Month: March 2017

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Walther CCP Safety Recall

March 20, 2017 by 1 Comment

Walther Arms is recalling their CCP pistol due to a potential to discharge when dropped whether or not the manual safety is engaged. They are requesting Walther CCP owners to send in their pistols for the free upgrade. The current turnaround time is approximately 3 weeks. Walther will pay shipping both ways.

More details below:

CCP RECALL

Re: Important Safety Recall – MARCH 2017 Walther CCP Pistols
Walther Arms has identified a potential condition in Walther CCP pistols that could potentially cause it to discharge if dropped whether the manual safety is engaged (on) or disengaged (off).  The safety of our customers is our paramount concern so we have voluntarily initiated this recall because of the possibility of a drop-fire occurring.
Please do not load or fire your Walther CCP pistol and contact us immediately to arrange to have your pistol upgraded free of charge.
If your pistol has already been upgraded, there will be a dot milled onto the back side of the magazine opening.  

The upgrade will be done at no charge to you.  For free shipping, please enter your information here, and complete the online form, making sure to include the serial number.  After completion of the form a confirmation email will be sent including shipping information.
Please note:  The serial number is located on the right side of the pistol (circled in red below)

Please submit your information here – http://www.waltherarms.com/ccp-information-submission/.

Please check this website and all safety notices on a regular basis for current information about your firearms.  You may also contact us by phone at 1-866-503-3389, by email at ccprecall@WaltherArms.com or by mail at Walther Arms, Inc., 7700 Chad Colley Boulevard, Fort Smith, AR  72916.
The current time to repair your CCP is approximately 3 weeks from the time we receive it.
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A Different Sort Of Bracketology – Sink Or Swim 2017

March 14, 2017 by 3 Comments

With March Madness upon us, it is only natural that it be copied in other arenas. Thus, the Naval Historical Foundation developed their own round of 32. The call it Sink or Swim 2017 – Axis vs. Allies.

Every year, the Naval Historical Foundation likes to blend a little naval history into the spirit of NCAA March Madness. During the tournament, we have carefully selected thematic events, ships, and planes of the United States Navy for our fans on social media to vote as their favorite. This year, you will help us decide what our fans think is the most formidable ship of World War II. We are placing the Axis vs. Allies once again. Vote early and often to find out who reigns supreme!

In this first round, one side of the bracket pits the US Navy versus the Imperial Japanese Navy while the other side pits the Royal Navy against the Kriegsmarine.

Having entered my own picks, I will note that it takes a bit of research. Does airpower beat heavy armament, does speed matter more than the size and range of the main battery, and does stealth beat power are all questions you’ll have to decide for yourself.

You can enter your picks here. You have until Friday, March 17th at noon, to enter your first round of picks.

Here is the full bracket:

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This And That

March 13, 2017 by

I was out of town at the end of last week at a company meeting. I missed that the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee was having a hearing regarding the death of ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata. However, David Codrea didn’t miss it nor the fact that two BATFE officials on their own accord skipped the meeting despite being “invited” to appear.

He (former Agent Vince Cefalu) was referring to Thursday’s appearance (video below) before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Activities by Thomas E. Brandon, Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The hearing was held to further explore the ambush murder of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata by cartel operatives in Mexico, where “straw-purchased” guns allowed by ATF to “walk” across the border were recovered from the scene.

Two of Brandon’s agents, Associate Deputy Director Ronald Turk and Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge William Temple, were no-shows to the hearing. They decided on their own not to come testify, and Brandon informed Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz that he agreed with their decision.

Recognizing a continuation of the stonewalling that was dragged on for years by ATF and the Department of Justice under the Obama administration, Chaffetz was having none of it. He immediately issued subpoenas for Temple and Turk to appear on March 22.

Ronald Turk, you may recall, is the one who wrote a white paper discussing, among other things, removing suppressors from the NFA. You’d think a guy who is clearly aiming to be named the new Director of BATFE would want some face time with Congress even if it wasn’t going to be all favorable.

I also missed that Remington Arms Company is again laying off employees at their Ilion, New York plant due to slowing sales. My friend Rob Morse didn’t miss it. He noted:

Remington Arms is moving out of anti-gun New York..one layoff at a time. They expand their production in Alabama during a market increase, and cut from the New York plant during the downturns. I guess elections have consequences as New York voters raised both the price of doing business and of owning a gun in NY.

