. He did relate to me that he now keeps two seperate guns loaded and ready for use and is thinking about taking his concealed carry class.

As Breda says, "Carry your gun, it's a lighter burden than regret."

Bloggin

If someone had told me five years ago that I would be writing about me writing from a wireless internet access point in a bowling alley in suburban St. Louis, I'd have said maybe and moved on. Actually doing it like right now is commonplace.

Drummer Boy

My best friend, Taupe of the Chain and his girlfriend invited me to go to Grace Church St. Louis' production called 'Drummer Boy' I was expecting a traditional Christmas music show. Bow howdy was I ever wrong. It was some of the best live musicians I've seen in a while. Here's a sample of last year's show



Drums, drums, and more drums. plus more percussion than you can shake a (drum) stick at. If you're in the St. Louis area, go check it out.

Update, the audio in the Youtube video does NOT do what I heard justice.

Friday Fun Track

Ernest Thing pointed the way this time. It's NITRO and while they didn't have the commercial appeal of a Bon Jovi, Jim Gillette could literally shatter crystal glasses with his voice.



If I could find copies of their albums, I would own them again in a heartbeat.

The NRA, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory

Missouri's neighbor to the north, Iowa, has conceal carry laws that allow the issuing sheriff's broad discretion as to who can be issued a permit. The proposed legislation would move to 'may issue' and the age at which to obtain a permit would be 18.

The group, Iowa Gun Owners has come up with a bill that moves the state toward 'shall issue' Now the NRA wants to come in and change what the local group has worked hard to build.

From an open letter to the NRA


Your bill brings “Iowa’s standards into compliance with federal ‘prohibited persons’ law”. It bars entire classes of peaceable people from getting a carry permit – resident aliens, dishonorably discharged servicemen, et. al. Compliance with federal law in this instance is not necessary or desirable. It addresses a non-existent problem and should be left to Iowans.


Another clause creates a new crime, an aggravated misdemeanor to carry while “under the influence of alcohol”. That arrest standard is very low and open to abuse. In Iowa, an aggravated misdemeanor is punishable by 2 years in prison, making one a prohibited person under the aforementioned federal standard. Call it “Two beers, too bad” – lose your firearms and gun rights forever. Whatever happened to an action not being a crime unless someone is harmed, or are you directing the NRA’s version of Minority Report?

# Your bill raises the age for a permit from 18 to 21 years.

The NRA is taking too pragmatic of a view here. I smell political blood in the air and would like to see some aggressive lobbying on behalf of Iowa gun owners. Also, the NRA should get behind the IGO preferred legislation and work to pass it.

I wonder who they wrote THIS law for

I receive in my e-mail, a notification that the latest copy of the conservative magazine 'Townhall' is out. They usually provide quotes to entice you to purchase the magazine. This one gave me a chuckle.

It's illegal in Massachusetts for targets at shooting rages to resemble human beings.

The day this guy goes all Hulk on us, the state of Massachusetts might have one more law to charge him with.

Do you really wish to become your brother's keeper?

Because if this health care bill passes, that is exactly what you become. You'll be footing the bill for every Tom, Dick and Harry's poor life choices. For perspective and an expansion on this, go here.

h/t to Kevin

Eatin Crow

Al 'I inventedtheinternet' Gore got called out on his statement that the polar ice caps would melt in five years. It seems that the scientist whose data he based that statement off of threw the former bag man VP under the bus. Personally I worry what all the hot air that comes from Gore's mouth is doing to the environment.

Without further comment....

FUCK YOU IRS!

It's obvious they didn't consult their official guide

When the press reports that some thug enterprising young entrepreneur was shot and killed after being chased down by police, you'd think they would consult their official firearms guide found below. Because if you can't tell that it was an AK-47 then you're not an authorized journalist.

The cat... er document is out of the bag

Recently a TSA document that was never meant for public eyes was leaked to a number of whistleblower sites. In fact, the document itself had been on a government website since March of this year. And the TSA is worried about the public learning of this. I think it's high time that the government clean it's own house up first before it starts going after whistleblowers. It was discovered by a blogger and reposted. Now three members of the House panel for Homeland Security want to write a law that would make it illegal to publish this document. Another law, heh. Representatives Peter T. King (R – New York), Charles Dent (R – Pennsylvania) and Gus Bilirakis (R – Florida) are three congressmen who are supporting this. Gentlemen, and I use that term, loosely, you just don't get it. No silly law is going to stop this. No, words that will be lost because some prosecutor has too much on his plate already will stop this from being disseminated. In fact, you can find it here.

h/t to Alan & Joe

Gooey Butter Cake Recipe

Gooey butter cake is a St. Louis region recipe that is a non traditional coffee cake. I can remember as a middle teenager being introduced to this recipe. We, my family took it back to Kansas City and started making it. My dad would take it to work for 'food' days and it was a hit. My mother jealously guarded the recipe so she would would have an 'exclusive' thing to take to special occasions as well. Without further ado, here it is;

1 box yellow cake mix
1 egg
1 stick margarine
1 (8 0z) package of cream cheese
1 lb powdered sugar
2 eggs

1 greased and floured 11x13 pan

Mix the first three ingredients together and press into bottom of your prepared pan.
Then, mix together the cream cheese, the last two eggs and powdered suger and pour over the cake mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Something you might try is some cinnamom sprinkled on top of it as well. Enjoy

Update: Mom's recipe was a little vague for the amount of powdered sugar. So I consulted with higher authority and 1 lb of powdered sugar is the correct amount. Enjoy

I. AM. READY.

A group called the Velvet Revolution has increased the reward to $200,000 for the arrest and conviction of the President of the US Chamber of Commerce. His alleged crime, opposing the theory of global warming. Velvet Revolution, here's fair warning, if you're going to arrest people based upon their beliefs and convictions, then be prepared for a war. You stupid idiots have no idea. Come try and arrest me for my belief, just try. You'll get a whole bunch of lead thrown rapidly at you in 125 grain increments.

QOTD

"If we are uncritical we shall always find what we want: we shall look for, and find, confirmations, and we shall look away from, and not see, whatever might be dangerous to our pet theories. In this way it is only too easy to obtain what appears to be overwhelming evidence in favor of a theory which, if approached cri...tically, would have been refuted." -- Karl Popper

I wonder how many people go along to get along and not take the chance. They won't take the step to be bold and go on a limb to present an opposing viewpoint.

PDB pointed me to this quote via his facebook post.

The sinking of the global warming ship

Watching the pro global warming camp defend themselves is akin to the Titanic sinking. With Al Gore stating categorically the science is settled, that the ship is unsinkable as it hits the iceberg that will be its doom. Now comes the band with deck chairs to play a tune as water slowly rises through the compartments of the mighty liner.

Missouri HB 1232

This is a bill that is garnering a lot of attention due to the fact that it comes from Cynthia Davis (R)-MO of the 19th District. For those of you that don't know who she is, she garnered some attention by stating that, "hunger can be a powerful motivator."

HB 1232 deals with a Missourian's (lack of a) right to carry inside a church or a place of worship. The text is thus;

HB 1232 -- Unlawful Use of Weapons

Sponsor: Davis

Currently, an individual commits the crime of unlawful use of
weapons if he or she knowingly carries a firearm or other weapon
into any church or place of worship. This bill removes this
provision and allows any individual who is lawfully allowed to
possess the firearm or weapon to openly carry it into these
places.

To my everyday untrained eye, it seems to me that openly carrying your weapon is the only way to carry inside a church. In Representative Davis' own city of O'Fallon, open carry is specifically prohibited. In fact, Missouri law allows for open carry, but does not preempt open carry at the state level. Instead, it is left up to the individual municipalities to decide on their own. Representative Davis is a concealed carry permit holder and thus may carry concealed where it is legal to do so.

