Kim du Toit bids his readers farewell.

A review: it was literally standing room only.

Over at insty’s, a reader writes:

So you think that ordinary citizens armed with handguns would slow down a surprise attack by trained paramilitary forces armed with automatic weapons, grenades and who knows what else? I’m curious how you see that scenario playing out.

Obviously, people should be armed with rifles, then.

Seriously, the unarmed didn’t stand much of a chance. I figure the armed would have done better. I mean, 10 guys savaging East TN probably wouldn’t last long, would be my guess. And since armed citizens have a decent track record against mass murderers, I’ll probably go with those odds over the unarmed alternative.

And the police there didn’t seem to be much help:

But what angered Mr D’Souza almost as much were the masses of armed police hiding in the area who simply refused to shoot back. “There were armed policemen hiding all around the station but none of them did anything,” he said. “At one point, I ran up to them and told them to use their weapons. I said, ‘Shoot them, they’re sitting ducks!’ but they just didn’t shoot back.”

I mean, who cares if it’s unconstitutional?

Is it that or the bitterness and clinginess?

Translating catalog-speak into English:

“Drop In” Installation: Some fitting required.

Some Fitting Required: Better take it to a good gunsmith.

Gunsmith Installation Recommended: …and bring money.

A native version.

Camp Perry 1911.

A phone gun? From a phone with a 1987 vintage.

IDF Sniper Rifles.

A couple of MP5s.

Para GI Expert.

To you and yours.

And now, I must bake.

Update: Mmmmm, deer head.

I’m all for it. I think people should be allowed to adopt them.

Seen at Volokh’s:

U.S. v. Luedtke (E.D. Wis. Nov. 18, 2008) upholds against a Second Amendment challenge the federal ban on possessing firearms while under a domestic restraining order, and offers more analysis than most district court Second Amendment decisions have provided.

Robb in comments here:

My treatise on economics is going to be overshadowed by a poo-phemism.

Seen at ARFCOM:

[Link] to Outdoor Life’s Website where there is a vote going for the the most Influential Person In the Gun Industry this year. Our President Randy Luth is up for this vote. It is very important to us that someone from the black rifle side of the industry wins, especially in the light of the election our new presidents view on these guns. It has taken years for people to become comfortable with these weapons that are only different from bolt action guns because they are semi automatic.

I would really appreciate it if you would take the time to place your vote for Randy Luth. On the link above click the link that says, “Ready to vote? Click Here and vote for OL 25’s Person of the Year” then select Randy Luth.

In honor of the coming ascension, I’m pondering a couple of AR-15 builds. I really want to build an AR-15 pistol to scare gun controllers err for use as a truck gun. Where does everyone get those little neoprene covered pistol buffer tubes? I can’t find them.

Also, any issues with the 7.5 inch barreled models?

I’m digging the RRA pistol. Any other suggestions?

I did, in fact, have a little gash on my palm from racking the Para 45 slide. I was certain everyone heard my whining about it.

Remember, you’re just nuts to think having a gun in a church might be a good idea:

Police have not figured why the suspect showed up with two samurai swords and began attacking three security guards. One of those guards shot and killed the man, and police said Monday the shooting probably saved many lives.

I am remiss in mentioning that the National Shooting Sports Foundation has launched a Blog to Address Inaccuracies Surrounding Firearms.

In this piece, Ted notes that the Media Gets it Right on Lead Ammo.

Looks like more of the samey.

It’s like Clinton’s third term only not as predicted.

Update: A little Bushy too.

Impressive shooting from Catfish, who has more.

HS Precision endorsed by Lon Horiuchi? Yes, that Lon Horiuchi.

I answered 32 out of 33 correctly — 96.97 % on this test, which is making the rounds. I missed question 30 because I assumed that the .gov in this scenario was smart.

Via everyone.

For $34K, it better shoot all by itself.

From Kevin. I got my DVD in the mail but my shoot house vid didn’t work.

I guess I shouldn’t mention yankees when discussing, err, yankees. Quite a bit of mail about how so and so is a yankee but so and so is not. And apparently there are various qualifiers that distinguish one particular yankee archetype from another.

