by Cam Edwards interviewed Tom Gresham of GunTalk on the floor of the NRA Annual Meeting. Among other things, they discussed Project Gunwalker. That is in the latter half of the video.
Uncategorized
Black Man With A Gun
We got to meet the Rev. Kenn Blanchard at the Second Amendment Foundation booth in Pittsburgh. Kenn puts out the Urban Shooter podcast. I’ve listened to Kenn for at least a couple of years now. He is both knowledgeable and incredibly funny.
You can download his podcasts on iTunes or listen on his site.
Kenn is also the author of Black Man with a Gun.
Now if only the GunDudes had been there. I guess I will have to wait until the Gun Rights Policy Conference provided I can make it.
Darrell Issa Puts Eric Holder On The Hot Seat
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to watch the live feed from the House Judiciary Committee hearings this morning. From the video just put up by CBS News, it looks like there were some fireworks!
In the prepared statement submitted to the Committee, Holder made no mention of Operation Fast and Furious and only brief mention of anything to due with the border with Mexico.
Over the last year the Department has continued to aggressively combat violence along our country’s Southwest border. We have dedicated significant anpower resources towards working with our Mexican government counterparts to ssist their crime-fighting capacity, and prosecute the cartel members whose drug trade is the root cause of violence in that region.
With regard to firearms, he made only one brief mention and it was only in the context of protecting law enforcement officers.
At the same time, we must work to prevent gun crimes before they occur. I am committed to strengthening systems that prevent individuals who are legally prohibited from possessing firearms from obtaining weapons. This is a critical public safety goal we can achieve without infringing on the rights of lawful gun owners.
If the Judiciary Committee releases a transcript of the hearings, I will post relevant excerpts as they pertain to firearms and Project Gunwalker.
UPDATE: A less edited version of Issa grilling Eric Holder can be found on YouTube. Unfortunately, embedding has been disabled so you will have to watch it here.
UPDATE II: Here is a hot link to Mike Vanderboegh’s report along with reactions from ATF agents to Holders testimony today.
1911’s In .22LR
There were a handful of 1911’s at the NRA Annual Meeting in .22 LR. The one that was getting a lot of attention was the Browning 1911-22. It was the one pistol that everyone had to handle when they went to the Browning booth from what I saw.
It is supposed to be a 7/8’s version of the standard 1991 pistol. I’m not sure I’d agree with that. It felt smaller when you handled it. It almost had “cute” status. If I planned to get a 1911 in .22 for training purposes this wouldn’t be the one to get. The MSRP on the Browning 1911-22 is $600 which makes it bit expensive just for plinking.
The other 1911 in .22 LR that caught my eye was the one put out by Sig Sauer. Their 1911-22 is a full-size Government model pistol. I think it does have great potential for training as it is a full-size pistol. You have a pistol that fits your existing .45 ACP 1911’s holster, has roughly the same weight and operating controls, yet shoots ammo that costs about 2 cents a round instead of 35-40 cents a round. To top it off, the Sig Sauer 1911-22 has a MSRP of only $400. If it were me, I’d go with a dedicated pistol like this than with a conversion kit. As it is, this pistol is on my “to-buy” list.
Looking at the pictures, you can get a good size comparison because both pistols are held by the Complementary Spouse. You will notice that the Sig Sauer 1911-22 is much larger than her hand while the Browning 1911-22 fits almost in the palm of her hand.
Great Balls Of Fire!
With apologies to Jerry Lee Lewis, great balls of fire from Boomershoot 2011.
Concealed Carry In Illinois – David and Colleen Lawson’s View
I had the distinct pleasure of meeting both David and Colleen Lawson in Pittsburgh at the NRA Annual Meeting. They attended the Second Amendment Blog Bash on Thursday night. I thanked them both for being plaintiffs in McDonald et al v. Chicago et al.
