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Interesting In A Rifle Geek Sort Of Way

April 12, 2011 by

I never quite understood how mil-dot scopes worked. I assumed – wrongly – that it had something to do with the military. Actually, the mil is short for milliradians and has more to do with geometry as with the military.

Ryan Cleckner of the NSSF explains how to use a mil-dot scope to estimate distance as well as how to do the calculations. Ryan was a sniper with the 1st Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment. I think when it comes to sniping he might know a thing or two.

The video is about 20 minutes long but I found myself watching the whole thing.

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HR 1445: Removing EPA’s Authority To Regulate Lead In Ammo (Updated)

April 11, 2011 by 2 Comments

Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) introduced HR 1445 on Friday. This bill would, according to its title, “prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating, based on material composition, any type of firearm ammunition or fishing tackle.”

While the text of the bill is not yet available, I am assuming it is directly aimed at the lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity, Project Gutpile, and others to ban lead in ammunition and fishing tackle. These groups have a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking to force the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate (ban) lead as a toxic substance.

The Shooting Wire had a feature story today on a report just released by the American Bird Conservancy that seeks to link lead and mortality in California condors.

This survey, conducted by scientists at the University of California/Santa Cruz, the University of Wyoming, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service is “especially important and unique” according to Dr. Michael Fry, an avian toxicologist and Director of Conservation Advocacy for the ABC, not just because it cites lead as a major factor, but it “cites lead ammunition specifically.”

Dr. Fry contends the survey provides the smoking gun, if you will, that dismisses a key argument from the ammunition industry: the lack of specific data to identify a source or sources of lead poisoning. This survey, he says, “connects the dots between condor deaths and lead ammunition.”

HR 1445 is currently co-sponsored by eight representatives from both sides of the aisle.

Rep. Broun’s biography has this to say about his interest in hunting, fishing, and the Second Amendment.

Dr. Broun participates in many diverse organizations and activities ranging from politics and religion to cooking and sports, including: the National Rifle Association, Gideons International, Rotary International, Trout Unlimited, Gun Owners of America and University of Georgia President’s Club. He was the founding President of the Georgia Republican Assembly, and President of the Georgia Sport Shooting Association (the NRA state affiliate). Dr. Broun is an avid outdoorsman, having a passion for conservation, hunting, fishing, and Second Amendment rights.

It also notes that he was a volunteer lobbyist for Safari Club International.

As soon as the text of this bill becomes available, I will post it. I don’t know if Rep. Broun knew of the “study” before introducing his bill but it was certainly timely.

UPDATE: Here is the text of HR 1445:

H.R.1445 — To prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating, based on material composition, any type of firearm ammunition or fishing tackle. (Introduced in House – IH)

HR 1445 IH

112th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 1445
To prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating, based on material composition, any type of firearm ammunition or fishing tackle.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 8, 2011
Mr. BROUN of Georgia (for himself, Mr. BOREN, Mr. ROSS of Arkansas, Mr. ALTMIRE, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. REHBERG, Ms. JENKINS, and Mr. MILLER of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL
To prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating, based on material composition, any type of firearm ammunition or fishing tackle.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FIREARM AMMUNITION AND FISHING TACKLE.

The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency may not prohibit, limit, or control, based on material composition, any type of firearm ammunition or fishing tackle.

I am sure it is no coincidence that this bill was filed just after the National Shooting Sports Foundation had its annual Congressional Fly-In on April 6-7. Industry leaders converged on D.C. to remind lawmakers about the role the firearms industry plays in the economy as well as the importance of the excise taxes in paying for wildlife conservation. If this bill is any indication, it looks like it was successful.

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Rats Leaving The Sinking Ship

April 11, 2011 by 5 Comments

On Friday, Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office released a letter sent to ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson. In the letter was a somewhat shocking revelation – that Assistant Special Agent in Charge George Gillett was now claiming whistleblower status and had been talking to Grassley’s and Issa’s staff.