Now for me, I'd like to see open carry be state preempted here in Missouri. I also believe that by crossing the threshold of a place of worship that somehow God's or your gods hand will protect you is bogus. My god helps those who help themselves.

Going to your doctor for climate advice is like going to your mechanic for healthcare

Not only will your doctor treat you for your ailment, he will offer his advice on how to reduce your carbon footprint. It's like when your doctor offers you advice about your gun habits.

And why not? After all the science is settled. Oh, wait, someone did a real service to counter that argument.

QOTD

The quote of the day comes from Gun Geek Rants.

This one just kicked over my giggle box.

"Remember, everytime you call a magazine a clip, a Gun Angel DIES! I'm not sure what happens when you call a Semi Auto a Revolver because that's just stupid."

For the context of calling a semi auto a revolver, go read the original post here.

Environmentalism is a religion

DOn't think so, then read this.

Environmentalism should be regarded on the same level with religion "as the only compelling, value-based narrative available to humanity," according to a paper written two years ago to influence the future strategy of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), the world's would-be environmental watchdog.

QOTD

Overheard (read) on the IRC.

: I don't need a MAC... I already have a religion

G.O. against B.I.G.G.

Sure, you have the NRA, the GOA, the SAF and various state and regional organizations. I am not announcing a non organized grass roots level assemblage of like minded individuals. It's simple, the acronym stands for

Gun
Owners

against

Bigoted
Intolerant
Gun
Grabbers

There will be no dues, no formal meetings, no officers, no formal structure in place. We won't keep a roll of who's a member.

To not join, don't simply affirm to yourself that you are not a gun owner, and that you won't fight for your rights.

As there are no rules, a couple of suggestions if this were an organization.

Heap scorn on anyone who actively opposes gun ownership by private citizens

Introduce new people to shooting.

That is all you have to do, if it were true. But it's not, so don't do anything.

MAIG beating the horse to death... Again.

You have the MAIG, the VPC, the Joyce foundation, the SPLC, The Brady Bunch. All of these organizations whose mission is to curtail the rights of the armed individual. They would have you and me turned into subjects. Our rights would be turned into privileges subject to the whims of a bureaucrat as to whether or not we can exercise those rights.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg in response to the Fort Hood Shooting had this to say. "... that if the federal law requiring the FBI to purge the NICS system of records of approved gun purchasers had not been in place, the FBI would have known that Hasan had bought a gun and changed its judgment about him."

Really? Apparently the (dis)honorable Mr. Bloomberg should read about due process and all those other inconvenient protections we enjoy... for now. And the AG, Eric Holder agrees that curtailing these rights is ok with the Obama administration. I don't take for a minute that either of these two leaders are dumb. They know exactly what they are doing. Don't let them get away with it.

Happy Thanksgiving

This will be the first year that neither of my parents are around. I miss both of them. However, I am thankful for all my friends and extended family. My deepest desire is for everyone to enjoy the time you have with those you love and care about. And yes, even those who you might find... irritating. Don't let the time you have go to waste.

Don't crap where you eat

Breda has decided that a certain troll is just not worth it anymore. When people publish a blog it is for their enjoyment and satisfaction. I am like the editor of a newspaper. I do allow comments on my site. I do ask that yoou have a registered account and questionable content is routinely deleted from the comments section. My generosity is not endless, don't abuse it. Play nice with my toys and I'll share with you. Break or abuse them and I'll kick you to the curb.

Riding on the coattails of a mitigatable tragedy

Colin Goddard, a victim of the VA Tech murderer, Seung-Hui Cho, is pimping for The Brady Bunch. In a video for the Brady Bunch, he recounts his ordeal, and it is truly a harrowing ordeal.

That is fine, Mr Goddard and others should have our sympathy. But what Colin Goddard wants is to link Seung-Hui Cho with the so called 'gun show loophole' whereby a person can through a private sale, obtain a gun without filling out a form 4473 and having their background checked.

Police did find that Cho had a receipt for one of the pistols and waited the Virginia state required one month before purchasing his second pistol.

According to a CBS News report, the Glock 19 pistol was purchased at Roanoke Firearms where at the time, the murderer, Cho, met all requirements in purchasing the weapon.

He did not transact a private sale orbuy from a private seller at a gun show. For Colin Goddard to use his experience to further an agenda where the circumstances don't quite fit, is dishonest.
According to Federal Crime Bureau statistics, less than 1% of guns that are used to commit crimes originated at a gun show.

Mr Goddard is a bigot. And, the Virginia Tech university is a bigoted institution for not allowing law abiding citizens the right to keep and bear arms, and thereby defend themselves against aggression of this kind.

Getting taken advantage of

Recently, I offered to deprime and clean a considerable amount of 9mm Luger brass for a person.
I did it out of charity for this person, and if they decided to repay me somehow, fine. All the better for me. If not, then I wouldn't have complained. This person is very mercenary and doesn't understand charity very well, if at all. They asked if I wanted anything for doing the work. I said that if they saw fit to compensate me with some of the brass, then fine. I would have kept some of it. If not, well then at least I did a good deed. At one point I was even going to reload some of this brass into rounds for this person. I offered a fair price for my labor as long as the person bought their own supplies such as powder, slugs, and primers.

Alas, tonight while settling a food bill, this person decides to use a buy one get one free coupon for his share. He doesn't share in the bill and expects me to bear the brunt of both the bill and the tip. I was quite upset and was vocal about it. I tend to be generous with my friends and acquaintances as I was taught by my parents. I expect others that I associate with to be the same way, otherwise, they are not welcome in my circle of friends. I've ended friendships over this before.

This just pissed me off and I hate being taken advantage of. I learned a lesson about this person, and will be on my guard in the future.

Friday's fun track

This guy made me think of this. The Cars were one of my favorite bands growing up.

National Ammo Day

Thursday November 19th is National Ammo Day. It is a nationwide BUYcott of ammunition. You buy 100 rounds or 100 equivalent pieces of reloading supplies then call or write your representative and let him or her know that you are supporting your second amendment rights by voting with your wallet. The website is http://ammoday.com/ Make Sarah Brady cry and procure some brass, lead, and powder.

I'm all for Gun Control

Oh, I haven't gone off the deep end. I haven't become Josh Sugarmann's errand boy. Don't worry my fellow gunnies. When I say I'm for gun control I am for my gun under my control. My safety and well being is more important to me than any law that says I can't carry at x location. That's not to say I would knowingly break our current laws. I just wish to point out that the encroachment upon my liberty is wearing. The 20,000 some odd gun laws are "not enough". I call Bullshit! Paul Helmke is an ass who uses a murder to motivate an agenda. Bigots like him deserve scorn and derision.

FBI NICS Checks up in October

Over 2008 figures, the total number of NICS checks for the month of October was 1,233,982. This represents a 4.3% increase over October last year. I look at this as a way of saying we are winning back our gun rights. Every new shooter that goes to the range and exercises their rights, is one more person to stand up for not just our Second Amendment rights, but all of our rights. I know that since immersing myself in this cause, I've rethought a lot of what it means to be an American. I'll go more into what I mean by that later on. Right now, I'm gonna bask in the numbers and dream of meeting new fellow gunnies.

On the Ft. Hood Murders

What happened this last week in Texas at the Ft. Hood Army base is truly a tragedy. Major Hassan shot and killed thirteen people and wounded many more. He did this on a military base with a privately owned weapon. It is said that he calmly walked around and shot to kill those that were already wounded. He even stopped to reload. Finally a civilian contractor, one Kim Munley while taking fire that caused injuries to her, shot the alleged gunman. She stopped him. Isn't it ironic that the very people the gun control groups wish to arm semi-exclusively had to rely on a civilian LEO contractor? On the surface, this was a natural born American citizen who had no desire to be deployed. He had wrote about his dissatisfaction many times on the internet with the way the war in Afghanistand and Iraq is going. He argued with the very soldiers he was being sent to treat. I am calling upon our military to step up and defend the cause of liberty for soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines alike and arm them even while stateside. The next time it might be a more determined foe.