While I did speak a bit with David, I spent more time with Colleen. She is extremely charming and engaging. You knew from the get-go that she was passionate about concealed carry and about being able to protect her children. Part of the story the Lawsons relate below she shared with me in Pittsburgh. I find it hard to believe that she and David were the only two who wanted concealed carry in Rep. John D’Amico’s district.
If you live in Illinois and read this blog, please make the effort to call your representative as the Lawsons request below. It is important if you want a chance at the right to carry in the State of Illinois.
HB148 – A personal message from Colleen and David Lawson
Dear ISRA members,
As you may know, my husband and I were two of the four Chicago resident plaintiffs in the historic McDonald v. Chicago lawsuit that the ISRA and SAF successfully brought against Chicago’s draconian handgun regulations.Unfortunately, that has not stopped our family from being victims of armed crime outside of our homes. Even with that legislation, all of our children have been victims of armed criminals; not once, but numerous times. Now that we can legally possess handguns in our homes, David and I are actively pushing for Right-to-Carry in Illinois.
Currently we have a Right-to-Carry bill in front of our state legislators. This bill is numbered HB-148 and is titled “The Family and Personal Protection Act”.
HB-148 is expected to be voted on in less than a week. As the only state in the entire country without any legislation allowing any form of right to carry provision for law-abiding citizens, David and I cannot stress enough how critical this vote will be for us and for you and your families.
This is the closest we have ever come to a possibility of having this civil right finally restored in our lives.
In order for the bill to pass into law, we must have a majority of 71 votes of “Yes!” from our State Representatives.
Governor Quinn has vowed to veto HB-148 if it should pass the house, though lately he has come away from that position and says he will give our bill its due consideration. With 71 yes votes, Governor Quinn’s veto cannot stand, and we who live in the only American state that guarantees its victims to be legally powerless against criminals – can finally remove that guarantee and defend ourselves and our families on the streets of Illinois.
How can we get these yes votes? There is only one way: And that is for YOU to call. And call again. And call again. It is no secret that Chicago area legislators are the ones who have consistently stopped RTC. But with the Heller and McDonald decisions, more Chicagoans than ever are waking up to the fact that RTC is a civil right, and a vital legislation, and that denying it to Illinoisans is wrong and harmful. David and I plead with you now: Don’t let Chicago’s wake-up call go unanswered.
At many of our 2nd Amendment speaking opportunities, Illinois gun rights supporters have promised to stand with us in our battle against Chicago’s anti-gun tyranny. Now is the time for us to call in those markers. We desperately need Chicago area state Representatives to hear from pro-gun constituents.
The lobbyists and volunteers from NRA, ISRA and IllinoisCarry have spent many, many hours working with pro-2nd-amendment legislators on HB-148. The lobbyists, volunteers and sponsoring legislators have spent further time talking with the representatives who are undecided. I personally spent two days in Springfield last week, speaking with as many senators and reps as I could reach, and from those who were undecided – or against – this bill, I heard the same two responses time and again.
1) I’m afraid it will bring the ‘wild west’ and
2) My constituents don’t want it.You already know that RTC does not bring the ‘wild west’. Now please take the time to call your IL State Representative and tell him or her that you DO want RTC in Illinois – you DO want HB-148.
Our family resides in IL House District 15, which is the district for Representative John D’Amico. This district encompasses parts of northwest Chicago, Lincolnwood, and Morton Grove, and other communities.
Rep. D’Amico called me directly this week and told me that my husband and I are his only two constituents in favor of Right-to-Carry (HB-148) and that every other constituent is opposed.
He also told assured me that “no one is walking around carrying handguns in my district!” despite the fact that he and I had just minutes before discussed several instances where my family members were robbed at gun-point, directly across the street from D’Amico’s Chicago district office and before that, just one block east of his office.
I would like D’Amico to receive enough of your calls, on the record, that he cannot possibly say that he has never received a call in support of RTC. If you are in the 15th District, please call John D’Amico at (217) 782-8198.