Now, a second agency employee has chosen to disclose that he has had protected contacts with Congress. George Gillett, through and in conjunction with his legal counsel, is cooperating with this investigation. Mr. Gillett is the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Phoenix field division, and Committee staff’s direct contacts with him are an essential component of our inquiry. He has articipated in two preliminary meetings jointly with Senate Judiciary Committee staff and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee staff. As you know, retaliation for such communications is prohibited by law.

Gillett, as ASAC of the Phoenix Field Division, has been deeply involved in Operation Fast and Furious from the start. If anyone had access to all the secrets, it would be Gillett who reportedly had the day-to-day oversigtht of Operation Fast and Furious in Arizona.

To emphasize the importance of Gillett becoming a whistleblower, let me put it in terms of the Watergate scandal. Gillett coming forward is the equivalent of a H. R. Haldeman, a John Ehrlichman, or a John Mitchell going to Sen. Sam Ervin’s Senate Watergate Committee and rolling over on President Richard Nixon. All three of those men went to prison rather than divulge what they knew.

Vince Cefalu, a veteran ATF Agent who has suffered at the hands of ATF management for criticizing them, had this to say in the L.A. Times about Gillett and his role.

..said Gillett would be able to provide crucial information on who approved the operation. He will also be able to say to what degree ATF supervisors deliberately allowed guns bought by known “straw purchasers,” acting on behalf of Mexican drug cartels, to be “walked” into Mexico under the eyes of ATF agents in an attempt to arrest higher-level suspects, Cefalu said.

Gillett “has the key to all the skeletons in the closet. You can rest assured he’s going to be pointing the finger at everybody but himself,” Cefalu said. “I should also add that I’m disgusted by the fact that only to protect himself is he coming forward. We came forward when we didn’t have to, and we’ve taken a beating for it. He’s coming forward with a lawyer, and he’s going to glide through it with some kind of immunity.”

The L. A. Times also reported Gillett’s attorney Peter Noone as saying “that Gillett had received death threats before making the decision to cooperate.” The agents seeking reform at CleanUpATF are scoffing at that and have this to say about Gillett and his being a “whistleblower”.

George Gillett is no Whistleblower.

Whistleblowers are people who know of corruption or criminal acts and for moral and ethical reasons risk their careers and reputations to report that to higher authorities. George Gillett has used his power to destroy Whistleblowers.

John Dodson and Darrin Gil are Whistleblowers. Gillett is what is known in the world of criminal investigations as a snitch. He is a rat who only cooperated and came forward with information after his own ass was on the line. Don’t be mistaken, it was for no other reason.

Do not for a single second use the names of Dodson and Gil in the same sentence with Gillett. Gillett does not deserve the respect or honor of trying to do the right thing.

George Gillett is a corrupt, lying, evil hearted government employee who hides behind a badge and a gun and an GS-15 title. If one person out there whether you be in favor of CleanUpATF or against it can dispute that claim then post up your response and I ask the Webmaster to allow it to stand.

Gillett represents everything bad about ATF management and carries himself with the smug arrogence of knowing that he will always land on his feet because he is protected by his bosses. If nothing else, he is smart and knows exactly how to play the system and exactly how long he can ride the train before he has to jump off.

Gillett has been allowed to destroy careers and reputations while Bill Newell and ATF headquarters protects him. He has become known as the most retaliatory supervisor in ATF history and trust me, that takes a voluminous amount of retaliation to carry that title.

As I said in the title of the post, rats leaving a sinking ship.

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Ruger 1911?

April 11, 2011 by 1 Comment

There have been rumors of a Ruger 1911 floating around the gun forums since at least 2007 according to a quick Google search. Nothing has come of those rumors. That is, until now.

Steve at The Firearm Blog has posted a cover photo from the June 2011 Shooting Times magazine. It features a Ruger 1911 on it. According to his post, the Ruger 1911 is shown in stainless and is similar in appearance to the Remington 1911R1 Enhanced.

My guess is that Ruger had planned to announce the new pistol at the NRA Annual Meeting little more than two weeks from now in Pittsburgh.

I’ll have to check the newsstands for a copy of Shooting Times today. Most magazines these days are on the shelf 1-2 months ahead of their cover date.