Drinkin' Pina Coladas at Trader Vics

I know it's a little past Halloween for the subject of this song. I don't care, I really like it.



Update: I forgot to say that this guy likes get songs stuck in my head. This was one of his better choices.

We bought guns, yes we did

We as gun owners bought 1.14 b-b-b-billion dollars worth of 'making Sarah Brady cry' guns. Now, remember two things. The first is the best thing you can put on your guns is wear. All the tacticool mall ninja rail induced laser/red dot/wipeyernose/ doohicky ain't gonna help you shoot any better if you don't pull the trigger in the first place. Second, a right not exercised is a right lost, so refer back to rule number one concerning wear. Ok, there's a third thing, go have fun and shoot.

31 October Range Report

First off, sorry for the non existent blogging this last week. While I didn't have swine flu, I had something that left me little inclination to put out any effort.

Our range trip started off to it's usual late self. 10 am turned into 11:30 and lunch for buddy Jason. We met up with his friend Butch, a local LEO.

A new shooter was awaiting us at the range, having gone on ahead. Doug had purchased a Savage Arms rifle from his neighbor in 17 HMR. Doug also shot buddy Bob's Raging Bull. Here's Doug pictured below with the gun still in recoil.



Buddy Jason accompanied Bob and myself to the range and he brought along his Springfield XD45. Here he is below shooting Bob's Raging Bull. I loaded the rounds for the .44 and tried the magnum primers for this particular batch. There seemed to be less sting with the magnum load as opposed to the large pistol load. That's Jason in the black coat with Bob in the foreground holding his Ruger two tome SR9. Bob loves stainless steel.



We had another new shooter out there, Mike. Here he is shooting a .357 magnum Taurus provided by another gentleman named Jason.



Mike was leery of shooting my Remington 870, but after a couple of rounds, he took to it like a duck to water. I wish I had pictures of him shooting that. Mike also really took to both of the Ruger 10/22 present. I can't think of a better platform to introduce new adult shooters to pulling the trigger than one of these guns. I think Mike is going to be visiting Cabela's soon.

It was a beautiful day after the previous weeks rain that had us setting records for October rainfall.

Reloading Part 4

With the cases charged, we're ready to seat the bullet. Getting the overall length correct is critical. If you seat the slug in too far, you can cause an overpressure of your gun and cause the gun to malfunction, if not outright fail. If you load it too long, it won't cycle through the magazine and hang up on you.



Set the slug on top of the case and pull the handle so that the round rises up into the seating die.



It might take a few tries to get the overall length you want. So start out long and tighten the seating die a little bit at a time until the desired result is achieved.



And finally the finished product waiting to be taken to the range



All in all, reloading can give you more accurate ammunition by tailoring a round for your gun. It can also be less expensive in the long run. You'll not notice the savings with the initial outlay for capital items like the press, dies, and powder measures. You can always add better equipment as time and funds allow. Start small with one easy caliber. Get used to everything first. But most of all have a safe fun time with it.

Pullin the old switcheroo

So I've found this progressive blogger that is based in Kansas City. He's tried to blog about gun control but doesn't even know the players like the Violence Policy Center or MAIG. Sorry old boy, but do try and keep up.

On 14 October he posted a piece about growing the government more. He even quoted Ronald Reagan.

In disbelief he writes this;

"I thought I'd never quote Ronald Reagan but here goes: "There they go again."

He goes on with this;

"At what point will we stop growing government and its agencies and spending?"

In a post dated 24 October he has reversed course 180 degrees

Notice came yesterday from the US House of Representatives that a new agency is finally being created to "regulate home loans, credit cards, savings accounts and other financial services."

The agency is to be called the Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

Let's hope it has some teeth and can do its job and do it well.

Yet earlier he ponders why the existing agencies can't seem to get it done.

Here's a thought--between the FDIC, the Federal Reserve, the Commerce Department and the Consumer Protection Agency--all of which already exist, thank you very much-- couldn't one of those groups handle these functions, Mr. President?

There might be hope for him here;

Must we create yet another agency to do this work?

Then he goes on to rail against the corruption;

Considering what's happened to our banking, mortgage and credit sectors and what literally thousands of unscrupulous lenders did, first to their clients and then, ultimately, to our economy, what with our banking and credit crisis and collapse, it seems incredible anyone could voice any complaint about it.

Seems to me that they did exactly what the law asked them to do, lend to everyone regardless of shaky credit history. It all starts at the top and the government that creates these laws are the first that need to go.

I can agree with him on this point;

The thing is, we need to get the banking and insurance (and all other corporations and their lobbyists and money) out of our government.

It seems that in writing his 24 October post, he might be coming to his senses after being razzle dazzled by the globama.

First, it would be good to know if this important work couldn't be done within an existing agency, like Commerce or something, so we don't create yet another bureaucracy that ends up living for it's own success.

Second, unfortunately, it's not a sure thing that this consumer protection agency will be created. Bankers and their money being what they are--and our government being how it is, subject to yet more lobbyist's money, etc.--this may not get out of Congress. It's too early to tell.

Ultimately, there might be hope for him yet.

24 October Range Report

It was Dirty Harry day at the range, what with Bob's Taurus Raging Bull. He and I both have been jonesin' to shoot the thing, but at $30 a box for range ammo, that's a bit pricey. I've told him that if he buys the dies, I'd reload for the gun. So with 240 grain SWC's, 2 1/2 large pistol primers and 24 grains of H-110 I loaded 97 rounds of .44 Remington Magnum goodness. Holy Hell!!! The rounds were damn hot and left my hand stinging after every shot. The recipe is what is called for in the Hodgon's manual, but I'll be damned if I am going to try any more powder than the bare minimum. Bob, praised them as, "having a good kick." I can't wait til I load some more up.

Gunnie Etiquette

In my attempt to be the Mr Manners of the 2nd amendment blogosphere, I bring you another edition of gunnie etiquette. and for reader Nick, a surprise.

So you bought that new gun and you wanna shoot it. You have the money but no inclination to buy ammo. Don't come crying to me when you can't find any. Oh, and if it's not a caliber I shoot, I don't know pricing for it. So please don't ask.

No, I won't reload your ammunition for you. That is why I am currently running a series of posts on the basics of reloading. It is to whet your appetite to try it yourself. I can lead a horse to water, but I can't make the horse drink.

When I offer to assist you with an issue you have, don't make me wait over an hour for you to show up. On two different nights. Seriously, some of us have better things to do than wait for you.

And for reader Nick I offer this.

DON'T. GIVE. UP. YOUR. RIGHTS. PERIOD

Pretty strong statement made there, huh? Right now, the Obama Administration is attacking every civil liberty known to us.

1. Calling FOX news not a news organization. You might not agree with FOX news or even like them, but they do report on the news of the day. Who's next, something that Chris Matthews might say on MSNBC?

2. The Justice Department in matters of voting laws in the South are blocking a law, after a vote of 2 to 1 in favor of stopping partisan elections, in a town that is 65% black.

3. They are pursuing a global climate change treaty that would surrender US Sovereignty. We as ordinary citizens, would be subject to the laws of other countries. In effect, this would create a one world government with no democratic or republic process.

4. Your guns, make no mistake that Eric Holder would like nothing better than to reinstate the 'assault weapons' ban again.

I was inspired by reading this from Kevin at the Smallest Minority

There are parallels between the formerly Great Brittain and where we are today. If you can't see them for what they are after reading that, good luck when this house of cards falls.

An update to the Which holster should I get question

About a month ago, I was asked what kind of holster to purchase. And I just didn't and still don't know. I blogged about it here.

JayG at MArooned was one of several people who gave me some direction. He has now put up a primer on obtaining a holster for your gun. He has gained a lot of wisdom from so many years of carrying a gun and I listen to his advice. You should go check it out and heed his wisdom.