If you listen to the news lately, you would think that the mainstream media has been teleported to the 1950s with all the hysteria over Russia. It is almost like that 60s move The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming! Lest you think that we in the gun culture are exempt from the Russian hysteria, Sebastian discusses a Daily Beast article trying to tie the NRA to Vlad (the Impaler) Putin.

I did work the GRNC booth Saturday morning at the Asheville Gun Show. While our business was a bit slow, the crowds seemed bigger than this time last year. I don’t know whether it was bargain shopping on the part of attendees or because we were supposed to get snow Saturday night.

I didn’t check the prices of ARs at the show but they did seem down at the Winston-Salem show I attended the preceding weekend. If anyone is looking for an AR15, now is as good a time as you’ll ever get to buy one. I have seen Ruger AR-555s selling under $500 at multiple locations, off-brands for under $400, and the S&W M&P-15 in the low $500 range. If you want to look for deals, check the Reddit sub group called gun deals.

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It’s Time Again For Floridians To Call Their Legislators

March 9, 2017 by

The Florida Senate is considering SB 128 which would restore the immunity from prosecution in legitimate self-defense shootings. The original 2005 law had that but the Florida Supreme Court then placed the burden of proof on the defendant and not the prosecution. SB 128 would reverse this.

It should be noted that just because a legislator has a “R” after his or her name does not mean her or she is on our side. Lee Williams, The Gun Writer, illustrates this clearly in his posts about the treachery of Senate President Pro Temp Anitere Flores (R-Miami). She was for gun rights before she was against them. She is responsible for killing the bills that would allow campus carry.

More on the issue in this FloridaCarry alert:

SB 128 – Burden of Proof
Full Senate hears bill tomorrow!

Contact Senators Now!!!

Perhaps the single most important bill of the session, SB 128 – Burden of Proof, restores the
full effect of legislative immunity back to the lawful user of self-defense where it belongs!
When the first claims of immunity were made under the 2005 “stand your ground” bill package, the courts had no judicial procedure in place to deal with the legislative immunity created by the bill.

Chapter 776.032 Florida Statutes clearly states –

A person who uses or threatens to use force as permitted in s. 776.012, s. 776.013, or s.776.031 is justified in such conduct and is immune from criminal prosecution… 


 


As used in this subsection, the term “criminal prosecution” includes arresting, detaining in custody, and charging or prosecuting the defendant.




The Florida Supreme Court created a procedure, but ignored legislative intent. Under current case law –






1. The burden of proof that self-defense was necessary is on the defendant, not the State.






2. Any evidence or statements made by the defendant may be used against him in any ensuing action.






This great bill restores full effect to the Legislature’s immunity statute, which the Court has improperly neutered.






Four amendments were filed today to dilute this bill!



Senators Simmons, Thurman, and Rodriguez have together filed four amendments today, all watering down certain provisions of this bill. These amendments must be defeated or the intent of the Legislature will continue to be ignored by the courts.

Florida Carry opposes the floor amendments filed today, and enthusiastically supports SB 128 as tendered.


An 

important note on contacting your legislators:



We
cannot stress enough the necessity of telling legislators how you feel
they should vote. During the legislative sessions, we issue Action Alerts asking
our members and supporters to take a few moments to contact
legislators. Email addresses, subject line, and sample body are all
included in these alerts to allow cut and paste into your email client.

Please
take the few seconds it takes to send an email when you receive an
Action Alert from Florida Carry. The failure or success of a bill can
hinge on that simple act.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke

Please, take a few moments to ask the members of the Senate to support SB 128.

Remember
that whether you contact the committee members either by email or by
phone, to be courteous and respectful above all else. Be sure to keep
your message brief, and thank them for their time.