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Quote Of The Day

April 10, 2011 by

From a discussion on CalGuns about a suit brought in California, Enos et al v. Holder et al, which challenges the lifetime ban on firearms possession by those convicted of domestic violence even if they have had their rights restored. The suit is funded by the Madison Society Foundation.

It really sucks that gun owners contribute to defend their right but pay taxes to support the mokes that want to take them away.

Scarville

It does suck.

It also points out the importance of making contributions to pro-Second Amendment groups such as the Second Amendment Foundation, the Mountain States Legal Foundation, and the CalGuns Foundation (along with the Madison Society above) who undertake or support litigation to preserve our Second Amendment rights. They are going up against opponents who have a virtually limitless litigation fund thanks to our tax dollars.

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When It Rains, It Pours

April 10, 2011 by

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives is a public relations pro’s nightmare. Just when things seem they can’t be any worse given the gunwalking allegations of Operation Fast and Furious, comes news of an ATF Special Agent being arrested in Virgina on Federal felony charges of theft, fraud, and firearms violations.

US Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy of the Western District of Virginia announced the arrest of BATFE Special Agent Clifford Dean Posey on Wednesday.

In an indictment returned under seal on Tuesday, the grand jury has charged Clifford Dean Posey, 43, of Chesapeake, Va. with six counts of wire fraud, six counts of embezzlement, two counts of possessing stolen firearms, four counts of making false statements and two counts of money laundering. The indictment was unsealed earlier today following Posey’s arrest and initial court appearance.

According to the indictment, as part of his duties Posey came into possession of various items of property that were under his control, including but not limited to firearms, cigarettes, tobacco products and United States currency.

Beginning no later than 2007, Posey began falsifying documents relating to firearms under his custody and control in order to embezzle and convert them to his own use. On one occasion included in the indictment, Posey advertised for sale firearms he had come into custody of by virtue of his employment.

The indictment charges that during 2010 the defendant assisted in the investigation of illegal cigarette trafficking. Posey obtained the access code to a storage unit containing cigarettes intended for use in undercover tobacco investigations. The defendant later contacted two potential targets of the investigation and offered to undercut the negotiated ATF price, an action the defendant was not authorized to take and one he failed to disclose to ATF, as pursuant to protocol.

Beginning in July 2010 Posey was the lead case agent in an undercover tobacco investigation and, in that capacity, was entrusted with the custody and control of cigarettes and other tobacco products. The indictment alleges that on four separate occasions from September 4 through November 19, 2010, Posey sold cigarettes in his control by virtue of his employment, retained the proceeds and failed to report the transactions to the ATF or any other law enforcement officers working on the investigation.

The indictment also alleges that Posey falsely submitted receipt and release reports to the ATF regarding firearms. The defendant claimed in the reports that several stolen firearms were either released to the rightful owner or destroyed, when in fact the defendant had taken possession of those firearms.

Because Posey was assigned to the Norfolk-Hampton Roads area of Virginia, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia recused his office from this case.

Eastern Virgina comes under the jurisdiction of the ATF Washington Field Division. Until December 2010, the Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division was Edgar Domenench. He was appointed Sheriff of New York City by Mayor Bloomberg on December 7th. Domenench was Deputy Director of ATF but was demoted in 2008 to the position of SAC for the Washington Field Division for what he claims was his whistle blowing about cost overruns in the construction of the new ATF Headquarters. According to the scuttlebutt on CUATF, Domenench was a weak and abusive leader. If that is true, it probably isn’t surprising that an agent under his control was a crook.

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Bonidy v. USPS – Not Over Yet

April 10, 2011 by 2 Comments

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch granted the defense’s motion to dismiss the suit brought by Debbie and Tab Bonidy against the U.S. Postal Service back on March 22nd. The Bonidys’ were suing the Postal Service over its ban on firearms on Postal Service property. When Judge Matsch issued his ruling, he gave the plaintiffs leave to file an amended complaint by April 11th.

Attorney Jim Manley of the Mountain States Legal Foundation filed an amended complaint on behalf of the Bonidys and the National Association for Gun Rights on Friday. The amended complaint narrows the focus of the challenge to the Postal Service’s ban on firearms to possession in the parking lot.