Reloading Part 3

Now that we've re-sized & re-primed the cases, we can move on to deburring and charging the round. Personally I own two case blocks and they hold fifty cases each. One is grey and the other red. I do this for a very simple reason. The uncharged cases go in the grey block and after I've charged the cases, they go in the red block. Red is for charged cases.




In the photo below, the deburring tool can be easily seen. One rotation around the mouth of the case should produce a shiny edge ready to accept your slug.



This photo shows the second and fourth cases having been deburred versus the first and third not. Notice the shiny brass on the neck of the deburred cases? This is how they should look.



Charging the cases with gun powder is the next step. You will be working with an explosive so no smoking or drinking is allowed. The powder measure can be adjusted to dispense or “throw” a precise amount of gun powder. You should never have more than one kind of gun powder on you work surface at any one time and never leave powder in the measure after you're done. This particular measure has a hopper with a valve that can be close and removed from the base to easily return the powder to its original container.



Also, a scale and some sort of pour is required to to accurately measure your powder.This allows you to pour through a funnel, into the case.



Below is the powder being poured through the funnel and neck opening die into the case. The through powder die opens the neck of the case up for easy seating of the slug and charging the case all at one time.



One thing that can easily happen is the double charged case. On lighter loads all you'll notice is an extremely hot round going off when you pull the trigger. On heavier loads, you can bulge the barrel and ruin it. On super heavy loads, the gun can and has blown up in the shooters face. Always wear eye protection when reloading, shooting and cleaning your guns.



In the above photograph, in the second column from the left, third case down. That is what a double charge can look like.


Next up is seating the slug in the case. See ya soon.

Update: Some of the photo's were cropped by the blogspot software. If you want to see the whole photo, you should be able to click on it and see the entire picture.

Random Wednesday thoughts

Why should I have the right to carry a gun?

Because a 2 1/2 ton Ford Crown Vic Police Interceptor is a might heavy to carry on my hip

.44 Remington Magnum is a fun caliber to reload.

9mm, after reloading .44 is a pain in the ass to reload.

The Brady Bunch can go find a tall cliff to jump off of and take their bigoted agenda with them.

Josh Sugarmann and the VPC needs to join the Brady Bunch at said cliff

Reasonable 'gun control' is me putting 16 of 16 rounds in my magazine inside the paper circle at 25 yards.

We need to hit the reset button when it comes to the Congresscritters come fall 2010.

Wirecutter at Knuckledragger posts funny stuff, NSFW, but funny stuff.

JayG better get well real soon. He was missed yesterday. I hope you feel better real soon.

There's more stuff rattling around inside my head, but it's early and I have to head to work.

Reloading Part 2

So your brass has been de-primed and polished. You are now ready to re-prime & re-size the casing. In my particular case, since I de-prime and then tumble, small bits of the polishing media can become stuck in the primer pocket. The Lee resizing die also has a depriming rod in it. This will remove the polishing media and allow your fresh primer to seat correctly in the pocket.




The first thing you want to do is to lube your cases. Carbide die sets are supposed to eliminate the need for lubrication. I have found that it is much easier on my arm when pulling the handle for the cases to be lubed. Lee makes a tube of case lube that comes with their anniversary kit. It works, but you will spend a lot of time individually lubing cases. I use One Shot as shown in the picture above. Spray some on your cases and in my case I spray the inside of the sizing die. The added benefit is that your equipment is less stressed.



Once the lube has dried and you have your primers loaded into the primer feed, it's time start feeding cases. This is as good a time as any to visually inspect your cases to look for defects that would be cause for you to reject the case. Split cases and creases at the slug end of the case are common things I've found. Reject those out of hand.





If you feel that it is difficult to seat a primer, stop. You might have encountered a case that was Berdan primed. If you see two holes instead of one as you look into the case it is Berdan primed and must be thrown away. Of course you could also have just a very tight primer pocket. Either way, closely inspect the pocket and if in doubt, chuck the offending case in your brass recycle pile.



Now that you have a supply of primed cases, you should check their length to be in tolerance. This is where your load data book will help you. The book has specific loads for specific bullets as well as critical dimensions for the particular calbier you're reloading. Since I reload 9mm the length of my cartridge should be .754 inches. It never hurts to check your diameters both at the front and back of the cartridge as well. Cartridges that are out of spec will not fit into the chamber properly.

Next time. I'll discuss deburring and charging the round.

Arming yourself with knowledge for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

It is always a good idea to read what the other side has to say about any issue. Hence, that is why I choose to list gun control proponents at the bottom of my blog. I've found an interesting book in a series called 'Opposing Viewpoints' This book is on gun control and offers articles and essays from some of the top people on both sides of the issue. I do find it fascinating the vitrol that gun control proponents have for the NRA specifically. Here's what the book looks like and if you click the picture, it will take you to the Amazon page for it.

18 October Range Report

Going to two different ranges twice in one day will definitely wear you out. I started breaking in the new P-07 and man talk about a trigger that stacks. It stacks like that too tall pile of books you have been meaning to read. I also bought some slugs for the Remington 870 and tried out a couple of those too. The hole they make in cardboard is a sight to behold. And my Ruger10/22 just continues to impress me. I love, and I mean love this gun. I shoot decommissioned fire extinguishers that are unpressurized. Whenever you hit that aluminum, the most satisfying tink reports back, letting you know you've hit the target. I ^&*$&*#$ v left the camera at home and boy I wish I hadn't. Next week, it's Dirty Harry time, as my buddy Bob has bought a .44 Special reloading die set. Go ahead punk, make my day!

Reloading Part 1

So you've bought a new gun and enjoy taking it out to the range. Your buddy bought one as well .In taking it out to the range, you and your buddy buy a couple of boxes of ammunition each and start pulling the trigger on those rounds. One hundred rounds or so apiece and that adds up in terms of money.

As your shooting, there is a person down the line who was here long before you and as your packing up, he's still shooting. You walk over, introduce yourself and ask him how he can afford to shoot so much. He replies that he reloads his own ammunition. Reloads you think to yourself. Then you ask him what is involved. A press of some kind, dies for the caliber you wish to reload, a scale, a powder dispenser, and of course consumables, he tells you. Of course there's also some knowledge you have to acquire before you just start priming and charging cases.



Welcome to a beginner's insight into reloading. I will attempt to explain how I reload using the knowledge I have gained since I started. If you have questions regarding your own reloading please use this as a starting point and seek experienced wisdom beyond what I can tell and show you.



Speaking of knowledge, this book should be your first purchase if you have decided to start reloading your own ammunition. Go ahead and read it, I'll wait. Now, read it again, and..... yet again. There is a lot of knowledge in this book that is going to go a long way in helping you reload. That knowledge will help you from making dumb mistakes that can cause loss of a gun, a limb, your eye sight, even a life. A note here, reloading means you're working with explosive primers and gunpowder. I cannot emphasize this enough, YOU CANNOT BE TOO CAREFUL. Ok, good, I hope I've stressed how important being cognizant of what you're working with is.

I'd suggest you buy your book from the local gun shop. Find the person who reloads there and befriend them. They want to help you. If you do like I did, and buy a book here, a die set there, etc. you will become known to them. I visit my store at least once a week.



The first after you've assembled your equipment and consumables is to deprime your cases. I accomplish this with a universal de primer die. The resizing die that comes with a Lee die set also accomplishes this, but the brass must be cleaned first. By using the universal decapping die, I also ease my burden. I don't have to individualy clean the primer pockets. The brass cleaning process does that for me.



The “tumbler” is what I use to clean my deprimed brass. In goes the tarnished blackened brass, and out comes shiny clean brass. Two popular types of polishing media are corn cob and walnut. I use corn cob as this is what was reccomended to me by my local retailer. In addition to the media a polishing compound is also going to be needed. DO NOT USE BRASSO it contains ammonia and ammonia will work to dissolve the copper that is in the brass. Your local retailer will have a suitable compound.