So, I didn’t mean you, I meant the other guy.

Is owning a gun embarrassing?

Only if you’re a Democrat:

According to gun shop owners, Democrats buying guns are on the rise.

Pretty anecdotal but, if true, cool.

The Sig P250. It was in this month’s American Rifleman. And Rusty has a video on it here. I really don’t see the point of a receiver that can transform calibers, etc. It’s a Sig and, for their usual prices, you could just buy another gun.

I received my calendar and DVD from ParaUSA today. Haven’t had time to go through it yet.

Robb has posted his shoot house video though.

Tam reviews her Para Gun Blog 9.

For cellphones here. From Joe Huffman.

Discussion of M4 replacements.

Mr. C. is back in the hospital. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery.

Actual education and not pants shitting hysteria.

Speaking of, Ted Novin of the National Shooting Sports Foundation blogs on telling the truth about assault weapons.

Pittsburgh passes a law to punish only the law-abiding.

We’ve returned safe and sound. Blog resumes sometime.

Miss anything important?

One thing to notice about Sarah Palin in this video here.

Notice how she’s not a pussy?

Safely arrived. You can tell when you’ve hit yankee country. When the gas stations stop calling it “soda” or “soft drink” and start calling it “pop”.

Update: The offending state was West Virginia. PA is worse. And Pittsburgh drivers suck. That is all.

Publius does a nice job summing up what’s at the heart of the liberal/conservative divide on “social conservative” issues:

The social conservatives’ positions tend to empower government over individuals. If they got their way, the public would be forced to submit to the government’s decision-making. The more liberal position, by contrast, allocates power to individuals – no one is forced to do anything. (Admittedly, this is not really a constitutional argument – just an additional explanation for why the Christian Right tends to scare people).

Take, for instance, the granddaddy issue of them all – abortion. The Christian Right position would require every single person in a given jurisdiction to give birth. (Yes, some would argue that it’s simply about letting the states decide – but still, they prefer this position because many states, and virtually the entire South, would ban abortion). Thus, the decision-making power here would belong to the government. Individuals would no longer be free to decide.

The pro-choice position, by contrast, ensures that individuals – not the government – will ultimately make these private decisions. Individuals remain free to have, or not have, abortions as they and their God see fit. And everyone remains free to persuade their fellow citizens of the values of bringing all pregnancies to term. But in the end, the individual – and not the state – would make the final call.

This pattern repeats itself across a number of issues. For example, gay marriage doesn’t require anyone to do anything. It merely allows consenting gay adults to be married. Gay marriage bans, by contrast, grant that decision-making power to the state.

Similarly, rights to contraception don’t require anyone to do anything – the ultimate decision remains with the individual. Contraception bans, by contrast, allocate the decision-making power to the government.

Same deal with school prayer. Banning school prayer in public classes doesn’t prevent anyone from praying privately at the school. But allowing public prayer, by contrast, would force non-Christians to sit through prayer sessions in a publicly funded school. Again, the decision to participate in prayer would be made by the state, not the individual.

The larger point is that these examples illustrate why many people fear social conservatives – simply put, many of the latter’s preferred positions would use the state to intrude on people’s lives and dictate very private and personal decisions to them.

Now, I think this is largely true. But at the same time, if you expand beyond the so-called “social conservative” issues, there are plenty of places where it’s the liberals who would be doing the forcing. Environmental issues, for example, or gun control.

That said, I think the fact that compliance is somehow enforced is not, in and of itself, necessarily a bad thing. It depends upon your view of the thing being enforced.

Ridefast:

Some, a small minority, may have jokingly called you Fudds, or maybe mocked you. Your guy, Zumbo, called me a terrorist. Who’s the nasty bastard now?

Read the whole thing.

15 images you’ll think are photoshopped but aren’t.

More from David Kopel.

On travel. Out of state funeral. I may check in periodically. Talk amongst yourselves.

Two groups opposed to guns don’t get their talking points straight.

Bane has the skinny.

Gay cooties are coming to your town.

This is bad for gun rights. Dingell is a friend to gun owners.

Sebastian calls the attack.

