Archive for December, 2008

December 31, 2008

Have a happy and safe new year

I’m outta here. Be safe out there.

Second Amendment Year-End Review

Quite a year for the second amendment.

Uncle’s New Years Resolution, As Suggested By Tgirsch

Learn the difference between “it’s” (it is) and “its” (possessive, belonging to it). (See penalties here and here, just within the last few days.)

That is all. :)

Seriously, thanks for letting me blog here from time to time, and I hope everyone here has a great new year!

Home Improvement Bleg — Now With Picture!

So I’m in the process of a (protracted) kitchen remodel. The big thing is that I’ve turned an old external-storage-room-cum-pantry into a utility room, and moved the washer and dryer from the kitchen into that room. This leaves a large open space in the kitchen where the washer and dryer used to be. My intention is to put additional cabinetry there for storage, but because of the washer and dryer, the space is already plumbed with hot and cold water as well as a drain (all currently capped, since they’re not in use). It seems a shame to waste that plumbing. This plumbing is a little less than four feet away from the kitchen sink, but it independent of that. I’ve got a slab foundation, with no basement or crawl space, so plumbing is rather like gold in my house.

So my question to the bloggy masses is this: What to do with that plumbing? My ideas so far are these:

  1. Install a small bar sink
  2. Move the dishwasher there, and attach it to that plumbing
  3. Clean it up, but leave the washer/dryer hookup there, in case for some bizarre reason some future homeowner might want to move the washer and dryer back.
  4. Hell with it, just cover over the whole mess with sheetrock and call it good
  5. Something else, that I just haven’t thought of yet

Thoughts?

UPDATED: Lookie here, a picture!

You can see the space we’re talking about in the picture. The old washer/dryer plumbing is all the way to the left (partially blocked by plywood), just inside the doorway to the dining room (which, for what it’s worth, is small: 10′x11′). The distance from the edge of the existing sink to the edge of the opening for the w/d plumbing is 44″. Everything in that space can be moved/replaced/whatever (except for the Champagne of Bottled Beers, which my wife and I shall consume forthwith).

Yes, I know the kitchen is filthy, and yes I know that the floor is hideous. (Although I did do the dishes shortly after taking the picture.) It’s my full intention to do a gut remodel when finances allow. At this point, we’re just in the ideas & preliminary design phase.

Oh, and speaking of things not to be wasted, you’ll note the power outlet there — it’s a dedicated 110V outlet for the washer. Obscured from view by the microwave is a dedicated 220V outlet that had been used by the dryer. Be a shame to waste those power drops, too, although I have no earthly idea what I might do with them.

help needed

Seen at Rusty’s:

Shelter Closing! Many Free dogs available to good GOOD homes. 10 are scheduled to be PTS [put to sleep - ed] Monday. Various breeds, some are fully vetted, spayed or neutered. Save a life, adopt one! You can see a list of dogs on petfinders.

Not a fan of OJ?

Death to who?

Blogging tip

Don’t make fun of the Pope. Or presume you know chili.

Thought you’d want to know.

Update: Also to avoid:

How to make martinis.

Tequila sucks.

And BBQ.

More suppressor fun

After I got my suppressor, I decided I needed to set up the 10/22 so I could use the suppressor on it as well. So, I took it to Coal Creek Armory and had Gunsmith Bob cut the Ruger factory barrel to 16.25 inches and thread it. How did it turn out? Like so:

From Gun Porn

And without the suppressor:

From Gun Porn

Bob and the folks at CCA do good work. I highly recommend them. I haven’t shot the rifle yet. Looking forward to it.

Ahh, gun nuttery: $300 sight, $300 suppressor, and $200 dollar tax stamp to put on a $150 gun.

That’s great it starts with an earthquake

Or Is Lenny Bruce not afraid?

Have you noticed it’s kinda end of the worldy out there lately? Let’s sum up:

Supervolcanos might kill us all.

We have pirates.

I haven’t checked but there’s probably some object in space headed toward us with a one in some big number chance of hitting us (there always is, look it up).

A war in Israel.

A potential war between nuclear powers Pakistan and India. And much like giant space objects, there’s always a one in some big number chance of that happening.

The press reports that economically ZOMFG we’re all gonna die.