Next time, I'll talk about resizing and priming cases.

Thinking critically in regards to the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

The gun control advocates argue that having fewer guns equals fewer deaths. And that more guns equals more deaths. If everything else is equal then areas that have a high number of firearms ownership should have a high rate of gun related violence. Consequently, low firearms ownership should lessen the amount of firearms related violence.

There are any number of factors that influence the rate of violence. It is impossible to identify and even quantify them all. Therefore any conclusions one draws should be tentative.

Think about that when presented with facts, statistics, and evidence.

Great Customer Service

The week before last I had taken my CZ P-07 out to the range. It had been a couple of weeks since I had the opportunity to shoot it. I've been working on basic rifle skills with my 10/22 and set the P-07 aside. In the course of shooting the gun, there is a spring rod that holds the trigger bar in tension so that it will operate the sear trip. The rod had come unsprung and was lost in the gravel at the range.

I sent the pistol in late last week to be repaired. This was the second time the gun has had to go in. The first was for a trigger that stuck in the fired position and was a known issue to the factory after the pistol was released to the public. CZ-USA fixed this problem and promptly returned my gun. This time around I didn't even have to wait a full week and I received an e-mail back that my gun was on its way back to me. Little did I know what was in store for me.

They had replaced the entire gun. Now also, the magazines were known to stick in the magazine well and again was a known issue that they were correcting. I never made a fuss about it as this was primarily a gun I use at the range. Apparently rather than fiddle fart around with the frame, they decided to supply a brand new gun. It is really gonna pain me to have to break in a new trigger all over again. :D

Examining the D.C> Gun Ban

I am currently reading a journal article on the Washington D.C. gun ban. The ban, when it was in effect was the most draconian in the nation. Not only would D.C. not license any new pistols, but you literally could not move your gun from one room to another in your own home. And any hope of a self defense clause was so narrow as to be non-existent.

The advocates argued that when you banned the guns in D.C. the murder rate involving handguns would go down. That proved not to be the case. Because D.C. could not extend its jurisdiction outside of its borders, the inflow of illegal obtained guns never ceased. Only a very small percentage of firearms lawfully owned by D.C. residents were ever used to commit crimes while the ban was in effect.

So what good does a ban do if your sphere of lnfluence is is limited, such as Washington D.C. or Chicago Illinois? The law abiding citizens will comply because they believe in the law, good or bad, just or unjust. The criminal who has already rejected the law is not taking that much of a step further in obtaining a banned item. In testimony before Congress the D.C. chief of police testified that seventy nine percent of all homicides in the district involved firearms, yet less than one percent were firearms registered in D.C. The people possessing the other 99% of those guns were be definition, criminals.

The only way gun bans work is in disarming law abiding citizens.

Fighting Back within our political system

As a new kid on the block to the whole gun rights issue, I was naive to think we were all one happy family all wanting the government to leave us alone and give us broad 2nd Amendment rights. Boy was I wrong. At one end of the scale, you have the so called threepers, who feel that we are past the point of no return and they're just waiting for the ATF to come a knockin'. 180 degrees from the threepers are the pragmatists. They want to slowly work towards gaining our rights back. Don't rock the boat, small steps, etc. In the middle you have the vast majority of gun owners who either don't care enough or don't wish to associate themselves with either end of the spectrum. Working within the middle of group is where efforts should be focused.

In any organization 20% of the people do 80% of the work. The problem might be that as people who favor individualism, gun owners shy away from a leadership position. I am going to ask my readers and fellow bloggers to step up and do two things. Find one issue at a local or state level that you can actively work on. Whether it's open carry, tort reform, fiscal accountability, whatever, just find an issue. Two, be part of that 20% that does 80% of the work. Find four other people who'll give you moral or physical support. They can be the other 80% that do the remaining 80% of the work.

Don't let fringes tell you what is good for you or what to do, find your own way.

So if you're sitting on the fence, offer up a solution

Seriously, the people who open carry as part of their daily lives or do it to make a statement are getting it done. If you oppose open carry as a gun owner or are undecided, offer up an alternative. Just sayin'

Update: Upon further reflection, the recent open carrying of firearms has caused the media to go into PSH. They are a dying entity that should go away soon, so they're rhetoric can be marginalized. To my knowledge, the average person on the street hasn't started calling their local representatives to draft legislation banning open carry. That means they are implicitly approving of the practice. Think about that when you start saying open carry is a bad thing.

blogroll additions

I'd like to welcome Nonsensical Multi Syllobic Words to the blogroll. A chex mix of survival skills, economics and snark make for interesting reading.

Lokidude of Redneck Command is another blog that comes from the Gunblogger Conspiracy. If for no other reason than the AWESOME poster at the top of the home page, you should be reading this blog.

Tractor Tracks, written by Farmgirl. She blogs about whatever is on her mind and doesn't take any crap.

And finally the gunblogger conspiracy. A blog about an IRC channel about blogs about guns. Warning; much adult content here. But, if you want to see where the gunbloggers go to let their hair down, this is the place.



If I am missing you from my blog, send me the URL and a brief description.

Openly debating Open Carry

The open carry debate has come forward even more since the death of Melanie Hain. Melanie was the PA. soccer mom who openly carried her Glock 26 to her childs soccer game that drew national attention. Among 2nd Amendment advocates this is a contested issue. Sebastian of Snowflakes in Hell writes this;

Glad to see the open carry folks winning over more hearts and minds in Scranton. Whatever they had to say about lost and stolen was lost in the distraction of having a need to open carry firearms, no matter what the circumstance.

For a while I started to be brought around, but I’m becoming more convinced it’s just damaging the movement. I will continue to support open carry being legal, I just don’t think it has any place in Second Amendment activism. Open carry activists have a lot of energy, and they are willing to show up, and that alone puts them ahead of 98% of gun owners. But I think the open carry shit is distracting, and is taking away from what otherwise would be amazingly effective activism. Instead of having media stories about gun owners opposing lost and stolen, you have media stories about people showing up openly armed.

Now let's play a little word substitution

Glad to see the open driving folks winning over more hearts and minds in Scranton. Whatever they had to say about lost and stolen was lost in the distraction of having a need to open drive , no matter what the circumstance.

For a while I started to be brought around, but I’m becoming more convinced it’s just damaging the movement. I will continue to support open driving being legal, I just don’t think it has any place in driving activism. Open driving activists have a lot of energy, and they are willing to show up, and that alone puts them ahead of 98% of drivers. But I think the open driving shit is distracting, and is taking away from what otherwise would be amazingly effective activism. Instead of having media stories about drivers opposing lost and stolen, you have media stories about people showing up openly driving.

Bigotry is bigotry is bigotry even when it comes from your own supposed side. By creating the idea of open carry not being a plus in advocating for everyone's 2nd Amendment rights, those who oppose it create a split in the movement.

Keeping an eye 42nd Street and 1st avenue pt 2.

At the Gun Rights Policy Conference, we were briefed that the UN has not given up on dis-arming America. My original post is here. It seems that seven countries are calling for a new round of negotiations. From this piece,

Brig. Gen. Mujahid Alam, a retired Pakistani officer with the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, said "free and unabated trafficking of weapons, in particular small arms," in the Great Lakes region of central Africa is one of the major causes fueling the war in Congo, which has claimed 5 million lives since 1998.

He predicted that agreement on an Arms Trade Treaty will not happen quickly and suggested that the U.N. and the international community consider a pilot project in the Great Lakes region to test possible treaty provisions to curb illegal weapons transfers.

This area is already covered by a UN backed treaty called "The Nairobi Protocol for the Prevention, Control, and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa."