Slate:

Barack Obama has revealed his first major policy initiative: college football reform. In Obama’s first televised interview since winning the presidency, he explained what’s wrong with the current system, in which computers help determine the two teams that play for the national championship. “I think any sensible person would say that if you’ve got a bunch of teams who play throughout the season, and many of them have one loss or two losses—there’s no clear decisive winner—that we should be creating a playoff system,” Obama said. “I don’t know any serious fan of college football who has disagreed with me on this. So, I’m gonna throw my weight around a little bit. I think it’s the right thing to do.”

No, I do not think this is a federal matter and no I do not want to see some asinine law passed for it. But I do agree with him.

We here at SayUncle would like to welcome our friends from the ATF to the 1990s:

Instead of filling out the required ATF paperwork by hand, gun buyers and dealers will now be able to complete what officials say is a fail-safe electronic version of the document, known as Form 4473.

Speaking at a gun shop in Upper Marlboro where he announced the change, acting ATF Director Michael J. Sullivan said the new option would cut down on illegible answers and incomplete answers — the most common causes of violations.

In other news, is this an admission that all those supposedly willful violations they used to shut down federal firearms license holders weren’t, err, actually willful?

Update: More from David who wonders if this is the same software that ATF was accused of stealing.

A report on Boomershoot was nominated for an emmy.

In an 2001 op-ed, Attorney General nominee Eric Holder said there were “numerous and chilling” examples of gun shows putting arms in the hands of terrorists, and specified two.

Via KAG, comes a tale from Nashville:

Federal law said many people served with orders of protection cannot possess a gun, and local judges routinely issue orders to these people saying they have to give up their guns.

But the orders don’t say where that gun is supposed to go or for how long anyone has to give it up.

There has never been a gun turned into Metro courts or to Metro police.

There’s no mechanism to give them up, and there is no one in Nashville’s justice system making sure the accused actually hand them over.

Another law passed without any enforcement provision? I can’t get too worked up about it. After all, the horrid Lautenberg amendment denies individuals their civil rights without due process of law. An order of protection is not a conviction of anything and is often a he said/she said scenario.

and string theory.

A couple of guys from London had firearms suppressors in the luggage. They get to the US and are arrested:

Hope and Latcham were arrested Friday when they returned to RDU to pick up the bag. They told investigators they had bought the silencers in England and planned to give them to a friend in Roxboro whom they were visiting, according to the affidavit.

Suppressors aren’t regulated as heavily outside the US.

Seems I recall hearing a little something about Barack Obama running on a platform of change. Increasingly, it seems his short list of political appointees have ties with the Clintons and one of them is a Clinton. That’s change you can . . . err, what?

Command Arms Accessories has an AR-15 magazine that has a counter on it so you know how many rounds are left.

Someone at Armalite has a quite the sense of humor.

Via SIH.

A look at the new Sig AK err 556 Classic.

Alan Keyes is suing to prevent Barack Obama from becoming president by claiming the Big O is not a citizen. Xrlq says to call it frivolous is an insult to frivolity.

Bitter has a message for you:

For you Georgia readers, I suggest you get involved with the Saxby Campaign campaign right now.

NRA concurs.

Les loads up on Glock and AR mags. I dunno that I’ve ever seen Les with a Glock or an AR.

Or rifles to pistols?

In the debate about whether to bail out the Big Three automakers or let them go into Chapter 11 (an issue about which I’m still genuinely on the fence), one of the commonly-repeated talking points I keep hearing from the anti-bailout crowd is that Chapter 11 would allow the automakers to “dispose of legacy costs.” It’s pretty clear what that actually means, however, and why the Chapter 11 proponents don’t want to call it what it is: Screwing the pensioners.

Now some will doubtless object that the federal pension insurance will cover the pensioners, but there are two problems with this. First, this insurance will only pay a fraction of what the pensioners are currently receiving, and secondly, it makes those payments on the taxpayer dime, which means that from that perspective, we’re screwing both the pensioners and the taxpayers.

Now maybe this is unavoidable at this point — maybe the pensioners can’t fully be saved. I don’t know. But when we’re talking about real people, real benefits, and real jobs, we should at least be honest about what it is we’re talking about doing.

