Criminals Shouldn't Have Guns

Because their intended victims will just take their guns away and use them against them.

What I Hate About Spring

Mud.'Nuff said.

"Buy A Gun" Day

Okay, in my case it was "Order A Gun" Day. Does that count?

Yep, I finally decided how I wanted my Commander-sized Wilson Combat built.

The base model is their Elite Professional.

© 2007 Wilson's Gun Shop Inc.

I ordered it with a smooth, not stippled, Ed Brown bobtail, no magwell of course, single tactical safety instead of ambi, no Lasergrips, two sets of grips fitted to the bobtail with hex-head screws, tactical tritium sights, 3.5 lb. tuned match trigger (yeah, I know, but it's the same as the one I'm carrying now, and all I shoot any more is SA semi-auto's with really good triggers). It's all carbon steel, fully finished in allover-black ArmorTuff.

Now I get to wait impatiently for the phone to ring.

In about two months.

Sigh.

Education Is The Solution

Let me start out by saying I am beyond fanatical about gun safety. My choice to be armed carries with it an awesome responsibility. Any lapses of proper gun handling and safety control not only have the potential to destroy my life or that of somebody else, but also reflect on the character of every other gun owner in the country. When anyone with a gun screws up, we are all equally condemned by the media and in the court of public opinion.

So I make real damn sure I observe correct safety protocols at all times.

The late, great guru of the combat 1911, Col. Jeff Cooper, created four simple rules of gun safety that would, if followed without exception, prevent 100% of those tragic accidents involving firearms that end up on the news and cause politicians to yammer for still more gun laws.

These rules are:

1. Treat all guns as if they are always loaded.
2. Never point a gun at anything you do not intend to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target and you are ready to shoot.
4. Always be sure of your target and what is behind it.

I was trained in the intolerant world of "There Is No Such Thing As An ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE." There are only NEGLIGENT discharges, because any time a gun goes bang when it shouldn't have, the person holding it was negligent in some way. Either one or more of the Four Rules were broken, or the gun was mechanically defective, or the shooter did not understand the gun's manual of arms, which is - guess what? - also negligent.

Guns do not just go off. Let me repeat that louder. GUNS DO NOT JUST GO OFF.

(They also don't go out late at night by themselves and commit crimes without human involvement, but that's a subject for a whole 'nother rant.)

Every time you hear about a kid who brings an AKM to a party(!) and the gun "goes off," it's because he didn't obey the Four Rules . . . among other things. Every time you hear about a sixteen year old kid handling a hunting rifle and it "goes off," killing his thirteen year old cousin, it's because he didn't obey the Four Rules . . . among other things. And every time kids get in trouble mishandling guns, it's because the adults responsible for raising them to be responsible members of society missed a very, very important part of their jobs!

Teaching their kids about gun safety.

Can you tell this crap upsets me?

Thinking children (or teenagers, or anyone for that matter) will be safe around guns by ignoring gun safety is a deadly mistake. Even if you don't own guns, or even rank among those who really do believe they're evil talismans like Sauron's One Ring, you cannot guarantee your children will never encounter a gun outside of your home. Unfortunately, the Authorities who see education as the solution to everything else somehow don't extend this premise to guns.

"We teach children guns are bad." - Omaha Public Schools official spokesperson at a City Council public hearing on whether to allow concealed carry in Omaha in accordance with state law

These same gun-hating-and-fearing Authorities are horrified by the National Rifle Association's Eddie Eagle GunSafe© Program. This excellent program teaches children in pre-K through third grade four important steps to take if they find a gun:

STOP!
Don't touch!
Leave the area!
Tell an adult!

This should be as much a part of every child's basic training as "the stove is hot" and "the knife is sharp." You don't eliminate the kitchen from your house, you teach your children how to behave in it.

You cannot kid-proof guns. You cannot kid-proof pretty much anything, because kids are smart, active, and curious. Kathy Jackson's superb website The Cornered Cat, outlines the very comprehensive method she's used to gun-proof her kids. That's how it works, folks.

And what if you're the adult your (or somebody else's) child comes to for help when s/he finds a gun, and you don't know what to do?

Kathy Jackson has excellent advice for that, too.

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.