Hmmm? It seems the first one is not working, let's try harder. I suspect that those 'illegal' weapons are going to people who are fighting for their very lives against genocide and ethnic cleansing. The UN's idea that the government should be the only ones to protect you doesn't take into account what if it's the government itself that is out to get you. The UN fails to consider the innocent lives lost because of gun control. The biggest threat we face is that of registration of our guns. DON"T LET IT HAPPEN. Remember, what the President signs, must be ratified by the Senate. Put pressure on yours to reject this should it come to pass. If not, remember Joe's Jews in the Attic test.

The 11 October Range Report

Today was my buddy Bob's day to drive. We had invited our friend Ken 'Turk' no, that one to go to the range with us. My poor P-07 is sitting in KCK right now with a case of stickymagazinitus and a touch of lostspringus, and shooting the Rami so much puts a lot of wear on my eventual carry piece. I did take the Ruger 10/22 and my new (to me) Remington 870 Wingmaster Riot gun. I put Winchester target loads through it and what a blast that was.



Bob brought out his new to him SKS. For $200, he found a steal of one. Bob loves to strip down the wood stock to bare wood and then rub linseed oil into them. I saw what the previous owner of the gun called his version of refinishing. All I can say is, Bob's work is far superior. He's also bought a couple of Mosin Nagants that have received the same treatment.



All I can say is, if you want a nice inexpensive 'assault weapon' that has minimum recoil and yet shoots a larger caliber, you can't go wrong with an SKS.

Our friend Turk busted the cherry on two of his guns. A snub nosed 856 Taurus and a PT709 Slim.



That's Turk shooting the 856.



And that is your truly shooting the same gun. I didn't even attempt anything like accuracy with this gun. I just pointed it at the target and pulled the trigger. In double action, the break suprised me every time. Just like it should.



There is Turk again with his PT709 Slim. Turk bought it as a conceal carry piece before he bought the 856. Choices, my friend, you now have choices.

Turk also brought along his Beretta 92S. I had the opportunity to shoot it and it felt like a very solid gun. For the right price, I'd own one of these. We all own 10/22's with Turk finally finding a digicam version like the one I bought out from underneath him back on the Fourth of July weekend. You snooze, you loose there pal. I gave him the opportunity to shoot mine so when we finally decides to buy a box of Remington value pack (hint hint) he'll have a feel for his gun.

A very fun trip to the range. If you haven't been in a while or never, go find someone to take you. The best thing you can put on your guns is wear. Go out and produce some dirty bore patches after your trip to the range.

I think it's more about the gun itself

Caliber Wars, the endless debate of 9mm vs .45 vs. .40 vs. .44 is something to behold. It's fun listening to this. I owned a gun in .380 for a while and sold it. Not because of the supposed lack of stopping power. Rather, at the time you couldn't find ammunition to shoot from it. It was to be my CCW piece and as such should not be considered a range gun. I didn't need that much, but I was looking to become proficient with it. But I am straying away from my intent of this post.

Another variation on the theme of caliber wars, is to pick one caliber that will work in both a long gun and a pistol of some sort. People debate endlessly and pick some compromise of a caliber. Usually a bigger magnum or a 10mm. Something in .45 long/.410 sounds ideal, but who am I to say? That's two different rounds you'd have to carry. And among one caliber, you have the choice of SJHP, JHP, RN, SWC, plus others I don't remember.

From there, what gun will you pick to use. Barrel length and twist has an effect on accuracy. That snubby .357 and a matching carbine are two totally different animals. While the snubby might eat anything you put down its barrel, the carbine might work best on a diet of JHP.

The more I learn, the more questions I have. Picking one caliber seems to me to be a starting point to find out what works best, slug and powder wise, in whatever you choose as your two guns.

Murder & Suicide - some facts

This past week Melanie Hain, known to many as the mother who openly carried her Glock 26 to her child's soccer game was a victim of a murder suicide. Many people in the gunblogger community knew her and pleaded with her to get out of her situation. I offer my sympathy and condolences to her children, her family and to my fellow gunbloggers. There are others out there who feel the need to question the ownership of firearms and are using this horrible tragedy to further their bigoted agenda. I wish to counter this by offering up some logic and reason.

The World Health Organization has long noted that removing an easy and favored method of suicide does not significantly alter the overall rate. i.e. Removing guns as a method still leaves someone with hanging, asphyxiation or overdosing on medication.

America, as a first world nation enjoys an average rate of suicide. The latest data I found was 17.6 per 100,000 vs. the Czech Republic's 26.0 per 100,000. And Canada with much stricter gun control laws shows a higher rate of suicide at 19.5 per 100,000.

Japan, where there is no equivalent to the 2nd Amendment and gun related crime is hardly known has a whopping suicide rate of 36.5 per 100,000.

Suicide rates for law enforcement in this country is 18 per 100,000. Only slightly higher than our national average. The notion that somehow police are infallible to crime, and yes suicide is a crime, simply by the appointment to their duties, is wrong. The police are just like you and me, they put their pants on one leg at at time.

Acccording to the National Crime Victimization Survey, the idea that your gun will be taken away from you in a crime is ludicrous. The rate is at most, one percent.

In another blog, a comment was posted about those who live by the sword, die by the sword. The meaning of that is if you visit violence upon someone, you should expect violence in return. Melanie Hain had ample opporutunity to draw her weapon many times throughout her life. It was kept holstered. Did she offer violence to anyone? Only if they did so first.

To the gun control bigots I say this to you, you are on the wrong side of history. You are the social equivalent of the KKK. Where do you think gun control came from? It came from a deeply resentful South that wished to control the newly freed slaves by denying them their civil rights. Do we as gun owners force you to own a gun? No, we do not. Do we wish that there was never another murder by any means? Yes, we do, but we live in an imperfect world and we wish to better our chance to survive a violent conflict. We do this by going armed. Melanie Hain understood this. God rest her soul.

The sound a crminal fears most

And I own it. In the form of a Remington 870 Wingmaster. Pics to follow

I'd like to remind Mayor Bloomberg

That there is no such thing as a 'gun show' loophole. Also, mayor, there is no 'law enforcement' loophole that you can exploit in investigating outside ofthe five burroughs. Numerous sources show that less than 1% of the guns used in committing a crime came from a gun show. Some statistics


"A Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) report on “Firearms Use by Offenders” found that fewer than 1% of U.S. “crime guns” came from gun shows, with repeat offenders even less likely than first-timers to buy guns from any retail source."

"Though Congress specifically has applied the background check requirement to dealers only, and specifically exempted from the dealer licensing requirement persons who occasionally sell guns from their personal collections, gun prohibition activists call this a “loophole.” Gun prohibitionists also falsely claim that many criminals get guns from gun shows; the most recent federal study puts the figure at only 0.7 percent."

With those kind of statistics, it proves that the system is working. Background checks do work and deter criminals from gun shows. Determined individuals can and will obtain firearms no matter what.

Mayor Bloomberg is a businessman and made a lot of money by the margins, perhaps he's applying that same thought to gun control. Mayor, leave the money and the guns on the table.

Where are my wheelbarrows full of cash and fat swag

Any manufacturers that wish to send me guns and gear to evaluate, I'm more than happy to do so. And to the FTC, stay out of my business you jackbooted anti capitalism thugs.

I own two CZ products and are my pistol of choice

My rifle is a Ruger 10/22. The finest mass produced .22 lr gun ever made.

I own a Lee Reloading Press and while widely acknowledged as somewhat less than RCBS or Hornady equipment, is more than enough for me at this point.

To you FTC, I call BULLSHIT! on your heavy handedness. GO take a long walk off a short pier.

The role quantum physics plays in the 2nd Amendment

I'm reading David B Kopel's book; Aiming For Liberty. One of the ideas he explores is the role quantum physics plays in discovering truth.

