Talked about it before but a comment there got me thinking:

Manuals are fun to drive, but they will not accelerate from rest as quickly as an automatic with the same (or similar) gear ratios and a properly spec’d torque converter; they just don’t have the mechanical advantage of the torque multiplication at stall speed. That’s why my daily driver is a manual and my race car is an auto.

That sounds about right. I don’t think, unless I practiced a lot, that I could possibly outshift my tactical car with a manual version. With traction control and computers, it simply performs damn well all alone. No thinking to it, just hit the gas and it shifts perfectly. When you punch it, it’s rather like you’re riding a horse and suddenly someone slapped it hard on the rump. It just goes.

That said, manuals are probably more fun. Sometimes, you just want to down shift into that turn.

Mentioned before that Sean sent me a Templar Custom FastRail:

Short version: It’s a nice handguard that allows you to change the barrel with minimal loss of zero. A few notes:

This is one durable handguard. Solid as a rock and a lot of rail space. Being solid, it’s not something you want to put on your lightweight rifle build. But for standard AR or bench gun, it’s a good fit.

Make sure you have the instructions handy. I had a local smith install mine and the first time, he got it wrong and it wasn’t securely installed. No worries as I took it back to him and he figured out where he erred.

It’s a free float system, which will enhance accuracy.

You can break the system down and change in two minutes, so it’s good for a multi-caliber platform.

The positioning of the sling swivel stud isn’t conducive to any sort of forward grip. Not a big deal, since it can be removed and I tend to use single point slings anyway.

The finish is very nice and, frankly, looks a little too nice for my beat to Hell AR.

I’ll get it out to the range this weekend for some shooting and see how it does.

You can get one here.

Never fire a warning shot. If you’re not shooting to stop, then you’re unlikely to to convince a prosecutor you thought you were in danger and are not acting in self defense.

Emily Miller on what a PITA it is:

The District’s 22-page handgun registration packet offers only three bullet points for guidance on legal transport, so many questions go unanswered. D.C. residents have to sort through these vague rules on gun transport in order to go to a shooting range. However, these same transport laws also apply to any U.S. citizen who is driving through the nation’s capital with a firearm.

If you use public transportation, you can’t bring ammo and the gun stays in a locked box. But there are no shooting ranges on the Metro or bus lines. Once again, gun ownership in D.C. seems to require car ownership, thanks to the city’s laws.

According to the law, I’m only allowed to take my gun out of my home when “travelling directly to or form a lawful firearm-related activity” — which are registration, hunting and shooting at a practice range. If I drive, the gun has to be unloaded and in a locked container. Those requirements were clear in the laws.

Seems like an undue burden.

Yeah, I’ve gone on at length about that. And this is why:

Patrick Von Hall said he was carrying his .38 revolver in a holster Monday afternoon when he went inside the restaurant’s restroom. As he was leaving the stall, his revolver fell onto the floor. When it hit the ground, it fired.

I’m betting not. I’m guessing he tried to catch it and his booger-hook hit the bang-switch. I could be wrong but I really doubt it.

Shocking: the police don’t carry around tranquilizer guns or other SciFi based non lethal weaponry to take care of the occasional wandering burger.

Hidden in radios

I admit that I laughed:

It turns out my Kimber is a great example gun (for everything that could possibly go wrong).

I like 1911s but their innards are a murky place I don’t like to tread.

Some good news. A Forbes piece goes after the gun control lobby with truth. You rarely see dismissal of the anti-gun case out right in the press. But here it is:

As much as gun control advocates might wish otherwise, their attacks are running out of ammo. With private firearm ownership at an all-time high and violent crime rates plunging, none of the scary scenarios they advanced have materialized. Abuse of responsibility by armed citizens is rare, while successful defensive interventions against assaults on their lives and property are relatively commonplace.

Contrast that to other recent media stories:

Fact checking NBC’s gun lies.

Anti-gun bias at NPR:

When asking NRA’s representative about their support for state preemption laws, the host phrased the question as, “Why is NRA against police chiefs?” No, I’m not kidding.

Wowzers.

For the children

A 13 year-old boy got drunk on alcohol laced energy drinks and was puking out of a car when he fell out. Of course, we must crack down energy drinks:

Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler has made it clear something more needs to be done about alcohol-packed energy drinks.

It’s already illegal for 13 year olds to purchase alcohol.

Obama again gun salesman of the year

Crusher Tactical Pen for $8

10 Things Every Guy Should Know About Bourbon

A guide to handling social media jerks. Seems the internet is full of assholes.

Porn Moves You Should Never Use

Gun ownership on the rise: Indians own about 40 million guns, second only to the U.S.

Thoughts on pocket pistols from Sheriff Wilson

Sevigny Speedway

It seems like once every few months the Marine Corps is looking for a new .45. Well, it happens to be that month:

The Marine Corps is closer to knowing who will manufacture its new .45-caliber M45 Close Quarters Battle Pistol, and could make a decision about the program’s future by spring, Marine officials said.

The semiautomatic weapon will be fielded to elite Marines in force reconnaissance and Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command. The service could buy between 400 and 12,000 of them as part of a contract worth up to $22.5 million, officials have said. The current requirement is for about 4,000 pistols.

I’d go with a Glock 21 or the M&P45, myself.

More from Linoge and Miguel, both of which win the SayUncle 2012 Gun Blog of the Year Award today. I know, it’s early but never fear. Tomorrow, I’ll give out more SU12GBOTYAs as I see fit! I need a badge. Something with a stolen copyright that they can put on their sites.

And I am far from howling mad. Just mildly annoyed.

.50 Sense

Dave Kopel: Holder must go.

The press would treat this differently if the administration didn’t have Ds after their names.

Valkyrie.

RMR30 accuracy

ST Kinetics Concept Rifles. The concepts look like a Tapco catalog had sex with an XM-8.

Suppressed FNP45. I don’t know why but I want one. Completely impractical but cool.

Redneck Ruger

Too much shooting causes bone spurs.

Yes, I know. Server issues and I am assured upgrades are coming. Sorry about that.

On tasers:

Police shoot man ‘brandishing sword’ four times after Tasers failed to stop him during stand-off

In other news, the cops drive BMWs.

No, you don’t. Still this story about folks at a pigeon shoot shooting down an animal rights aerial drone raises some interesting questions:

Animal rights groups buy aerial drones?

And then send the expensive contraption to a pigeon hunt where there are shotguns and people like to shoot things out of the air?

Is shooting it vandalism?

One tough hombre: 90 year old man shoots burglar after being shot in the face, then proceeds to fight the injured intruder.

A company that sells jambs to secure your doors from unwanted entry.

S.T.A. Training Group Humvee

It’s so cute how the main page features a legal disclaimer.

I am not a member of Smoke and Thunder, much less a recently active one. I never asked to join and never gave permission to use my brand in that capacity. I find it odd that a site that tells us how much gun blogs suck feels the need to lie and use a gun blog’s brand without permission. I’m also fairly certain that Glock, Ruger and The American Rifleman aren’t really members either.

Update: Oops. Inadvertently used that title from Alan who used it in email who may want to use it later. So, it has been changed.

Border control. But, instead, the Mexican president would rather we pass more gun laws. The firearms industry responds to his nonsensical claims.