Interesting Japanese Conversion Of A M1 Garand

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons Blog always comes up with the most interesting old guns. In the video below, he discusses the Japanese Type 4 Garand.

Garand? Japanese Garand? Yep!

Partway through 1944, the Japanese Imperial Navy began a program to provide their infantry units with better firepower than was afforded by the bolt action Arisaka rifles. The initial experimentation was based on rechambering captured US M1 Garand rifles for the 7.7 Japanese cartridge, but an incompatibility of American en bloc clips with the Japanese cartridge hamstrung the project. In response, the M1 was reverse engineered, and the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal began to manufacture a copy of the rifle which would use a 10-round fixed magazine fed by two standard stripper clips.


This rifle was designated the Type 4 (2604/1944), although it is often referred to today as the Type 5. In total, parts for 200 rifles were manufactured, but only about 125 had been actually assembled into functional guns by the time the war ended.

Anti-Gun County Commissioners In Haywood County?

I lived in Haywood County, North Carolina for 32 years and still have property there. Thus, when I got the alert below from Grass Roots North Carolina about the intended anti-gun actions of the Haywood County Board of Commissioners I began to get angry.

Then I read the three proposed ordinances and became really angry. There are parts of the first two ordinances that are direct violation of state law regarding carry in state, county, and municipal parks and that is just the beginning.

 Moreover, the outdoor range ordinance requires more of private ranges than it does of the county’s own sheriff’s department. The proposed ordinance §161.07(B)(1) states, “All shooting stations and targets on a range shall be located a minimum of three hundred feet (300’) from any property line.” The backstop of the range that they share with the Maggie Valley Police Department is a mere 90 feet from the nearest property line. §161.07(D) of the ordinance requires that ” All shooting stations, targets, and firing lines” be more than 1/4 mile or 1,320 feet from any occupied building. There are two retail stores at about 1,100 feet from the backstop and a handful of residences that are within the 1/4 mile radius of the target range. You can see this in the screen cap from the Haywood County GIS map. The HCSD/MVPD range is adjacent to the Town of Maggie Valley water and sewer plant. I have labeled the firing line, backstop, and distances to the property line and buildings.

Click to enlarge

If you are a Haywood County resident, taxpayer, or just someone who visits the county, I would urge you to either attend the meeting on Monday or email the commissioners. I most certainly intend to do so.

Here is the complete alert from GRNC:

COUNTY MULLS GUN BAN

FOR THE LAW-ABIDING

A special meeting will be held regarding a gun-ban
ordinance this Monday, at 5:30 PM, in the Haywood County Courtroom of the Historic Courthouse (more meeting details below).

Please join GRNC President F. Paul Valone at this meeting,
where the Haywood County Commissioners will be discussing  an ordinance to
BAN ALL OPEN AND CONCEALED CARRY in and on any county owned or controlled property. This ordinance
would reverse regulations dating back to 1995, which recognize the citizens’ civil rights in this area.
(Click here to read a copy of the proposed new
ordinance).

Some commissioners have claimed
that the increase in gun ownership has created an unsafe atmosphere.
Yet,
statistics show that more crime happens in so-called “gun-free” zones.
Gun owners must inform the commissioners that we know the facts, and
we won’t be fooled by false arguments, and emotional appeals.

Below, find out how you can
contact the county commissioners and let them know that what they’re
considering is
wrong, and not at all acceptable. Also, get details on the meeting so
you can attend and help to put a stop to this effort to disarm good
people like
you, “put you in your place,” and make you easy prey for the bad guys.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

  • EMAIL THE HAYWOOD COUNTY
    COMMISSIONERS
    . Urge them to vote against the gun-ban ordinance. Below, find a copy/paste email
    list, and under ‘Deliver This Message,’ you’ll find a copy/paste email message to send.
CONTACT INFO
County
Commissioners copy/paste email list
markswanger@bellsouth.net; kirk@jwklaw.net; lkensley@bellsouth.net; sorrells@cbvnol.com;
billupton@bellsouth.net

