Milton The EvilPony™

Is a fat pig easy keeper.

To put it in proper perspective, he's only 36" tall. Politically-correct folks like to call him a miniature horse, but he's a PONY and gleefully does all the bad things you've ever heard about the little monsters. The late author and artist Norman Thelwell understood ponies like Milton.

A Few Of My Favorite Things

If you ask me how many guns I have, I'll probably mumble something about more than I need but less than I want. Among the throng, though, there are a few that are, well, just specialer than the others.

There's my Wilson Combat CQB, of course, that's my current carry gun -- at least until I get the custom build I'm ordering. I've almost decided what I want on it.

Then we have my HK P7M8, Trussville import, AG date code, bought brand new in 2006:

"Fast, Flat, and Accurate," the P7 is a perfect carry gun within the limits of its minor caliber and magazine capacity. Those aren't very serious limitations if you use quality defensive ammunition and carry two reloads. The M8's larger trigger guard and heat shield eliminate the problems I had when I test-drove a PSP. Now if I could just figure out how to make bumper pads for the magazines, I could eliminate the tendency to pinch my hand when reloading under time pressure.

The pistol they'll have to bury with me (oops, I forgot; when I bought it, it was on the condition I leave it back to the seller in my will) is this bright-blued T-series Browning Hi-Power made in 1969:

Departures from box-stock are a tuned Cylinder & Slide wide combat trigger that eliminates the troublesome magazine disconnect, an extended tactical safety and slide stop, and thin Navidrex micarta combat grips. It's been throated and polished for hollowpoints. Yes, it rattles, but no matter what you feed it or how dirty or hot it gets, this gun never, ever malfunctions. I've put thousands of rounds through it, and it has never once failed to go bang.

I've always liked the look of EEEEEEVIL BLACK RIFLES, and as the political winds changed decided I better get one while I still could. The result was this Smith & Wesson M&P15T that I named "The Department Of Defense:"

It has a full-length quad-rail with rail guards, Harris adjustable swivel bipod, Giles sling, Ergo grip, Trijicon ACOG 3.5x35 optic mounted on the carry handle with BUIS, an ambidextrous extended charging handle, improved gas rings, and a Streamlight M3 on the side away from the camera. Isn't accessorizing fun?

Now if I could just get a decent photo of my made-in-1965 Ithaca 37 Model DS Police Special 12ga tactical shotgun. I call that one "The Department Of Homeland Security."

Front Sight Rocks!

Thanks to The War On Guns, I found this four-part video series about one of my very favorite places, Front Sight Firearms Training Institute. I train there, and have a lifetime membership which allows me to take any class they offer as many times as I want at no cost for the rest of my life.

Yeah, you read that right. Buy a membership and train free for life.

Check it out.

The Canary In The Coal Mine

Well into the 20th century, coal miners in England and the United States brought caged canaries into coal mines as an "early warning signal" for toxic gases. The birds, being more sensitive, would become sick before the miners, who would then have a chance to escape.

A politician's position on gun rights can serve a similar function.

"How a politician stands on the Second Amendment tells you how he or she views you as an individual... as a trustworthy and productive citizen, or as part of an unruly crowd that needs to be lorded over, controlled, supervised, and taken care of." - Dr. Suzanna Gratia Hupp, former Texas State Representative

The Second Amendment was put in the Bill of Rights to ensure the people always had the power to overthrow tyranny. How threatened by that an Elected One or Elected One Wannabe feels should give you an idea of how tyranny-minded he or she is.

"Before a standing army can rule the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States." - Noah Webster of Pennsylvania, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, Philadelphia, 1787

And whenever government officials decide they want to disarm the people, egregious human rights violations invariably follow. For those rights violations to be acceptable to the overall populace, gun owners must first be marginalized and demonized.

Sound familiar? It should.

This is not just a fairy tale, scare tactic, or even recent phenomenon, but has been repeated all over the world and throughout history.

The human rights violations don't just affect those eeeeevil gun owners, though. All serfs citizens' lives become subject to the metal detectors, warrantless searches, and no-knock raids neccessary to maintain a helpless safe society. Already the public is becoming inured to no-knock drug raids, initiated on unsubstantiated tips from dealers and junkies looking for leniency, that kill or injure innocent people.
Some politicians get it, though, and we owe them our full support. Too bad there don't seem to be any running this time around . . .

"The ruling class doesn't care about public safety. Having made it very difficult for States and localities to police themselves, having left ordinary citizens with no choice but to protect themselves as best they can, they now try to take our guns away. In fact they blame us and our guns for crime. This is so wrong that it cannot be an honest mistake." - former U.S. Sen. Malcolm Wallop (R-Wy.) (emphasis added)

Staying Alive

LawDog once again says it better than anyone:

"She was doing everything she was supposed to do to stay alive."

Make sure you read every single word of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution article describing what Meredith Emerson went through before she was murdered.

Then just try to tell me that if she'd had a gun with the training and will to use it, the outcome could possibly have been any worse.