The author goes into detail on Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. That principle, the core, is that measurement of an electron for example will change it's state. the reality cannot seperate from the observation. But recent work by Andrew Jordan of the University of Rochester and Alexander Korotkov UofC Riverside have developed a 'weak" measurement that only part way collapses the quantum state. What does this mean? Well, you can be the observer without influencing the outcome. Heisenberg's theory of physics is that truth is not, but power is summates the theory in regards to how it is applied to postmodern moral philosophy.

Postmodernism is the idea that you distrust theories and ideologies and put your faith in conventions. That there is no absolute truth, whether it be a scientific truth or a literary truth. It is whatever it happens to be at that moment in time. The 'weak' measurement used by Korotkov and Jordan undoes the measurement's effect, returning the electron to its orginal state, i.e. leaving it in its true form.

If what Jordan and Korotkov have discovered is true, then the idea that the right to self defense from tyranny is a universal truth. And that is how quantum physics relates to the second amendment.

Pre Range, Range, & post Range Etiquette

When your friends invite you to go to the range, politely take them up on the offer. Making Sarah Brady cry and Josh Sugarmann contemplate that bottle of rum and sleeping pills should be every gun owners goal.

Don't stare off into space all butt hurt because your friend won't sell you his ammunition that is readily available at the local store. If you can afford the gun, you can afford the ammunition.

When you are called again the morning of the range trip, don't wait until two hours after I've already left to ask if I'm already gone. Especially since I called and invited you a second time.

Don't shoot across lanes. It's impolite at best to shoot at someone else's target and not exactly safe.

Don't call me about how someone else treated you when you ask them a question. You're a smart person and google is your friend. Try 'disassembly of a Ruger 10/22' and see what you come up with.

Don't be the person who was called and then call me at 10:45 pm bitching about a stupid question. Especially when I told you I was heading for bed. Do I wear black and white striped shirts. Referee is not in my friend description.

Hopefully this tip from Top Manners will assist you.

Blog roll additions

So I've found more people whose blog I enjoy reading.

JayG at MArooned is surviving in the Peoples Republic of Taxachussetts. Jay is an absolutely wonderfully crazy gun nut.

Snarky at Straight from the Snark's Mouth is a young lady surviving college where with the proper permissions can shoot a gun on campus. She'll also wow you with her sexy boots.

Lucrative Pain hails from Las Vegas. She's a licensed massage therapist. Sorry fellas, happy endings are not part of her repertoire.

If you don't find yourself on the blogroll and would like to be added, please be sure to shoot me an e-mail at the address listed on the right hand side.

Bureau of Free Speech

Montana's Firearms Freedom Act has gone to court to validate the law that took effect Oct. 1.

The ATF has responded to MSSA association president Gary Marbut. Denver field divsion SAIC Richard Chase responds thus.

If the firearm...is of a type that is defined under 26 U.S.C. Section 5845 (i. e., a National Firearms Act firearm), you will need to file an ATF Form 1, and have it approved by ATF prior to manufacture. I note that in Montana HB 246, the definition of firearm accessory includes sound suppressors. A sound suppressor could come within the definition of a silencer or muffler under the National Firearms Act (NFA), and manufacture of such, even for personal use, would require filing an ATF Form 1, and approval from ATF.

Your other concern is whether it is permissible under Federal law to manufacture firearms, firearms accessories, or ammunition for sale to others within Montana. The manufacture of firearms or ammunition for sale to others within Montana requires licensure by ATF.

Imagine a scenario just as chilling;

If the speech...is of a type that is defined under 26 U.S.C. Section 5845 (i. e., a National Free Speech Act, you will need to file a BFS Form 1, and have it approved by BFS prior to printing or publishing. I note that in Montana HB 246, the definition of free speech includes internet, paper, and broadcast. A broadcaster could come within the definition of a hate enabler under the National Free Speech Act (NFS), and publishing of such, even for personal use, would require filing an BFS Form 1, and approval from BFS.

Your other concern is whether it is permissible under Federal law to print free speech, free speech on the internet, or public speaking to others within Montana. The right to free speech for consumption by others in Montana requires licensure by BFS.

There goes the government sticking it's nose in Montana's business. Good luck Mr Marbut and the state of Montana. h/t to David Codrea

Who 'paid' for your education?

There's a lot of stuff that gets passed around the internet that reminds us about veterans and the sacrifices they make. Old NFO has a very touching story on how they pay for our children's education. Hint it's not in what they're taxed.

Quote of the Day

"The Second Amendment, besides its practical effect in ensuring that physical power will not be a government monopoly, helps to preserve a "noble attachment to a free constitution" by teaching the people that resistance to tyranny is not"insurrection," but is the command of the Constitution.

David B. Kopel from Aiming for Liberty p 149.

I had some ink done

My birthday is the fifth of October. The only person who ever would actually buy me a present would be my mother. I'd also figure something out to treat myself to. Now that mom is no longer with us, I thought I'd splurge on something I've been meaning to do for awhile now.



It's a statement alright

Update: My inspiration comes from Robb Allen at Sharp as a Marble. If it weren't for Robb's design I wouldn't have known where to go for it. So thanks Robb.

Missouri Firearms owners are considered second class citizens

The Missouri Supreme court is hearing an appeal from the state that a 2008 ruling by a Mississippi county judge overturned a 2006 ruling that bans possession of a firearm while intoxicated. Granted the man had taken two different drugs and was threatening to kill himself ormake the police kill him if his wife didn't come back. The story is here. The law is being argued as too broad and a person taking a prescribed medication could be prosecuted. However, and the point of this post is this most telling statement from Assistant Attorney General Karen Kramer;

Kramer said gun rights should not be prioritized as highly as First Amendment protections.

I am calling you out as a bigot Ms. Kramer. I am not some second class citizen because I own firearms. You should do this publicly and apologize to all Missouri citizens in degrading our rights. I look forward to reading it.

I put ketchup on my ketchup

In addition to being a gun nut, I have other interests & hobbies. One of them is organizing performance rallies where the likes of Travis Pastrana and Tanner Foust try not to hit trees as they hurtle themselves down one lane gravel roads. Specifically I help organize the 100 Acre Wood Rally Last February as we were running our final course check I was eating breakfast at 'Our Place' in Salem MO. In attempting to put ketchup on my hash browns, I instead put it all over myself, the booth behind me, and the floor to my right. I wrote Heinz about this, relating th now funny story. It wasn't at the time, I stunk like vinegar and tomato sauce for 12 hours. Heinz sent me this. Thank you very much Heinz.



I think I'm gonna get the matching shirt,

Michael Moore

MICHAEL MOORE IS A FAT SLOBBERING HYPOCRITIC BOORISH ASS! Attacks capitalism in his new propaganda piece by chargin rubes to go see the garbage

"Now I'm proud of my country" speaks

Michelle Obama: "I Know Many Will Say It Is a Sacrifice for Me and My Friend Oprah to Fly to Europe First Class and Stay in Four-Star Hotels, But I'm Willing to Do That for the Children of Chicago." It's for the children you know.

Keeping an eye 42nd Street and 1st avenue

The un-United Nations being a most decidedly anti Second Amendment organization merits our watchful eye. The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs are coordinating the Implementation Support System for Open-Ended Working Group on Tracing Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons, or ISSOEWGTISALW. The UN routinely consults non governmental organizations in shaping policy. One of the most well funded of these is IANSA, the International Action Network on Small Arms. The organization is headed by Rebecca Peters and their funding comes from George Soros' Open Society Institute.

Haiku

Poetry is not my strong point. Roses are Red Violets are blue is my highlight, but I wrote some Haiku on another blog, and thought I'd repost it here

Eternal the fight
Liberty the cause we strive
Man the line rest not

McDonald v Chicago is a go!

McDonald et al v Chicago will be decided by the Supreme Court. Alan Gura stated at the Gun Rights Policy Conference that we are playing offense right now. Looks like Mr. Gura has a laser guided rocket for an arm and is gonna drill one right into his wide receiver's numbers.