Big business in the toilet. Staples of our economy going tits up.

Bailouts in which our leaders think they can print money and get us out of it.

Some Russian is predicting the collapse of the USA from civil war. For the record, no way Tennessee is going with the European Union. We’re going with Texas or else there would be an intrastate civil war.

Out going president who, depending on who you talk to, is the savior of the free world or the anti-Christ.

Incoming president who, depending on who you talk to, is the savior of the free world or the anti-Christ.

I’m sure there’s more I’m leaving out. But the times, they are interesting. I mean, I don’t see like full fledged end of the world happening. But we’ve been on edge over less.

At least everyone seems pretty calm about all of it. Probably because everyone is buying guns.

Straws, grasping

And some desperation. Seems the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership is suing to prevent the new park handgun carry rules from going into effect. David Hardy notes the Brady Camp probably doesn’t have much of a case.

Update: As usual with the Brady folks, these claims are patently false.

xkcd

Apparently, I am late to discover it’s brilliance. This made me laugh outloud and is a good way to annoy hippies.

Time Lapse

One year in 40 seconds. Neat.

New Math

Paper claims a reduction in gun crime and increase in confiscated arms. Problem is a few paragraphs later, the numbers show the opposite.

Another

Seems to be a recurring trend: Confiscated arms paraded around by arresting officers are actually airsoft guns.

Second Amendment News Round Up

If you missed something important over the holidays related to guns, you can find it here.

Mark 1, improvised, field expedient, puppy tent. Type 1 ea., portable.

All together now: Aaaawwww.

Handy Tip

Don’t threaten martial arts experts.

ATF explains ‘weapon of choice’

Indeed: The demonization of ordinary firearms for the next “assault weapon” ban is picking up steam with the help of the ATF.

If only they had grown a set about six years ago

The Other Biased Washington Paper:

Republican Party officials say they will try next month to pass a resolution accusing President Bush and congressional Republican leaders of embracing “socialism,” underscoring deep dissension within the party at the end of Mr. Bush’s administration.

Good job. And with only about 20 days left to go in his term. Good job.

December 30, 2008

On chili

First, bacon is not a vegetable. I’m pretty sure about that. Secondly, if it has beans in it, then it is chili with beans. Chili has no beans. I am definitely sure about that.

Ya ever notice?

How violence in the Middle East is usually covered in the back section of the newspapers or on the sidebars of major media websites until Israel starts shooting back?

Website Issues

A few people (at least four, including my wife) say that sometimes the site doesn’t load properly. In comments here, the problem is described as:

you may want to keep in mind that your site won’t format properly on any of my 3 computers.

The page crunches up to the right hand margin.

And:

your site does not work. first their is no place on the main page for a response, and the full page does not appear. at times your site shifts all the printed content to the right side of the screen, and sometimes only 1/2 of the site is in view. dont know what is going on but i can’t get your site to display properly.

I have never been able to replicate the problem on any computer or browser combination I have. Can someone grab a screen capture if this occurs for them? That way, I can get my wonderful gun blog web designer* to fix it.

* Seriously, he does good work and you should use him too.

Update: Received four screenies so far. All look the same. Checking into it.

Update: So far, it seems to be an Internet Explorer 6 problem.

And one more handy tip

If you’re going to rob someone, don’t drop your gun. It might fall apart.

WaPo sticking to it’s story

The Washington Post been one of the perpetuators of the myth that you bitter-clingers have nothing to worry about because Obama really does like the second amendment and has now for like at least 8 months. Nevermind all that stuff he did before, he didn’t mean any of it. So, calm down you dumb, cousin-humping rednecks.

Now, they’re sticking to that story. You see, the economic downturn accounts for all those increases in gun sales. Not that the man who is president-elect has a history of being anti-gun and is nominating anti-gun cabinet members. Nope, economic downturn. All those people are spending that money they don’t have on guns due to that. But at the end, the article points out:

Sales of guns and ammunition are up 8 to 10 percent this year, according to state and federal records, fueled in part by fears that the incoming Democratic administration might tighten restrictions on gun sales. But some new gun owners — crowding instruction classes and local ranges — are also worried about rising crime, according to Nan Sanders, a retiree and shooting instructor from Vienna.