Oh my:

Al Gore To Aid Franken’s Recount Effort

Al Gore To Lend A Hand In Georgia Senate Runoff Effort

May want to rethink that strategy. I mean, if you’re looking for someone to help steal an election, you might want to pick someone whose attempt at it was successful.

The good news: Senator Ted Stevens is out.

Bad news: One more senate seat with the capital D.

Sen. Richard Shelby:

I don’t think they have immediate plans to change their model, which is a model of failure. I think a lot of it will be life support. I believe their best option would be some type of Chapter 11 bankruptcy … These leaders have been failures and they need to go.

Really? I was gonna go with unsustainable labor costs.

Update: Union busting? In this case, I think unions are culpable. Paying more than 2.5 times the national average hourly wage for low-skilled labor is simply an unsustainable and uncompetitive cost structure.

Obama’s new AG will be Eric Holder, who is not good on guns. Sebastian doesn’t set the bar very high.

Update and bump: Jay points out the list of gun controls Holder supports:

* First, to require child safety locks for all handguns that are sold.

* Second, to ban violent juveniles from ever having the ability to own guns.

* Third, to pass the president’s handgun licensing proposal, which requires safety certification for all handgun purchasers.

* Fourth, to support research in smart gun technology which can limit a gun’s use to its authorized owner.

And finally, to close the gun show loophole by requiring a background check for all gun purchases at gun shows.

Paul Helmke seems to have an odd definition of win:

We Win, They Lose. Now, Let’s Get To Work

That’s a rather odd way to look at it, since NRA endorsed candidates won more than non-NRA endorsed candidates. And, of course, the presidential campaign of Barack Obama went so far out of its way to distance itself from you and Obama’s anti-gun past that it hurt my head. I mean, the DLC even went to the trouble of setting up the false flag operation The American Hunters and Shooters Association to make him look pro-gun. They ran from your agenda and you call that a win?

Alrighty, then.

Update: More here.

This infuriates me:

A father arrested after his 6-year-old daughter was fatally shot in their Washington state home allegedly told authorities he had been drinking double shots of vodka while cleaning his guns.

Court papers say Richard Peters told detectives he had asked his daughter, Stormy, to bring him the .45-caliber handgun Sunday. He said he must have pulled the trigger, and the girl fell to the floor. She was pronounced dead Monday.

Jesus, I have no words. Well, I will note that the state is pursuing first degree murder charges.

Rustmeister on using the term Fudds:

I understand where the sentiment comes from – the perception that hunters sold gunnies down the river over the assault weapons ban and other gun control measures. However accurate the perception is, it’s done now. Grow the hell up.

Yes. We’re all in this boat together. Fudds and SNBIs. So, deal with it. If the hunters think their firearms are safe, it’s only because the anti-gunners haven’t started calling their weapons sniper rifles. Yet.

Stealing a five year-old little girl’s custom wheelchair (that cost $8,000) and destroying it.

At the link, there’s a way to give money to help the family get a replacement.

If it’s built before 1898. Seems the guy couldn’t be in possession of ammo, though. I wonder if that applies to blackpowder ammunition? I know that, federally, blackpowder guns, regardless of the year made, are not considered firearms.

One more Illinois town repealed it’s gun ban. Only two to go.

Liveblogging a 1911 build.

Tromix Saiga 12s double in price.

Michael Bane says keep buying.

And, while you’re at it, today is National Ammo Day. So, buy some ammo too.

Another look at the WSOP and taxes. Eastgate has moved to London, possibly to avoid the ridiculous tax.

In other news, regulators have simply given up trying to enforce Bill Frist’s onerous Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

Ya know what I want out of a Glock? Note: I like Glocks and carry a Glock 30. Just a few suggestions to improve the perfection, perhaps making the cut for Fifth Generation Glocks. One is a picatinny rail instead of the slot. They put the rail on the Glock 21SF. I dunno, just seems a bit more useful. Also, if they could put some serrations toward the front of the side for those who like to press check their firearms.

Pics here.

How the second amendment was restored.

This morning’s local talk radio VRWC affiliate (News Talk 100) mentioned Kim du Toit’s National Ammo Day.

Advice on introducing others to the sport from AZ Rifleman and Gregory.