A threat to the Coburn Amendment

The department of the interior is proposing the banning of traditional lead ammunition for use in hunting in National Parks that allow it. For those who choose to carry a gun into a national park for self defense purposes, this could mean that a traditional lead bullet would land you in hot water if used. I'm not going to go into stopping power, ballistics or caliber wars here. If Mr Bear and I meet in an unpleasant manner, I'd prefer my .500 S&W to be loaded with copper jacketed hollow point lead.

Freedom Culture

I was on Gun Nuts radio last night. WooHoo!! Breda and Jay G graciously allowed me to hang out after I updated everyone on the Gun Rights Policy Conference. The topic was the gun culture in your area. Many areas were represented. In JayG's own Massachusetts one must jump through many hoops just to own a firearm. Oleg Volk relates how he helped towards a family's purchase of a .22 rifle in California, but they have to wait ten days to pick it up. In Missouri, one gentleman relates starting a .22 rifle club and only three out of the 50 participants did not already own a firearm. Also, in Missouri, there is *GASP* an active open range on a college campus. Students, with the permission of the campus police can even shoot their personal firearms there.

But it is not just about owning a gun, it's our very freedom which is at stake. Gun owners probably understand this better than anyone right now. Please, when someone equates the second amendment to hunting, kindly ask where in the constitution is hunting mentioned? When someone berates you for holding a politically incorrect viewpoint, call them on it. When Montana tells the ATF to stay out of it's business in regards to firearms manufactured and sold in that state, that's fighting back. Liberty is for everyone, regardless of race, religion, creed, color, philosophy or liefestyle. Fight for it or who will fight for yours?

QOTD

"We have to play offense intelligently and smartly." Alan Gura from the Gun Rights Policy Conference on winning back our 2nd amendment rights.

News from the Gun Rights Policy Conference

Jake McGuigan of the NSSF was one of the panel of speakers at the Gun Rights Policy Conference this weekend in St. Louis. Currently firearms manufacturers pay their excise tax on a bi-weekly basis. The firearms industry is the only one that pays on a bi-weekly basis. Every other one pays on a quarterly basis. Information can be found here. By paying on a quarterly basis, money would be freed up for firearms manufacturers to budget more for R&D and marketing. There is bi-lateral support for this bill. Write your representatives and ask them to support this legislation.

Plese Jay, may I have it back

My fellow friends and conspirators at GBC were discussing un-manly things that we've done or that we own. In my case it was Britney Spears' first album. In retrospect, I bought it in a fit of Catholic school girl lust. Alas I am older and wiser and my taste in music is much better. Now I would just like my mancard back. Here's the proof I've destroyed the vile filth that invaded my ears so long ago.






*No harm was intened or implied to the actual Ms. Spears, rather just her over produced 'music'

AB 962

One of the speakers at the Gun Rights Policy Conference was Gene Hoffman, chairman of the Calguns foundation. He spoke about AB 962 and it's impact outside of California. He asked all of the attendees to call and write their congressmen and senators to draft letters to Governor Schwarnegger to veto this bill. You can locate your congressmen and senators here.

Quote of the Day

Why is something we've been doing for 200 years suddenly unconstitutional? - anonymous bumper sticker

Top of the Chain, NOW with even more RACISM!

You've asked for it and I've listened! Have you been for Obamacare? I'm white and I don't care.

Find the school kids singing the praises of the anointed one awesome I'm white and I don't care.

I own a gun, which makes me a right wing militia threeper radical. I'm white and I don't care.

Don't like the HOV lanes into Washington D.C. I'm white and I don't care.

I'm white and I don't care. I'm white and I don't care. I'm white and I don't care.

Yes sir, get all the racism you can handle right here at Top of the Chain.

Don't forget Tuesday we offer two for one daily racism. And Wednesday's are senior saver days here at Top of the Chain. If you're an old school sheet wearing racist, we'll give you an extra ten percent off your entire order

No valid with other offers, restrictions apply

Well, I do like Peanut Buster Parfait or a Nut Brown Ale after a trip to the range.

"Our love of guns is nutty." So writes retired chemistry professor Peter Hansen. Professor Hansen opines that when Ed Thomas, a local football coach lost his life to someone using a gun to murder him, no one asked where the gun came from. Nor was it stolen or not.

The professor makes the statement that acquiring a handgun is about as easy and as common place as buying a tennis racket. In order for me to purchase a handgun through a shop, I must fill out BATFE form 4473 and a background check is ran against the information I provide. I am allowed right there to take the gun with me, or I have to wait up to seven days. Now, just imagine if the government regulated tennis rackets like they regulate guns. We'd have the NRA, the National Racket Association and their mascot Ricky Racket telling kids that if they find a tennis racket to leave the room and go tell an adult. If Serena Williams went on a tirade about taking the ball and shoving it down an officials throat, that would have her in jail so fast. Her tennis skirt would spin.

A year ago, USA Today reported that "a small but growing movement (has) been under way at universities and state legislatures to allow students, faculty and staff to carry guns on campus." Gun advocates maintain that had Virginia Tech's students and faculty been armed, far fewer than 32 of them would have been killed in the 2007 mass murder. Of course, gun advocates ignore the far greater likelihood of more frequent suicides, accidents and murders that would result from arming our campuses.

And it's a movement I support. The debate is ongoing here in Missouri with aspects of law enforcement supporting the notion. As far as accidents go, it is far more likely that someone will drown than have an accident with a gun. For example, in 2005, there were 789 accidental deaths from firearms here in the U.S. That means the risk is 0.30 per 100,000 people. Or to put it another way, about the same as buying the farm in a plane crash.

As to suicide, the Word Health organization found long ago that by removing one method of suicide does not lower the overall rate. It just means a determined individual will find the means to kill themselves.

Gun control, however, is different. I fail to understand how any intelligent thinking person can believe that more guns, carried by more people, at more locations, will result in a safer and more peaceful society!


Really professor? Let's look at Chicago,why don't we? Murder in this midwestern metropolis is rampant. In fact, Illinois is one of two states that does not allow any sort of concealed carry. Yet, it has one of the highest murder rates in the country.


Why do Americans fear that law enforcement officers cannot adequately provide for public safety? Why do Americans fear that strict handgun laws will inevitably result in hunters being denied their hunting rifles and shotguns? Other nations with very strict gun laws allow hunters to hunt.

The average response time for law enforcement in Washington D.C. for a Priority One call, was 8 minutes and 25 seconds as of 2002. Yet the criminal takes only a split second to pull the trigger and alter his and your life forever. And just so the professor understands, no where in the constitution does it mention hunting.

To those who interpret the Second Amendment as an unqualified right to gun ownership, I ask, why did James Madison write, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Why didn't he simply write, "The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed?" Why the reference to "a well regulated militia?" the five freedoms of the First Amendment are prefaced with a qualifying phrase.

Like our language a lot of other words that over time change meaning, militia as written in the constitution meant any able bodied man. As there were no modern police departments, it was up to the common citizenry to 'police' their communities. First colonial, then state, and now Federal law all define exactly what makes up a militia. All able bodied males 17-45 and members of the National Guard up to age 64, excluding those who have no intention of becoming citizens and active duty military personnel.


Furthermore, in 1789, when the Bill of Rights was submitted to Congress, what was meant by "arms"? Most guns possessed by hunters and farmers of that day were smooth bore muskets. Might those 18th-century congressmen have taken a different position had they observed the firepower of a Smith & Wesson Model 686 .357 Magnum revolver?

I'm surprised the professor even attempts to make this argument seeing as his field of study is chemistry. Like any other field of engineering, firearms have advanced techologically. I think professor, that your 18th century congressmen would have been impressed at the level of craftmanship. Your own field has given us composites to make stocks with. Metallurgy has given us stronger alloys resulting in lighter materials for soldiers, police and common citizens to fight, protect and hunt with.

Me, I think once I'm done with my laundry as I write this post, I'm going down to the bar for a nut brown ale.