  • ATTEND THE COUNTY COMMISSION’S SPECIAL MEETING THIS MONDAY, MARCH
    28
    . Join
    GRNC President F. Paul Valone at this critical event. See details below:

WHEN:
Monday,
March 28, 2016 5:30 PM
WHERE: Historic Courthouse

Haywood County Courtroom

215 N. Main St.
Waynesville, NC
HINTS: Dress for the press! Please no offensive signs,
slogans or clothing.
Be sure to arrive early, as seating may be limited.

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

Suggested Subject: “Vote No on Gun Ban in Haywood
County”  

Dear Commissioner:
I have recently been informed of the gun ban that is being considered by the Haywood County
Commission, and I am writing to urge you to vote against any such gun ban.

A patchwork of “gun-free” zones
serve only to make accidental criminals out of otherwise peaceful,
law-abiding citizens, while doing nothing to ensure anyone’s safety. A
vote to close all county facilities to the lawful carry of handguns will
only convey a disrespect for civil rights as they relate to the Second
Amendment, and will ultimately endanger both the citizens and employees
of
Haywood County.


You may be unaware of the new trend
that is currently sweeping our state. In recent months, county after
county,
after recognizing the fallacy of “gun free” zones, has moved in the
direction of more gun-freedom rather than less: Pitt, Person, Wilkes,
Rockingham, Cherokee, and Alamance counties—just to name a few. There
are more, and the list continues to lengthen. This is a positive trend,
and I
would strongly recommend that Haywood County consider this course,
rather than a sure-to-be fruitless and disrespectful gun ban.

Keep
Haywood County free and safe for law-abiding voters and
their families. Vote ‘no’ on any sort of gun ban. I will continue to
monitor this issue through alerts from Grass Roots North Carolina. 
Respectfully,




UPDATE: I received an email last night from Commissioner Kevin Ensley (R-Haywood) who said he would be voting in favor of concealed carry on county premises. Kudos to Mr. Ensley to listening to the people of Haywood County. I fear that some of the other commissioners are not so willing to listen to their constituents. 


Jerrika Insco of WLOS has a report on the Monday evening meeting here. I sense a lot of backpedaling on the part of the Haywood County Manager Ira Dove. He is trying to portray the moves by the county as being misunderstood by residents. He’s trying to say it has always been banned and all the county is doing is updating their ordinances to comply with state law. That is only partially true. Including the county-owned Allen’s Creek Park in the list of places that ALL carry is prohibited flies in the face of NCGS Sec. 14-415.23 which specifies where and where not carry can be prohibited in county, municipal, and state parks.

Tone Deaf Politicians

If there is one thing that this political season has shown is that people are sick and tired of business as usual. How else do you explain the rise of a reality-TV star and billionaire businessman on the Republican side and an obscure, not even elected as a Democrat, self-avowed socialist on the Democratic side of the ticket. Both Trump and Sanders would be long gone in years gone by.

In the midst of all of this comes a proposal from New Jersey State Senator Gerald Cardinale (R-Bergen, Passaic) that would allow legislators and municipal and superior court judges to obtain carry permits to protect themselves. Nevermind that it takes an Act of God and then some for ordinary New Jerseyans to get carry permits or even a pistol purchase permit. Witness the death of Carol Bowne who was still waiting for her permit when her stalker killed her.

From the Bergen Dispatch:

Senator Gerald Cardinale (R-Bergen, Passaic) introduced a bill that would allow legislators, as well as judges at the superior and municipal court levels, to obtain permits to carry handguns provided they complete at least eight hours of firearm safety training.

“Judges and legislators face a greater risk of falling victim to violent attacks, simply because of their easily identifiable position in public life,” Senator Cardinale said. “This measure will ensure that public servants have the means to protect themselves from those who might violently disagree with their viewpoints or decisions. A judge should feel safe returning home each night no matter how they ruled or what they ruled on that day.”