Sanders’s group, Piedmont NRA Instructors, held a class in Chantilly recently on personal protection in the home and had more than a dozen students, about twice as many as usual. There were so many inquiries about a basic pistol class last month, “we had to turn people away,” she said.

Jack, a communications professional, said she will be taking a gun safety class next month. She and her husband, Jay, a Realtor, decided to buy a firearm after a recent conversation around the dining room table. They talked about some of the recent high-profile incidents, of how “unbelievable” it all is, how fast everything is changing, how scary it is not knowing when it will stop or turn around.

Ya know, that probably should have been the opener. I mean, unless you’re like carrying water for the Obama administration or something.

wrong house raid?

Bad enough when the police get the wrong address and bust through your door in their ninja gear. But it’s gotta be more bizarre when it’s firemen:

Deputy Fire Chief Greg Robbins said he directed firefighters Friday to what he thought was a vacant, city-owned home in the 800 block of Second Street to run training drills.

Instead the crew broke down the door at the home of Mike and Cathy Grosse, causing $1,000 in damage.

Oops.

Ya know, Santa checks his list twice.

Why are anti-gun activists so violent?

NYC Councilman and state senate-elect Hiram Monserrate is an anti-gun activist. He also has the nasty habit of beating his girlfriend in the face with a glass bottle, which required 20 stitches, and trying to run over a tow truck driver who was repossessing his car. He says he slipped when he hit his girlfriend. He also has a history of violence and mental health issues that resulted in police seizing his guns. But he doesn’t want you armed. After all, you may be just like him.

And this man will be a state senator.

Concerned citizen or ecoterrorist

You may have heard that in Roane County there was a toxic spill of ash after a TVA dike broke. Read about it here. And a lot of stuff here.

Anyway, Cathy’s friend went to check it out and was physically detained and interrogated. Then why are they saying it’s all perfectly safe?

Fo’ Tay

A look at light 40 loads.

Holder holder

Looks like some Republicans are set to delay the nomination of Holder to AG.

Guess they’re good at keeping body shops in business

Accidents at intersections in Houston doubled after the installation of red light cameras. But Mayor Bill White argued that the cameras’ presence prevented even more collisions and that the study proves the monitoring program is keeping drivers safe. That may be one of the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.

Congrats

The Ten Ring is four.

With the flow

A flowchart on understanding flowcharts.

Second Amendment Book Bomb

I guess it’s going well since their site is inaccessible. And a bit from the Independent Institute. You can get a copy here.

What about all those assault weapons flooding the streets?

Various anti-gun groups said that assault weapons were the reason for the increase in police deaths during the 1990s. There was a ban. The ban has since expired but police deaths from gun fire are down 40%.

Meanwhile, other demographics have an increase in gun violence.

Another handy tip: honor warranties

Particularly when the product was sold to a guy with his own TV show.

Apparently, Cannon Safes doesn’t grasp what is meant by lifetime warranty.

Handy Tip

If you rob a place using an airsoft pistol, guys with real guns may be a problem.

December 29, 2008

Favre

There are plenty of reasons not to like Packers GM Ted Thompson, but unlike many of my fellow green-and-gold bleeders, I don’t think letting Favre go was one of them. Favre’s perennial will-he-or-won’t-he retirement drama had become a huge distraction, and the team was going to have to find a new QB, whether it was in 2008, 2009, or 2010. With Rodgers in his fourth year, now was the ideal time to see whether or not he’s good enough to be the starter. The numbers should speak for themselves:

QB G Rat Comp Att Pct Yds Y/G Y/A TD Int Sack YdsL Fum FumL
Favre 16 81.0 343 522 65.7 3472 217.0 6.7 22 22 30 213 10 2
Rodgers 16 93.8 341 536 63.6 4038 252.4 7.5 28 13 34 231 9 3

Rushing:

QB Rush Yds Y/G Avg TD
Favre 21 43 2.7 2.0 1
Rodgers 56 207 12.9 3.7 4

Belied by the Jets’ 9-7 season versus the Packers’ 6-10 season, Rodgers had a better year than Favre in every Statistical category except fumbles lost (3 against Favre’s 2, though Favre fumbled more times) and completion percentage. All told, Rodgers was responsible for nine more touchdowns than Favre — six more passing touchdowns, and three more rushing touchdowns — while throwing nine fewer interceptions. In fantasy football terms, you did 90 points better if you had Rodgers on your team than if you had Favre.