21. There is a public parking lot adjacent to the Avon Post Office; the parking lot is located on real property under the charge and control of the USPS.

22. West Beaver Creek Boulevard is designated an emergency snow route; thus,
parking on West Beaver Creek Boulevard is prohibited whenever snow accumulation exceeds two inches. Because of this restriction, public parking on West Beaver Creek Boulevard is often disallowed and is therefore sporadic and unpredictable throughout the winter.

23. The public USPS parking lot adjacent to the Avon Post Office is the only public
parking consistently available to patrons of the Avon Post Office.

The Second Amended Complaint notes that USPS security personal do not either electronically screen people entering the Avon Post Office for weapons nor do they limit access to those who have been screened and determined to be unarmed. This statement of fact is a new addition to the case.

The earlier complaints only have one claim for relief based upon USPS regulations that prevent the Bonidys from carrying firearms, either openly or concealed, on USPS property in violation of their Second Amendment rights.

The Second Amendment Complaint states two claims for relief. First, they challenge the USPS regulations which ban firearms on any real property “under the charge and control of the USPS, including firearms stored in private vehicles parked in the public parking lot adjacent to the Avon Post Office.”

The second claim for relief challenges the USPS regulations which ban the carrying of a functional firearm (openly carried or concealed) within the Avon Post Office. Both claims for relief state that these bans violate the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

The Court is being asked to declare that USPS regulations, specifically 39 C.F.R. § 232.1(l), violates the plaintiffs’ Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for self-defense. It is also being asked to permanently enjoin the Postal Service from enforcing 39 C.F.R. § 232.1(l) which bans possession of firearms on any real property under its control.

By separating the claim into two parts – inside the Post Office and outside in the parking lot – the plaintiffs are forcing the Department of Justice to try and make the case that an open-access public parking lot is as much a “sensitive area” as the inside of the Post Office. Common sense, to use a term in vogue with gun controllers, would clearly indicate that a parking lot is not a “sensitive area”.

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War Is No Excuse For Forgetting One’s Manners

April 8, 2011 by 2 Comments

The Iowahawk has just posted some “war etiquette tips from Senator Lindsey Graham of the Charleston Grahams”. Senator Graham, as some may remember, is aghast at the uproar in Afghanistan that the Rev. Terry Jones caused by burning a Koran and is seeking ways to make it illegal.

My only suggestion is not to be eating or drinking while reading as you might choke.

Actually, Senator Graham is from the Central Grahams as in Central, South Carolina and was a member of Pi Kappa Phi. But who cares when the Iowahawk is at work eviscerating pompous members of the Senate.

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HB 650 – Amends North Carolina Gun Laws

April 8, 2011 by 2 Comments

Grass Roots NC just sent out their unqualified endorsement of HB 650.

HB 650
A new bill has been introduced in the NC House which will improve a number of minor points in NC firearms law. HB 650, “Amend Various Gun Laws,” is being sponsored by Representatives Mark Hilton, Stephen A. LaRoque, George G. Cleveland, Kelly E. Hastings and Glen Bradley.

GRNC stands in full support of HB 650.

Among the important points about HB 650 are:
* It will reduce penalties for carry by permit-holders and certain others on educational property
* Keeps firearms from being confiscated from gun owners who may not have had a day in court before being placed under restraining orders
* Allows firearms to be kept in locked vehicles at parades (where they are currently prohibited altogether)
* Permits firearms to be carried during states of emergency
* Allows firearms in municipal parks
* Removes provisions under which sheriffs have asked for private medical information from concealed handgun applicants
* Increases the number of people who qualify for concealed handgun permits
* Changes concealed handgun reciprocity to full recognition of out-of-state permits
* Removes provisions under which municipalities can prohibit open carry

HB 650 has 23 different sections to it. Sean at An NC Gun Blog has posts and analysis on the first seven parts. I should have more up later tonight or tomorrow with my impressions. Below are links to Sean’s posts.

Part 1

Part 2

Parts 3 and 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7