The bill (S-1982) was inspired by attacks, such as the 2011 shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Giffords was shot in an assassination attempt during a meeting with constituents at an Arizona supermarket. More recently, a Texas judge was wounded in a shooting outside of her home in Austin.

Judges and legislators would be exempt from New Jersey’s requirement to show “justifiable need”. They would merely have to show that they took an 8-hour class.

Alexander Roubian of the NJ Second Amendment Society is correct when he calls Cardinale’s proposal completely hypocritical.

Judges and politicians are generally well-guarded by security and they have easy access to police, Roubian noted. And, he argued, they’re already more likely than average citizens to pass the “justifiable need” test because they’re friends with the judges who issue the permits.


“Basically, this is a clear-cut example of how New Jersey operates as a fiefdom. The politicians’ and the judges’ lives, they truly believe, are more valuable than those of average citizens like you and I,” Roubian said.

I would add that Sen. Cardinale, in this of all years, just doesn’t get it. Given that he has been in one house or the other of the New Jersey legislature since 1980, maybe it is time for the 82-year old dentist to go home.

Hydraulic Tests

Matt at LFD Research has a series of “high energy” research projects up on YouTube. In the one below, he looks at the hydraulic energy transfer of different weights of .223/5.56 bullets.

Frankly, I was a bit surprised by the destructive potential of 40 grain bullets. I can see why they are good for varmint hunting. It does make me wonder what a gelatin test would show insofar as penetration.

Matt has been a guest on The Polite Society Podcast in the past to talk about his research. I think this type of home-grown amateur research is interesting because it is something that we can all do.

Knife Rights Needs Our Help In New York

New York City is not only one of the most anti-gun jurisdictions in the country but also one of the most anti-knife. Their prosecutions of honest citizens for “gravity” knives is over the top. There is a bill in the New York Senate that would correct many of these abuses by clearly defining both switchblades and gravity knives. A correct definition would eliminate prosecutions for having your average lock-blade knife.

Knife Rights is urging that anyone who lives, works, or merely visits New York to contact Sen. John Flanagan who chairs the Senate Rules Committee and ask him to schedule a vote on S6483A.

Their alert is below:

New York URGENT ACTION ALERT 
CALL or EMAIL TODAY to Schedule S6483A for a Vote

 

The next hurdle to getting Knife Rights’ New York Knife Law Reform bill (S6483A)
passed to end the widespread persecution of those carrying pocket
knives in New York City is to get the Senate Rules Committee to pass the
bill so it can be voted on by the full Senate.

If you live, work or travel in New York and New York City, please CALL or EMAIL the Chairman of the Rules Committee, Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, TODAY
and simply deliver the message that you are “calling/writing to
respectfully request that Leader Flanagan please schedule S6483A for a
vote” and then thank him. Please be POLITE and RESPECTFUL. 

CALL Majority Leader Flanagan TODAY at: 
518-455-2071

EMAIL Majority Leader Flanagan TODAY at: flanagan@nysenate.gov

Again, please be POLITE and RESPECTFUL, just deliver the message: “I am calling/writing
to respectfully request that Leader Flanagan please schedule S6483A for
a vote,” and then thank him. That’s it, keep it short and simple and above all BE POLITE and RESPECTFUL.

If Emailing, use the SUBJECT: Please Schedule S6483A for Senate Vote

If
you call, they may ask you the city and state where you live, for their
call record. If you email, include your city and state. In either case, if you live out-of-state, explain how you work in, or travel to, New York / New York City.
S6483A
adds clarifying bias-towards closure exclusions to the state
switchblade and gravity knife definitions, similar to that included in
the revision to the Federal Switchblade Act that Knife Rights helped
pass in 2009. This clarifying exclusion should prevent the bogus Gravity
Knife arrests and prosecutions of honest law-abiding individuals in New
York City who are carrying common folding knives, tools that are legal
to carry everywhere else in t
NYC Donate Buttonhe U.S.