Now the stigma attached to Rodgers is that there were several games where the offense had the ball late in the game with a chance to tie or win, and they didn’t get it done. And there’s some validity to that. But in most of those cases, they never would have been in that situation if not for terrible defense and special teams. As it is, the Packers were fifth in the league in scoring, at 26.2 points per game (Jets: 9th, 25.3), despite being 17th in the league in rushing, at 112.8 yards per game (Jets: 9th, 125.3), and despite having the most penalized team in the league in terms of yards, 984 yards on 110 penalties, an astounding 61.5 yards per game in penalties (Jets: third best in the league, just 569 yards on 77 penalties, 35.6 YPG). The Packers were also 5th in the league on third down, converting 44.2% of the time (Jets: 14th, 41.1%).

Meanwhile, the Packers’ defense was 26th in the league against the run, allowing an average of 131.6 rush yards per game (Jets: 7th, 94.9), and 23rd in the league in points allowed, at 23.8 (Jets: 18th, 22.3). If the defense hadn’t scored an NFL-best 7 defensive touchdowns (Jets, T-3rd, 5), a lot of those games would have been a lot worse.

Special teams, however, is where it gets really ugly: the Packers tied the Ravens for worst in the league in return yardage, 20.1 yards per return (Jets: T-14th, 23.1); they were 27th in punting average, at 41.4 yards (Jets: 23rd, 42.9); and 28th in punts downed inside the 20, at 15 (Jets, 27th, 16).

Looking at the numbers and the particulars of the two teams, it’s clear that the Packers have many problems, but the QB position isn’t one of them. The Jets finished with a better record than the Packers, but they were statistically better in almost every category except QB play, where the Packers were clearly superior.

So enough ragging on Rodgers and pining for Favre already. Rodgers played exceptionally well, especially for a first-year starter on — let’s face it — a bad team.

Couple of blogging notes

In December, a first for me. I have exceeded my monthly bandwidth transfer limit of 40,000 MB. If this keeps up, I may have to upgrade my webhosting service.

And, because Les said it worked, I added the Share This plug in so you guys who are into Facebook, Stumble Upon and Digg can share the posts here with a click. I don’t use any of those services but, hey, you might.

Follow the money

30 lobbyists for every member of congress.

Lack of support

Seems to be a trend for the anti-gunners. Someone staged a gun buyback. But had it turned into a giveback because organizers were hoping to collect $5,000 to $10,000 in donations, but the money never materialized.

Spin

Massacre involving a gun in Brady A-ranked and number 1 on their list of best gun control California. Brady issues presser that doesn’t note said rankings.

Honoring freedom and sacrifice

By seizing land:

Relatives of those who died aboard United Airlines Flight 93 want the Bush Administration to seize the land needed for a memorial where the plane crashed in western Pennsylvania during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Great way to honor their memories.

Gun crimes and race

Surge in homicides involving black males and guns.

Can we talk about it yet? No?

Congrats

Rusty’s blog turns one.

Day at the range

With pics and video.

Chicks and guns

A can (or 2) of whoop ass.

lot of zeroes

Brady check numbers: Less than impressive.

Burying firearms

I dunno. If it’s time to bury them then it’s time to dig them up.

More gun sales

Took The Second to the pet store yesterday. Then we stopped by Dick’s Sporting Goods to check out ammo prices. Trouble was, the ammo shelf was bare:

From Misc

Sporting Purpose

Who said AKs have none?

Clean Up

ATF not so good.

Incorporation

The Nordyke v. King case brings up the incorporation issue with respect to the second amendment (i.e., does it mean the same thing in Chicago as it does in Cheyenne). David Hardy has a look at three potential outcomes.

Over at Walls of the City, some advocate packing the courtroom.

QBZ 03

China’s new assault rifle.

TN Defensive gun uses

Trying to break into his ex-wife’s home, her mom shoots the guy. He keeps on and the neighbor shoots him too.

And getting shot by Elvis would be memorable.