I sent e-mails to the agencies responsible for managing the areas in Georgia where this happened asking if they prohibit carrying of loaded handguns by hikers and campers for personal protection. Their replies follow:

• The area where Meredith Emerson was first abducted was Vogel State Park. Their response: "Firearms are not allowed at Georgia State Parks unless they are unloaded, cased and stored. At Vogel and at most of our other sites, we have certified law enforcement rangers that are armed and provide visitor protection on our sites." Yeah, right.


• Her car was found in Chattahoochee National Forest. Handguns are allowed in National Forests in accordance with state law. Legislation is now being considered to allow them in National Parks, with the usual panty-wetter hysterics.


• The reply from Dawson Forest, where she was finally killed, is interesting: "The regulations state you are not allowed to carry a weapon on your person while on any Wildlife Management Area unless you are actively hunting legal game. Would you ever be checked? Maybe not but its [sic] possible. We (Georgia Forestry Commission) rely on Georgia DNR to handle all Law Enforcement so it would be up to the officer. Personally, I don't think you'd have any problems hiking on Dawson Forest but I can understand why you may feel more comfortable."

Ya think? I'd rather be tried by twelve than carried by six.

The Appearance Of Safety

As opposed to actually being safe.

Hsiao Hsu and her husband had a walled, gated residence with security cameras and a sign that read, "Warning: All activities are recorded to aid in the prosecution of any crimes committed against this facility." The multi-million-dollar mansion was in a very "nice" neighborhood, West Covina, an upscale community in Los Angeles county.

They did everything "right." Hsiao Hsu was on the phone with 911 reporting someone breaking into her house when the dispatcher heard gunshots followed by silence on the open line. The police arrived in time to observe "one or more males" running away from the house, but it was too late for the victim who was already dead inside.

It's great to have walls and gates and alarms and cameras and signs. It's great to have phones and call 911. But thinking any of these things will keep you alive when you're looking the goblin in the face is a fatal mistake.

When you need a gun, you need it RIGHT NOW, and nothing else will do.

Stay safe. REALLY safe.

HT to John Lott.

Ordering A Custom Wilson Combat 1911

Too bad I couldn't make that stupid quiz come out as one of these:

I scored this beauty at The Bullet Hole (thanks, Steve and Wes!*) a while back, but it will be a little large for warm-weather carry.

So what to do, what to do???

Why, order one built just like I want it, of course! I'm thinking something in a Commander size with an Ed Brown bobtail, heavy match cone barrel, all black ArmorTuff . . .

(For a good laugh, imagine a short, fiftymumble female poring over the Wilson Combat catalog and website like most women would shop for Manolo Blahnik's or Jimmy Choo's.)

Stay tuned for future gratuitous gun pr0n and a range report.

* And Bill, and Shawn, and Ron, and Linda. I stand corrected.

Guess This Is Appropriate . . .

Since my profile photo is my P7M8 with one of my HideAwayKnives.

I am a: Heckler and Koch, Model P7 in 9mm

What kind of handgun are YOU?

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

For those in the audience who aren't familiar with gun rights -- or the Battle of Thermopylae -- this post's title means "Come and take them." It was the defiant response of King Leonidas of Sparta when the Persians ordered him to surrender his weapons.

Weapons are the indispensible tools of self-defense. My gun is the force equalizer that ensures I have a fair chance against criminal assailants who are almost certain to be stronger, younger, bigger, and faster than I.

But there are so-called authorities in our society today who say we should not defend ourselves against violent attack. They say we should yield to the criminals, meekly and voluntarily obey their every demand. How can these authorities not connect increases in crime with the criminals' expectation that their victims have been well-trained to abject submission?

Marko at "The Munchkin Wrangler" explains what's wrong with that better than I ever could.

Zendo Deb at "TFS Magnum" has a collection of incidents where cooperating with criminals had a somewhat different outcome that the authorities would have you expect.

If you think dialing 911 will save you when The Bad Thing happens, read this.

While humans are being brainwashed conditioned trained to offer their throats willingly to the knife, Breda at "The Breda Fallacy" relates an encounter with a mouse who has still has a survival instinct.

Xavier at "Xavier Thoughts" relates his experience of being targeted by thugs and a follow-up here.

Robb Allen at "Sharp As A Marble" ties it all perfectly together.

I will not patronize businesses who post "No Concealed Weapons" signs. To do so rewards their cowardice while depriving me of effective defense. Not one of them will accept liability if a criminal harms or kills a customer.

I will not accept spree-killings as justification for more and more gun control. As author William S. Burroughs said, "After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn't do it." Dylan Klebold, of Columbine infamy, was closely following Colorado legislation that would have let citizens carry a concealed handgun. Klebold strongly opposed the legislation and openly talked about it. The bill being debated would have allowed permitted guns to be carried on school property. Was it a coincidence that he attacked Columbine High School the very day the legislature was scheduled to vote on the bill?

I will not vote for anti-gun candidates. Especially those who carefully refrain from saying they really want to ban civilian gun ownership until after the election. A world without guns would hardly be the pacifist utopia they imagine. And ever notice how they don't include the police, the military, and their own bodyguards in the disarmament plan?

And I will not abdicate responsibility for my personal safety to others and cower on my knees waiting to die like some people.

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