In the subject line put:  SUPPORT SB 128 – Burden of Proof

(Copy and Paste All email addresses into the “Send To” box)
artiles.frank@flsenate.gov;
baxley.dennis@flsenate.gov;
bean.aaron@flsenate.gov;
benacquisto.lizbeth@flsenate.gov;
book.lauren@flsenate.gov;
bracy.randolph@flsenate.gov;
bradley.rob@flsenate.gov;
brandes.jeff@flsenate.gov;
broxson.doug@flsenate.gov;
clemens.jeff@flsenate.gov;
flores.anitere@flsenate.gov;
gainer.george@flsenate.gov;
galvano.bill@flsenate.gov;
garcia.rene@flsenate.gov;
grimsley.denise@flsenate.gov;
hukill.dorothy@flsenate.gov;
hutson.travis@flsenate.gov;
latvala.jack@flsenate.gov;
lee.tom@flsenate.gov;
mayfield.debbie@flsenate.gov;
montford.bill@flsenate.gov;
negron.joe@flsenate.gov;
passidomo.kathleen@flsenate.gov;
perry.keith@flsenate.gov;
rouson.darryl@flsenate.gov;
simmons.david@flsenate.gov;
simpson.wilton@flsenate.gov;
stargel.kelli@flsenate.gov;
steube.greg@flsenate.gov;
young.dana@flsenate.gov
Sample Body:
Dear Senator,
In
2005, the Legislature approved immunity for those involved in lawful
acts of self-defense. This immunity included protection from the expense
and embarrassment of arrest and prosecution unless sufficient evidence
existed to show the act was not in lawful self-defense. The Florida
Supreme Court neutered legislative intent by not only placing the burden
of proof on the defendant, but that testimony given in defense can be
used against the defendant in later proceedings. This flies in the face
of Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination and certainly
is in contrast to the long held American legal principle one is innocent
until proven guilty.

Please support SB 128.

Respectfully,
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For Prairie Staters – Call For Witness Slips

March 7, 2017 by 1 Comment

Illinois Carry issued a call for witness slips in reaction to a bill that could outlaw lead-based ammunition for use in hunting in the state. They note that most non-lead alternatives are banned under state law. I presume this is because they are considered “armor piercing”.

While the state of Illinois and its General Assembly come under a lot of criticism for a number of factors, one thing that they do get right is witness slips. Not everyone can leave their job and travel to Springfield to testify in person on a bill. Witness slips allow citizens of the state to register his or her opinion on a bill before legislators. I don’t know whether witness slips are more or less effective than letters and emails to your own legislator but it is definitely a plus.

Call to Action
Witness Slips Needed
After taking last week off, our Call to Action this week asks your help with a number of bills. Some of these, taxes on firearms and bans on arbitrarily defined “assault weapons”, are included for obvious reasons. Others, though still obvious, have potential ramifications beyond the language of the bill alone. SB1985 Wildlife Cd Lead Ammunition Ban is one of these.
Introduced by Senator Don Harmon out of concern for the environment, it ignores that fact that most alternatives to lead ammunition are banned under Illinois law. The result? Whether one agrees with the Senator or not his bill, if it becomes law, will effectively end all handgun hunting in Illinois. Coupled with SB1722 Safe Neighborhoods Reform Tech, a bill seeking to drastically increase the penalties for the use of lead-alternative ammunition and other non-violent firearm offenses, an environmentally aware hunter could easily face a minimum 7 to 14 years in prison. We include only SB1985 in our current Action Alert, and will continue to monitor developments on SB1722.
Please help us keep Illinois on the right course by filing witness slips on the bills listed below.
Hearings will occur in a variety of committees as early as the morning ofMarch 7, 2017.
Don’t delay!
File Witness Slips Now!
To avoid having to complete each field manually, Log on to your ILGA Dashboard (or Create a New Account if you have not already done so) then return to this email and click on the links for each witness slip. If you do not wish to create an account, simply click on each witness slip link and complete the required fields manually:
I, IDENTIFICATION: Enter your personal information. Enter “NA” for the Firm/Business or Agency and Title fields unless you are officially representing an organization.
II. REPRESENTATION: Enter “Myself” unless representing an organization.
III. POSITION: Unless instructed otherwise for a particular bill leave the description field at its default value “Original Bill”. Indicate your position by selecting the “Proponent” or “Opponent” radio button.
IV. TESTIMONY: Select the “Record of Appearance Only” radio button.
If filing manually, complete the Captcha challenge and agree to the ILGA Terms of Agreement.
Then click Create Slip.

Oppose

Support
Witness slips can be tracked here:
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Volunteers Needed For Asheville Gun Show

March 6, 2017 by

Grass Roots North Carolina sent out an alert this morning saying they need volunteers for the Asheville Gun Show this weekend at the WNC Ag Center. I have volunteered to work on Saturday morning. I try to work the GRNC booth for as many gun shows as I can.

ASHEVILLE GUN SHOW
NEEDS
VOLUNTEERS!
Volunteers are needed
to help man the GRNC table at the upcoming MK Shows, in Fletcher, on March 11th and 12th,
2017. The show will be held at the WNC Agricultural Center, located at 1301 Fanning Bridge Rd., Fletcher, NC
28732.