Neither
Gravity Knives nor Switchblades have a bias towards closure found in
common folding knives to keep the blade safely closed in the pocket.
Only in New York Cit
y has the NYPD and
District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. abused the state’s gravity knife law
to prosecute those carrying simple pocket knives by claiming they are
illegal Gravity Knives.

The City’s Village Voice newspaper found two years ago that there had been as many as 60,000 gravity-knife prosecutions over the past decade! You can read the Village Voice article at: http://bit.ly/1MiJbvv

Hundreds of innocent pocket knife carriers are being arrested every week!

Meanwhile, our Federal Civil Rights lawsuit against New York City and District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr.
over these unconstitutional arrests and prosecutions continues with a
trial date now scheduled for June 16, which will be just over five years
since the lawsuit was filed. The quicker solution is to get S6483A passed.

#Gunvote – Correcting The Record

Hillary Clinton and the gun prohibitionists are on a jihad against the Protection of Legal Commerce in Arms Act. They have been willfully mischaracterizing it as a total exemption from liability by the firearms industry. In fact, it only protects the makers and sellers from the misuse of their products by criminals and contains six enumerated exceptions to the qualified civil liability protections in the law.

The NSSF has released a YouTube correcting Hillary. It is worth two minutes of your time.

Interesting Infographic On Trapping

If you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you know I love a good infographic. I came across this one from BassProShops on trapping. I think trapping is one of those lost outdoor skills that could prove essential in a TEOTWAWKI situation.

The infographic below does a good job on outlining the types of traps available plus their pros and cons.

“Outgunned From Day One”

Since we are talking about things Irish today, I thought this interview with a curator of the National Museum of Ireland was appropriate. In it, Lar Joye, the curator of Irish military history at the National Museum of Ireland, talks about the Mauser (Howth) and Lee Enfield rifles and other weapons used by the volunteers and the British during the 1916 Rising.

The centennial of the Irish Rising will take place on April 24th.

You can see the video of the interview here.

The Howth Mauser is also known as the Mauser Model 1871 or Infanterie-Gewehr 71. It was a single shot 11mm black powder rifle.

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig

Or, Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

The Irish Times has published a list of 14 sayings in Irish that most of us will have no clue on how to pronounce. I include myself even though I did take a class in Irish at UNC many, many years ago.

The following is a list of handy seanfhocail you might use, with suggestions for when you might use them. Chances are those around you will not understand what you are saying. And as the old saying goes: Beatha teanga í a labhairt (the life of a language is to speak it).
Is lia gach othar i ndiaidh a leighis (every patient is a surgeon after he is cured). Listening to a punter on the tube talking loudly about his morning after cure.
Ar mhaithe leis féin a bhíonn an cat ag crónán (the car purrs only for its own benefit). On hearing a colleague talking loudly about his latest success.
Déan mórán agus can beagán (do a lot and say little). Advice for the above.
Ní dhíolann dearmad fiacha (just because you’ve forgotten a debt, it doesn’t mean you no longer owe it). When someone “forgets” it is their turn to buy the next round.
Siúlach scéalach (chatty traveller). When someone next to you volunteers story after story after story.
Sceitheann fíon fírinne (in vino veritas). To be used at the staff Christmas party.
Tógfaidh dath dubh ach ní thógfaidh dubh dath (a garment can be dyed black but a black cloth cannot be dyed any other colour). It is easier to defame someone than to restore their reputation. To be used the day after the Christmas party (see above).
Bíonn caora dhubh ar an tréad is gile (even the brightest flock has a black sheep). There is always one! To be used at kids birthday parties.
Cuir síoda ar ghabhar is gabhar fós é (put silk on a goat, it will still be a goat). Friday night fashion.
Tarraingíonn scéal scéal eile (one story always leads to another). A good motto for journalists.
Is minic bréag ar aonach (there are many lies at the fair). To be used in the presence of salesmen everywhere.
Má chailleann tú uair ar maidin beidh tú á tóraíocht i rith an lae (if you lose an hour in the morning you’ll be looking for it all day). Obey the alarm clock!
Is ait an mac an saol (life is strange). When you hear Irish being spoken in a far-flung land.
Is binn béal ina thost (silence is golden). What you say to someone when you realise they are speaking ill of you in Irish.