For those in other districts, you can find your Representative at http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByZip.aspx.
Remember to be polite, as you will most likely be speaking to an over-worked admin and also, you are all 2nd Amendment Ambassadors.
Now is the time to stand up for our 2nd Amendment rights as we only have a few days remaining before the vote will be called on HB-148.
Thank you so much,
Colleen and David Lawson
Buyer Power Revisted
The National Shooting Sports Foundation responded on this past Friday to a report put out by CSGV’s sister organization The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence. The report urged municipalities to use their “buyer power” to force firearms manufacturers to adopt a set of rules that the gun control industry wants.
As I noted when it was released, gun controllers grossly overestimate the economic influence of municipalities when it comes to firearms purchases. Larry Keane of NSSF also points out below that the gun controllers forgot about the legality of their little scheme. In other words, it is illegal. Moreover, NSSF will sue if they try to go ahead and implement their little gun control scheme.
For Anti-Gun Groups It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again
April 29, 2011 By Larry Keane
The “Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence” (Ed Fund) released a “report” entitled “Buying Power” that claims to detail “an exciting new strategy to reform the gun industry.” Unfortunately for members of the gun-ban lobby, this strategy is neither new nor legal.
Here’s what the Ed Fund says:
“A city purchasing firearms for its law enforcement department can use its buyer power to create incentives for gun manufacturers to employ “countermarketing” strategies to ensure that their retailers are using all available procedures to prevent illegal firearms trafficking. Such strategies might include videotaping firearms sales, preventing the use of cell phones inside gun stores, and requiring criminal background checks for all employees who handle firearms. Gun manufacturers would be obliged to listen and change their policies to compete for cities’ business.”
Here’s what the Ed Fund should know:
In March of 2000, then-Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Andrew Cuomo and then-New York Attorney General Spitzer conspired with various mayors and local government officials to use their market purchasing power to boycott firearms manufacturers unless the manufacturers first agreed to sign an arbitrary and politically motivated list of firearms regulations entitled the “Code of Conduct.” Spitzer said, “We want every appropriate government entity to agree to purchase firearms only from companies that have signed a comprehensive code of conduct.” Spitzer said the objective of the coalition was to “…boycott gun manufacturers who fail to adhere to a new safety code.” Although Spitzer’s recruitment efforts weren’t always successful, officials of numerous cities and local governments agreed to join the boycott.
In response to this blatantly illegal restraint of trade, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), along with several members of the firearms industry sued Andrew Cuomo, Eliot Spitzer and the local government officials who agreed to the boycott. The filing of the lawsuit stopped this illegal boycott dead in its tracks, as all defendants – Cuomo, Spitzer, and the mayors – quickly disavowed the boycott (NSSF, et al v. Cuomo, et al). And much like 11 years ago, NSSF stands ready to once again take legal action against any attempt to implement an illegal boycott. No doubt such an attempt to manipulate the free market will be frowned upon by law enforcement when they learn that gun control groups now want to dictate which firearms they carry to protect themselves and our communities and base those selections on political considerations, as opposed to which firearms are most reliable and have the features desired by law enforcement.
The entire Educational Fund “report” is nothing but a rehash of the decade old factually baseless allegations made by the Brady Center and greedy trial lawyers in their failed attempts to destroy and bankrupt the firearms industry through junk lawsuits which began in the mid to late 1990s. Fortunately, these junk lawsuits failed, but not before members of the industry were forced to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to successfully defend the cases. In fact, the Educational Fund’s “report” is based largely on an article published by Professor Gregory T. Gundlach (ironically pronounced “gunlock”), who was a paid expert witness for the NAACP in its failed lawsuit against the firearms industry that went to trial before Brooklyn, NY federal court judge Jack B. Weinstein in 2003. The “advisory jury” judge Weinstein empanelled to hear the case rejected Professor Gunlach’s “expert” opinions and rendered a verdict in favor of the industry members. The “report” also relies upon an article by law school Professor David Kairys, the father of the roundly discredited “public nuisance” theory of liability underlying the failed municipal lawsuits. All that is old is new again it seems.