Help defend Second Amendment freedom and join GRNC in expanding North Carolina gun
rights!

Potential Volunteers
should contact John Hammond by email at johndhammond@msn.com or by phone at 828-699-3117.

I’d love to see some new people volunteering to help. I’ve made some great friends over the years working the booth and have met a lot of nice people at the gun shows.

This is your chance to help out the Second Amendment in North Carolina. While we have a solid pro-gun Republican majority in both houses of the General Assembly, they still have let us down on things like the pistol purchase permit system. When you also factor in that North Carolina has both a governor and attorney general who are not exactly gun friendly, the work that GRNC does in Raleigh becomes critical. We need both members and volunteers if we are to make headway.

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Big News On Fight For Carry On Corps Of Engineers’ Lakes And Recreational Areas

March 3, 2017 by 4 Comments

Back in 2014, the US District Court for the District of Idaho issued an injunction that prevented the US Army Corps of Engineers from banning functional firearms in campgrounds and on lakes. Chief Judge B. Lynn Winmill’s opinion in Morris v. USACE stated that the prohibition was a substantial burden on the exercise of the Second Amendment. The case was appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals by the government.

Fast forward to today and a different administration. The Mountain States Legal Foundation who represents Elizabeth Nesbitt (formerly Morris) and Al Baker in their case just learned that the DOJ lawyers have submitted an emergency motion stating that they plan to revise the policy and codify the win at the District Court level. If this does become the case, this is a great win for the Second Amendment and its practice on federally-regulated lands.

MSLF just released this statement a few hours ago on the case.

DENVER, CO. An Idaho woman who is barred from carrying a functional firearm for self-defense when she visits vast federal recreational facilities today learned of the Trump administration’s intention to codify her victory before an Idaho federal district court, which ruled the federal government agency’s ban on firearms violates the Second Amendment, at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Elizabeth E. Nesbitt of Nez Perce County is licensed to carry a concealed weapon, regularly carries a concealed weapon, and often seeks to recreate on lands managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Because Corps of Engineers regulations ban functional firearms, even while camped in tents, Ms. Nesbitt is subject to criminal prosecution if she attempts to exercise her Second Amendment rights. Alan C. Baker, a firearms instructor and resident of Idaho’s Latah County, is a co-plaintiff in the suit, which was filed in August of 2013 in Idaho federal district court. The Corps of Engineers did not reply to requests from the attorney for Ms. Nesbitt and Mr. Baker, Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF), seeking an exemption from its firearm ban, a ban that has not changed since the landmark Heller ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States.

“On the eve of oral arguments before the Ninth Circuit in Seattle, federal lawyers filed an emergency motion stating their clients’ intention to ‘reconsider[] the firearms policy,’ which the panel granted moments ago,” said William Perry Pendley of Mountain States Legal Foundation. “We are pleased the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will at last comply with the Constitution.”

The Corps of Engineers operates public parks and recreational facilities at water resource development projects under the control of the Department of the Army and thus is the nation’s largest provider of water-based outdoor recreation. It administers 422 lake and river projects in 43 states, spanning 12 million acres, encompassing 55,000 miles of shoreline and 4,500 miles of trails, and including 90,000 campsites and 3,400 boat launch ramps. Waters under its control constitute 33 percent of all U.S. freshwater fishing.

Ms. Nesbitt was issued an emergency license by the Nez Perce County Sheriff to carry a concealed handgun in 2012 due to threats and physical attacks against her by a former neighbor. She regularly carries a handgun for self-defense. She uses Corps-administered public lands near the Snake River in Lewiston, Idaho, to boat with friends, regularly walks the Corps-administered paths in the area with her dog and/or her family, and must travel across Corps-administered public lands to reach Hells Gate State Park.

Mr. Baker is a NRA-Certified Home Firearm Safety, Personal Protection In The Home, Rifle, Pistol, and Shotgun Instructor, is a Utah Concealed Firearms Instructor, is licensed to carry a concealed handgun in Idaho, Utah, Oregon, and Arizona and regularly carries a handgun for self-defense. A life-long outdoorsman, he regularly recreates on Corps-managed lands in Idaho, including Dworshak Dam and Reservoir on the North Fork Clearwater River.

More news on the case can be found here.

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Ryan Zinke Doesn’t Waste Time

March 3, 2017 by 4 Comments

Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke was confirmed yesterday. Today he rode in to work on a horse and in one of his first acts got rid of the lead ammo and fishing tackle ban. That ban, Directive No. 219, was the work of former Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe who signed it on the last full day of the Obama Administration.