Seems Hank Jr. is planning to run for US senate.

Unfortunate webpage addresses. Heh.

A journalist and a blogger go to the same gun show. One lies and one is truthful. Guess which one?

In other news, if you’re at a gun show and find a fully automatic Glock 23, grab one for me, will ya? They’re usually right there next to the rainbow-farting unicorns, pixie dust, and the global warming.

Bitter tallies the tentative attendees.

A new way for police to deal with them: engage them. I guess it took a few dozen of them for police to realize that showing up and containing the area wasn’t really working.

Jeff notes one has been introduced. By Republicans.

Don’t fire a waterlogged AR-15:

Via TFB.

Some idiot at a local newspaper suing to get a list of concealed carry permit holders, that’s what. But some idiot journalists, who are unable to follow the backlash that usually happens when this occurs, are on the case.

Looser gun laws don’t equal more guns? Tulsa World:

Gun laws rated weakest, but state not a leader in ownership

[...]

Ranked by the strictness of gun-control laws, Oklahoma comes dead last on a list from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a group affiliated with former White House press secretary James Brady, who was injured during a 1981 assassination attempt on President
Ronald Reagan.

In other words, according to the Brady Campaign, it’s easier to buy and sell guns in Oklahoma than anywhere else in America — except maybe Kentucky, which ties with Oklahoma for the bottom of the campaign’s list.

That doesn’t fit the narrative.

The Mrs.’s grandmother isn’t doing so well. If you’re the praying sort, send a few her way.

Its Like When Your Dog Senses An Earthquake Coming.

Heh.

With samples.

Up 82% in Wisconsin.

Remington 700.

16 year old gets NRA membership for birthday.

Some speculation here and at some forums about this ad showing the new Fourth Generation Glocks. Well, I made some calls. And, according to my sooper seekrit sources, turns out that it is real. Debuts at the Shot Show this year.The cross-hatched serrations may or may not make the final cut. I’d like for them to put some serrations toward the front of the slide myself, as it makes press checking the weapon easier.

Also, just in time for the election, rumors are that Glock will begin manufacturing in the US. This is good on a few fronts. One reason is that the onerous import restrictions on sporting arms as applicable to handguns won’t apply. So, you may be able to get a Glock 28. Dunno why you would, since it’s the same size as the 26. But you probably want one because you can’t have one. Another advantage is that if the Obama administration starts tossing out anti-gun executive orders further limiting importation of weapons (like George Bush 1 did), they have a domestic facility for production.

In other Glock news, there is a Glock Shooting Sports Foundation in Knoxville on December 6. I’d love to go but Junior has a gymnastics meet that day.

Petey Hamm of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership is all for it:

If you have an illegal gun in a community that bans them and use it in self defense and all you have to do is to pay a fine — I would pay the fine and believe what I did was correct

As Kurt said:

So breaking the kind of gun law that your organization has fought so hard to preserve is “correct”?

Camp Perry Limited Edition M1A.

I watched some of the video of the debate between he and the PA mom who carried to a soccer game here. Bryan Miller’s constant PSH comes out even more so in real life. His assertion that carrying a weapon automatically intimidates everyone is absurd on its face. He became belligerent rather quickly. Meanwhile, the soccer mom maintained her composure; laughed when appropriate; and was sociable.

Even better was when that idiot New Jersey cop said, and I am not making this up, that it’s dangerous to carry a gun because if you have one and the SWAT team shows up, they might shoot you. So, instead of relying on the police to do their job and actually ascertain the situation correctly, I should just remain unarmed until then? Idiot.

Thirdpower has more, including a list of falsehoods Miller stated.

Greg was amused at Bryan Miller becoming frustrated. Easy to get frustrated when you position is based on lies and hysteria.

Economic stimulus in South Carolina: Beginning the day after Thanksgiving, South Carolina residents will have a 48-hour period when they can purchase guns, shotguns, and rifles tax-free.

In Memphis, reports of sales increases and use of scary buzzwords like assault rifles and armor piercing ammo.

In Boulder, Colorado there is a spike in handgun carry permits.

Gun sales on internet auction site gunbroker.com are way up.