December 26, 2008

Sin City Shooters

Via Paul, we see that Las Vegas Sun covering a United States Practical Shooting Association shoot. Video here. With bonus chicks and guns.

A good time

Got my nephews two of these marshmallow guns for Christmas. A big hit.

Politics and religion

One’s OK. The other not so much

If you want to annoy some folks, poke fun at a religious figure for what I thought was lavish excess.

And that’s not to disparage the good things the church does.

Update: Wolfwood says Know Your Allies. Ya know, I’m not all anti-religious or anything. And as I’ve said before, I got no issues with God thing. Just an note on my part, as a casual outside observer.

The right to die

Blogged from beyond the grave.

Gun Porn

Some holiday cheer.

December 25, 2008

Christmas Message from the Pope

He says don’t be selfish and help those who live in places where the basics needed for survival are missing. He said this from an extravagant mantle, on a gold throne with jewels, wearing a priceless gold cross, and some expensive clothes.

Good message there, chief.

December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas

Blogging will be light for the next bit, as I suspect blog reading will be too. So, to you and yours, Merry Christmas or whatever you celebrate. And if you celebrate nothing, just have a nice day, then.

M4 Reliability

M4/M4A1 Carbine Reliability Issues: Why They Occur, and Why They’re Our Fault!

I fired 15,000 rounds through a semi-automatic M4/M4A1-type direct-gas-impingement (DGI) carbine in 31 weeks without a single malfunction attributable to anything except bad ammunition or bad magazines, with a grand total of 9 malfunctions. The least number of rounds fired between cleanings was 960 rounds, and the only parts replaced were gas rings at 8,860 rounds. And you can, too.

Quote of the Day

Met Les and Countertop at the Coal Creek Armory yesterday for an impromptu range session. Les says to me:

You own a 1911 and I’m getting a Glock. What is the world coming to?

Cognitive dissonance

Helmke has a case of it. He notes that the school killer mentioned here a bit back applied for a carry permit and was rejected. Well, that’s how it’s supposed to work. But Helmke continues:

Not too long ago, the National Rifle Association claimed that criminals never subjected themselves to legal means of getting firearms, and that no amount of criminal background checks would make a difference anyway.

So, do you think the lack of a permit to carry will completely prevent this guy from carrying? Or any other criminal for that matter?

Little discussed gun laws

Eugene Volokh:

We often hear, or have heard, about various gun control laws — bans on concealed carry, restrictive carry licensing schemes, bans on gun possession by felons or violent misdemeanants, bans on gun possession by people who are the targets of restraining orders, waiting periods for purchases, and so on. But I’m looking for gun control laws that are less talked about, the sorts of laws that even people who follow gun debates in some measure might say “Huh, I’d never thought of that one.”

I sent a few his way. Like:

I would say quite a bit of the NFA stuff, particularly the differentiation of short barreled rifles and Any Other Weapons, are quite unusual. They are also inconsistent in certain states. ATF has held that attaching a vertical forward grip to a handgun makes it an Any Other Weapon. Two states (SC and TN, IIRC) had court cases striking down that ruling.

And the requirement for sign off by a chief law enforcement official. Odd in Tennessee is that such approval is required by law.

And rules governing what is and isn’t firearms manufacturing are convoluted to say the least.

If you go to Vegas for more than three days, you have to notify the local police if you have guns. Odd since Nevada recognizes quite a few out of state carry permits.

And New Jersey’s smart gun law which basically states that once smart guns are viable, all other guns are illegal.

NY state has concealed carry (may issue) but licenses are no good in NYC.

Cali’s micro stamping law.

In Montana, a law says that if a gun was made in the state it is not subject to federal gun laws. A similar measure was pushed in TN last year. Never got anywhere.

EOTAC’s big giveaway

From Paul, we learn of a contest where you can win:

- Bushmaster M4A3 in .223 OR a DPMS Panther LR-308C in .308
- A case of Remington Match Grade Ammo
- EOTAC Tactical Pant
- EOTAC Long Sleeve Shirt
- EOTAC Tactical Vest
- EOTAC Range Cap
- EOTAC Vickers Gloves
- EOTAC Pocket Organizer

Valued at between $1,998 or $2,199 in pre-Obama administration gun dollars.