Sec. Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, obviously knows to have to get things done.

Safari Club International released this statement on his order:

Safari Club International was one of nearly twenty pro-hunting organizations invited to meet with Secretary Ryan Zinke today, on his first day at work as Secretary of the Interior. We applaud Secretary Zinke for reversing Dan Ashe’s last minute Director’s Order that directed the phase-out of traditional lead-based ammunition and fishing tackle use on all 81 million acres of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands and waters by 2022. Former FWS Director Ashe issued Director’s Order 219 on the last day of the Obama Administration, imposing severe ammunition restrictions without input from the states, the public, and ammunition and tackle manufacturers.

Ashe’s Director’s Order failed to take into account the harm that eliminating lead-based ammunition could cause to wildlife conservation and habitat management programs supported by the sales of firearms and ammunition. It ignored the question of whether adequate alternate ammunition types would be available to substitute for lead-based ammunition. The former Director’s measures would have seriously undermined hunting and the important role it plays in wildlife conservation. In issuing Director’s Order 219, Ashe sought to impose Obama Administration prejudices into FWS management of lands for the next five years and beyond.

Today, Secretary Zinke returned science and reason to federal decision-making about ammunition use. By reversing Director’s Order 219, the Secretary has prevented the harm the former administration’s hasty and thoughtless attack would have caused the hunting community.

The NRA was represented at this event by NRA-ILA Director Chris Coxe who released this statement:

The National Rifle Association applauds Secretary Zinke’s decision to withdraw Director’s Order No. 219, a decree imposed on the final day of the Obama presidency to ban the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on national wildlife refuges. Chris W. Cox, executive director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, attended the official signing of Secretarial Order 3347.

“This was a reckless, unilateral overreach that would have devastated the sportsmen’s community,” said Cox. “The Obama administration failed to consult with state fish and wildlife agencies or national angling and hunting organizations in issuing this order. This was not a decision based on sound scientific evidence — it was a last second attack on traditional ammunition and our hunting heritage.”

Issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on January 19, 2017, Director’s Order No. 219 bans the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on lands, waters, and facilities managed by the Service. Today’s action demonstrates Secretary Zinke’s commitment to protecting our country’s treasured outdoor legacy.

“The fact is that traditional ammunition does not pose a significant population-level risk for wildlife. On behalf of the five million members of the NRA and tens of millions of American sportsmen, we thank Secretary Zinke for eliminating this arbitrary attack on our hunting heritage,” Cox concluded.

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Interesting Conference At Amherst College

March 2, 2017 by 1 Comment

Amherst College in Massachusetts holds their annual Copeland Colloquium this Friday and Saturday. The colloquium brings in a number of scholars from around the country to discuss a theme or topic. Past topics have included the place of art, the future of the humanities, international development, and “castrophe and the catastropic”.

This year’s theme will be The Symbolic and Material Construction of Guns.

Sponsored by the 2016-17 Copeland Colloquium, this
conference will explore the symbolic and culture
construction of guns (and other weapons), the way in
which the material culture of the weapon shapes quotidian
forms of violent interaction, and the narratives in which
we embed the “weapon as actor.” We want to ask new
questions about the symbolic value of guns and the
meanings the weapons used in the making of day-to-day
violence convey. How do those meanings take on a life of
their own in the minds of participants in violent encounters?
What kinds of symbols are guns, after all? Do they
condense multiple other meanings into a token to be
exchanged in civic life or do they operate as metaphors,
suggesting larger complexes of meaning?

Normally such a conference would be a bit esoteric even for me. However, among the presenters is my friend Prof. David Yamane of Wake Forest University who runs the Gun Culture 2.0 blog. David’s topic will be “The First Rule of Gun-Fighting is ‘Have a Gun’: Technologies of Concealed Carry in Gun Culture 2.0”. Now that doesn’t so esoteric to me.

The conference program and schedule is here along with a list of the other presentations. I have checked and the conference is open to the public. If you are in the western New England area this weekend, it might be worth a trip to Amherst for this conference.

I guess it should not be too surprising that such a conference would be held at Amherst College for a couple of reasons. First, the location is just at the north end of “gun valley” which is that swath of firearms companies (Colt, S&W, etc.) running from Hartford to Springfield. Second, fans of John Ross’ Unintended Consequences know that the protagonist Henry Bowman was an Amherst grad as is Ross himself.