NRA “Strongly Opposes” The Nomination Of Merrick Garland

The National Rifle Association released the following statement this afternoon concerning the nomination by President Obama of Judge Merrick Garland to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat on the US Supreme Court.

SCOTUS Nomination: Merrick Garland
“With
Justice Scalia’s tragic passing, there is no longer a majority of
support among the justices for the fundamental, individual right to own a
firearm for self-defense. Four justices
believe law-abiding Americans have that right – and four justices do
not. President Obama has nothing but contempt for the Second Amendment
and  law-abiding gun owners. Obama has already nominated two Supreme
Court justices who oppose the right to own firearms
and there is absolutely no reason to think he has changed his approach
this time. In fact, a basic analysis of Merrick Garland’s judicial
record shows that he does not respect our fundamental, individual right
to keep and bear arms for self-defense. Therefore,
the National Rifle Association, on behalf of our five million members
and tens of millions of supporters across the country, strongly opposes
the nomination of Merrick Garland for the U.S. Supreme Court.” Chris W.
Cox, executive director, NRA-ILA

ü
Merrick
Garland’s record on the Second Amendment is unacceptable to anyone who
respects the U.S. Constitution and an individual’s fundamental right to
self-protection.

ü
He
is the most anti-gun nominee in recent history. This should come as no
surprise, given President Obama’s disdain for the Second Amendment.

ü
He has consistently shown a complete disregard of the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

ü
Garland’s history of anti-Second Amendment rulings support the conclusion that were he to be confirmed he would vote to overturn
Heller.

o  
In
2007, he voted to give D.C. a second chance to have its handgun ban
upheld after a three-judge panel struck it down. At the time, this was
the most significant
Second Amendment case in America.
o  
In 2004, Garland voted against rehearing another Second Amendment case (Seegars v. Gonzales), effectively casting a vote against the individual right
to keep and bear arms.

o  
Justice Scalia was the author of
Heller v McDonald. Heller affirmed that the Second Amendment is an individual right. The
Heller decision stands in the way of gun-control supporters’ ultimate goal of banning and confiscating guns.

o  
If
Heller is overturned, the Second Amendment for all intents and purposes would cease to exist.
o  
In
2000, Garland voted in favor of the federal government’s plan to retain
Americans’ personal information from gun purchase background checks
despite federal
laws prohibiting national firearm registration and requiring the
destruction of these records.

o  
 Judge Garland weighed in on several significant firearms-related cases, including
Parker, Seegars, NRA v. Reno,. He voted against the rights of firearm owners on each occasion.

ü
The
examples of Garland’s disdain for the right to keep and bear arms go on
and on, including  in a major case upholding the then-existing Clinton
“assault
weapons” ban against a constitutional challenge

ü
It’s
almost certain that Garland agrees with Hillary Clinton when she said
“the Supreme Court is wrong” that the Second Amendment protects an
individual
right.

ü
In
his nomination, President Obama has again placed partisanship and
antagonism towards gun owners above the higher callings of his office.

ü
If
Garland is confirmed, Obama would be taking America back in time to an
era where Supreme Court justices uphold the anti-gun policies of the
president.
Obama is hoping Garland will overturn the Supreme Court precedent that
stands in the way of confiscatory gun control, like the gun ban and
confiscation programs implemented in Australia.