Oops maybe not

Joe spots something in the Para calendar.

Well, at least they didn’t put the ammo in backwards.

Update: Tam says it could be a trick of the angle and light. With photographic evidence.

Plan B

Threepers advocate calling your senators and asking them to oppose the Holder nomination. I concur. How very pragmatic.

Good deed gets punished

A man notices that he wasn’t charged sales tax. He does the right thing and remits his tax ($1.50) to the Department of Revenue. The DOR then said he was a business and had to pay a 650 dollar fine—or face collections —AND criminal charges. It took an inquiry from the local news media to get it straightened out.

Incompetent big government, money grubbing pricks: making the world more libertarian one government form filled out in triplicate, shuffled, and stuffed in a bin no one ever reviews at a time.

Cash strapped

In Philly, they forgot to collect a fee increase for gun carry permits. Their mistake, right? You’d think so. But, instead, they city wants permit holders to retroactively pay for their mistake or risk losing their permits.

She may have gay cooties

Seen at Michael’s:

In a brief filed today, the American Civil Liberties Union is urging a Tennessee appeals court to remove a so called “paramour” restriction against a lesbian mother that is forcing her partner of 9 years out of their home every night the mother has custody and visitation of her children.

The trial court imposed the restriction on the couple even though the psychologist who performed the custodial evaluation in the case found the partner to be positive influence in the children’s lives.

May be one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard of.

Gun sales

2008 NICS figures.

Don’t just stand there, panic

Fire department called after someone drops some ammo in a Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Deal Alert

How to get a S&W M&P 9mm for $360.

December 23, 2008

From the mouth of babes

Junior keeps telling me my new name is Poopy Stinky Butt.

She’s also saying fart a lot. Not real bad but there are better words for it.

And we decided to let the kids watch A Christmas Story. Trouble is, a lot of it is inappropriate for a four or a two year old. Kids cussing, violence, and the F-bomb.

Drug cartels, guns and David Spade

More from David Rittgers.

Got Bersa?

Practice gangsta style.

Quote of the day

Sam in comments:

They’re running a series like this in TEXAS!?!?

No wonder newspapers are dying.

What is astounding is that several layers of managers and editors gave this series the green light and I suspect not once did they think that their readers might just find it offensive.

Heh

Real life re-enactments of Far Side cartoons.

Buying Guns

David Spade is donating $100K to the Phoenix police to buy guns: Spade said he wanted to make the donation after seeing a TV news report about Phoenix officers having to buy their own rifles.

The second v. Santa

This from Michael reminded me of this:

secondsanta.JPG

Kids and guns err knives

A bit back, I gave Katie Granju a bit of a hard time (along with an offer to take her to the range) about her feelings on guns. Specifically, I noted her apprehensiveness with respect to firearms despite her having a real desire to defend her family. She expands on the issue a bit here.

Now, it gets weird. Guns are all, like, icky and stuff. But apparently it’s OK to give kids knives and tell them to stab people who are threatening:

As part of that program, the kids had a discussion with an adult facilitator about how they would react if faced with a dangerous situation. E. apparently responded with his trademark honesty by calmly relating that if someone tried to grab him, he would stab the attacker in the heart with his pocketknife.

The result? I got a phone call from the school, and E. got a trip to the principal’s office. The school assumed that E’s response was evidence of an unhealthy aggressive streak, perhaps stemming from his parents’ messy divorce. In fact, there was no emotional trauma at play here: my son was just repeating the same thing we’ve talked about at home. If some guy ever grabs my child, and my child happens to have his pocketknife on him, of course he should stab the attacker. Or kick him. Or bite him. Or poke his eyes out. Or do whatever he could to hurt the bad guy and get away.

And I do let my children have pocketknives. In fact, both of my sons have enjoyed having a pocketknife since the age I felt they were old enough to handle one safely – about 8 years old.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m all for teaching kids how to defend themselves. But what I can’t understand is why she approves of a knife for her children but is uncomfortable at the thought of guns. Seems to me that, in a defensive situation, one would want the best tool one could have and that would be a gun. And it’s not like guns have magical powers.

I’m all for teaching kids responsible gun handling as well. In fact, I told Junior I was going to build her a pink AR-15. And she reminds me about that at least weekly. And I tell her that’s for when she gets older. But I wouldn’t let her carry one around.