H/T Thirdpower
Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Ruger SR1911 and the Gunsite Scout Rifle were the big attractions at their booth. On Saturday, Ruger held a couple of presentations on the thinking that went into this version of the Scout Rifle. The presentations featured Michael Bane and trainer Dave Spaulding.
For those unfamiliar with it, the concept of the Scout Rifle was developed by the late Col. Jeff Cooper. It was meant to be a general purpose rifle that could be used for hunting as well as self-defense. It is usually built on a bolt-action carbine and features a forward mounted scope to allow quick acquisition of a target with both eyes open. Col. Cooper collaborated with the Austrian company Steyr Mannlicher to develop the first commercial Scout Rifle which was an interesting rifle but quite expensive.
The first major difference from prior Scout Rifles is the magazine. Michael and Dave said the M-14 magazine was considered at first. However, this was discarded because of the many variations in the “mil-spec” M-14 magazines on the market. Instead they went with the Accuracy International magazine. This magazine though expensive is virtually bullet-proof and can take a lot of abuse. It will be offered in 5 and 10-round versions as some states limit the size of a magazine in hunting rifles.
Another feature of this version of the Scout rifle is the adjustable recoil pad on the buttstock. It will allow you to shorten the length of pull to accommodate heavier clothing or leave it as is for lighter clothing.
One of the questions from the crowd concerned scopes for this rifle. While set up for the an intermediate relief scope, the rifle also can be used with the more traditional scopes as the receiver has cuts for the Ruger scope rings in addition to the Picatinny rail. There was some discussion about being careful not to use too high a magnification as well. Currently, Leupold makes two Scout scopes – a fixed 2.5x scope and their brand new 1.5-4 variable scope. Burris is the other Scout scope maker with a fixed 2.7x scope.
I asked about the absence of a third swivel stud for use with a Ching Sling. After Michael accused me of being a plant for Andy Langlois, maker of the best leather Ching Slings, Dave responded by saying that some of those who tested the rifle had problems with it getting in the way as they wanted to hold the rifle by the magazine. Galco does make their Safari Ching Sling which doesn’t require the third stud. However, both agreed that if you held the rifle with your hand forward on the stock the regular Ching Sling is good. Michael noted that he had added the third stud to his rifle for Andy Langlois’s Ching Sling. I do have one of Andy’s Ching Slings and it is really nice leatherwork.
I think sales of this rifle will be good. On Friday, I spoke with Bryan Tucker of Davidsons and the Gallery of Guns who said a limited number were in the distributor pipeline under an allocation system. At that time they had 18 in inventory. When I checked on Saturday morning, all of these had been sold.
The street price of the Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle seems to be in the $750 range plus or minus a few dollars. I have always like the Scout rifle concept and have a Ruger Frontier that I was slowly converting into a Scout rifle. I’m not sure if I’ll continue that conversion but I will definitely be ordering one of the new Gunsite Scout Rifles.
Osama bin Laden Is Dead Sale
My favorite surplus store, Old Grouch’s Military Surplus, is having a sale to celebrate U.S. forces taking out bin Laden. Here is what they posted on Facebook.
Some have said we shouldn’t cheer Osamas death. Screw that, our Bin Laden is Dead Sale starts now-15% off “infidel” is the coupon code.
No limits, no restrictions, 15% off every purchase on the website, or in the store if you mention the sale when you checkout!
Please share with your friends and spread the word, lets celebrate in proper decadent western capitalist pig style!
The sale goes on for one week. You can access their store website here.
Hitler On bin Laden’s Death
A Hitler parody on the death of Osama bin Laden on YouTube. It doesn’t take long for people to get these up and posted, does it?
Congratulations to the SEAL Team that did take out bin Laden who now sleeps with the fishes.