Anyway, my offer to Katie still stands. If she wants to head to the range, range time and ammo are on me.

Paper advocates ammo sales restrictions

In an article in a San Antonio paper, Todd Bensman seems distraught that ammo can be readily purchased just like any other lawful commodity:

So popular is the 7.62 mm ammunition for AK-47 assault rifles that one store in this border city stacks shoebox-size cases several feet high down half a row in the hunting section.

Employees like Francisco Rodriguez, who works in the guns and ammo section of Academy Sports and Outdoors, tell stories about men piling shopping carts high with the $74 cases of 7.62 mm rounds, as well as clearing shelves of other ammunition for assault-style rifles. Several employees at other South Texas stores said customers routinely pay thousands in cash and wheel the stuff out, no questions asked.

“I had a guy come in the other day and clear me out of .223s,” Rodriguez said of ammunition that fits assault-type rifles as well as classic hunting rifles. “He paid $5,000 cash, and then he went to one of our other stores and cleaned that out, too. I didn’t ask what he was going to do with it. It isn’t my business to ask. They’re probably taking it over to Mexico.”

There is nothing illegal about such transactions.

ZOMG! Lawful commerce is, err, lawful. But there should be a law, right? At least, that’s the implication. Don’t go to Wal-Mart then. And:

Bullets carry no serial numbers that can be traced to a particular store or a purchaser, like a gun can.

More advocacy of gun laws. All this ammo, he says, finds it’s way into Mexico. And ATF is looking at stopping that. You know what could stop it that doesn’t involve punishing the law-abiding? Border control and a fence.

Interview with a machine gun lawyer

Part 1

Part 2

He also has a blog here on setting up gun trusts.

Unpossible

How can semi-automatic handguns be the weapon of choice for criminals in Chicago? They’re banned there.

In Indy

The mayor is calling for more gun control. Meanwhile, proper gun control is illustrated thusly:

When the robber pointed the gun at a woman and her child, an employee shot him.

Poo by the pants-load

The VPC has selected it’s latest target: large caliber hunting handguns. They say that gun industry sorts call them big boomers. No one I know does. And they say that they are vest busters. Third notes that they are obviously running out of scary names.

I’m sure some gang banger is going to carry around a four pound revolver that’s as big as my forearm.

Once again, they are demonizing your hunting guns.

Update: OK, some one does use the term big boomers.

FN IAR

With a pic. Interesting: it switches automatically from closed bolt to open bolt depending on the chamber temperature.

Gun Porn

A whole bunch, right here.

I never wanted one until now*

How To Hack a Nerf Vulcan to Fire 500 Rounds a Minute.

* For the kids. Honest.

Gun Ownership

More prevalent than thought. In Europe.

December 22, 2008

Those bitter clingers

Buying a gun makes you a racist.

The weather out side is cold . . . dum de dum de cold

A couple of days ago, it was 67 degrees outside when I left the office. This morning, it started off at 12 degrees.

Another Gun Suit

NYC law not applicable in GA:

The federal district court ruled that New York law did not apply, and Bloomberg appealed.

Today the 11th Circuit US Circuit Court of Appeals handed Bloomberg his mayorial hindquarters. The news report is confusing, but apparently the appeals court ordered that the US district court should return the lawsuit to State court.

Federal Suit in Delaware

In PA, looks like there’s a lawsuit over confiscated firearms.

Update: Did you know that there was a Delaware County in PA? Me neither.

Class III

And other gun myths.

Thought crime

Who knew being a dumb, cousin-humping redneck was a thought crime?

Fun with red light cameras

Print copies of license plates of people you don’t like on glossy paper. Attach them to your car. Run red lights.

NRA strapped for cash?

Hardly. But that doesn’t prevent the left from imagining it to be the case. After all, the NRA spent a ton of money on the election. The folks on the left tend not to realize that they can spend it because they have it. PGP notes the waning of NRA’s influence is exaggerated. Sebastian notes that, as with most things gun-related, the antis really don’t know what they’re talking about.

E Trace?

Joe: The implications of the existence of this computer program are disturbing.

Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.

Uncle Pays the Bills


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