Uncategorized

Lott’s Mexico

October 25, 2019 by 1 Comment

Dr. John Lott had a new piece in the Wall Street Journal this week about Mexico’s extremely high murder rate despite its strict gun control laws.  

Photo Credit: The Wall Street Journal

The figures Lott quotes are staggering:  with almost six times as many murders per 100,000 people as in the U.S., Mexico has a serious problem.

By all accounts the problem may be of their own making.  As highlighted in the Wall Street Journal opinion piece, Mexico’s strict gun control measures began in 1972 ostensibly to control violence.  Presently only 1% of Mexicans possess a license to own a firearm, obtaining a permit to legally carry a pistol is unheard of and private sales are for all practical purposes forbidden yet since 1972 the murder rate has doubled! 

While addressing how many of Mexico’s crime guns come from the U.S., Dr. Lott explains why the 70% figure cited by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is grossly exaggerated. He points out that number is a select subset of a select subset and the actual number may be closer to 17%.

Furthermore, it appears evident the bulk of Mexico’s crime guns, often fully-automatic, are cartel supplied and originate in Central and South America or other international locations.  Once again, it is evidenced that when strict gun control laws leave the general population unarmed, vulnerable, and powerless, criminals will feel emboldened.  Layer onto this a history of military and police corruption along with a powerful cartel presence and you have the perfect recipe for out of control criminal violence.  

Uncategorized

Bill Ruger Designed A Machine Gun?

October 24, 2019 by

Years before he co-founded Sturm, Ruger & Co., Bill Ruger worked for Auto-Ordnance. When the Army’s Ordnance Department was seeking a replacement for the M1919A4 light machine gun, he designed and submitted a prototype. Unfortunately for Ruger, it failed the endurance test as did the other submissions. Ultimately, the Army went with an updated version of the Browning design.

Ian McCollum goes on to add this about the prototype which now is part of the Cody Firearms Museum’s collection.

As it turns out – and as Ruger would later write – it could be quite hard to create a ground-up new design to beat John Browning’s work in just 4 or 5 months (shocking!). When Ruger’s gun was tested, it was found to have a few good aspects, but was generally unreliable and failed to complete the scheduled 10,000-round endurance test. All of the other guns in that trial failed for various reasons, though, and a second trial was scheduled, giving the manufacturers time to improve their designs. Ruger and Auto-Ordnance were unable to substantially correct the problems with the gun, however, and it did as badly in the second trial as it had in the first. Ultimately, a separate procurement process by the Infantry Department would result in the M1919A6 Browning, which was adopted for the role of light machine gun.


This experience would serve Ruger well, as he would go on to do quite a lot more work with Auto-Ordnance before forming his own tremendously successful company.

Uncategorized

Kudos To The NRA On Adaptive Shooter Database

October 23, 2019 by

If you have read this blog over the years, you know I am both a Endowment Life Member of the NRA and a critic of some of the stupid things they have done. Here is one thing that they are doing that is commendable and needs more publicity.

The NRA has created a database of the best products, services, and training meant for disabled shooters. It is part of the NRA’s Adaptive Shooter Program.

From the NRA:

“People of all ability levels are heading into the outdoors to take part in the shooting sports at impressive levels,” said Dr. Joe Logar, national manager of NRA’s Adaptive Shooting Programs. “This database provides a one-stop resource to ensure they can make the most out of those experiences.”


The Adaptive Product Providers database is available on the NRA Adaptive Shooting Programs website under the Resources tab. There users will find organizations with products and services that make the outdoors and the shooting sports more accessible to people with disabilities. Featured outfits range from companies selling devices that make loading pistol magazines easier to all-terrain wheelchairs to take hunters anywhere wild game may go.


“Helping people find their way back to the outdoors is incredibly rewarding,” Dr. Logar said. “Hopefully this database will make that journey a little bit easier.”

Uncategorized

Hodgdon Recalls ALL IMR 4007 SSC Powder

October 22, 2019 by 3 Comments

If you are a reloader and you have some IMR 4007 SSC smokeless powder, you need to pay attention to this announcement from Hodgdon.

IMR Legendary Powders is officially announcing a product safety warning and recall notice for IMR 4007SSC smokeless powder. All lots of powder are included in the recall. IMR has received reports that this particular powder, sold in 1 pound and 8 pound containers, could become unstable due to possible rapid deterioration. Use of this product may result in combustion, fire damage and/or possible serious injury.

What to do:

1. If you are in possession of IMR 4007SSC, STOP USING THE PRODUCT IMMEDIATELY! Fill the powder container with water, which will render the product inert and safe for disposal.

2. Mail, email or fax a copy of the powder label with the lot number to the contact information below, and include your name, address, phone and email.

3. You may select a replacement IMR smokeless powder product of your choice, which will be shipped to you at no charge.

4. If you have loaded the powder subject to this recall into ammunition, we recommend that you pull the bullets, remove the powder and wet the powder with water for safe disposal.

IMR deeply regrets any inconvenience this may cause, but we believe in safety first.

Contact information: Hodgdon Powder Company, Inc., 6430 Vista Drive, Shawnee, KS 66218, email help@imrpowder.com, imprpowder.com, call 1-800-622-4366 or 913-362-9455 and fax 913-362-1307.

Hodgdon Powder Company has discontinued this powder for safety reasons and is now is doing right by the customer. They are replacing your powder and shipping it to you at no charge. They are eating the HazMat fee as well.

Uncategorized

USCCA Fined By Washington State

October 22, 2019 by 2 Comments

The United States Concealed Carry Association was fined $100,000 by the Washington State Department of Insurance. The violation was “selling unauthorized insurance that illegally covers defense costs for criminal shootings. ” USCCA also agreed to pay “$5,457 in unpaid premium taxes, penalties and interest. “

In a press release dated October 21st, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler (D-WA) said:

“We made two things very clear to USCCA,” Kreidler said. “Insurers must be authorized to sell in our state, and policies can’t cover illegal activity. These law violations are fixable, if the company wishes to do business in Washington state.”

USCCA and other such plans only cover you for viable self-defense incidents and not “illegal activity”. Even though USCCA made this perfectly clear, the Department of Insurance contended that there was no mechanism to reclaim payments made to members who were later convicted of a crime.

Anti-gunners love to talk about “loopholes”. The only loophole I see here is one that allows bureaucrats to make regulations out of whole cloth.

On the authorization issue, Washington is probably correct. Selling insurance in a state does require a license from each individual state and the District of Columbia.

Kreidler’s press release notes that USCCA could possibly still do business in the state.

USCCA could sell insurance legally in Washington by changing its policies to not insure criminal activity, and either becoming a registered insurer or by placing insurance business through surplus lines brokers.

Earlier in the year, Kreidler and the Department of Insurance went after the NRA’s Carry Guard program.

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler today banned the sale of illegal insurance policies branded by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and will fine two companies involved in underwriting and selling them in Washington state. 


Kreidler ordered Illinois Union Insurance Co. to stop underwriting the policies, branded under the NRA as self-defense policies. They are illegal in Washington state because they insure unlawful activity. 


Kreidler also seeks to fine the company $102,000 for selling 811 of the illegal policies to Washington state consumers. 


Kreidler also seeks to fine Lockton Affinity L.L.C. $75,000. Lockton Affinity is the licensed insurance producer that sold the illegal policies on behalf of the NRA.  


“When it comes to insurance products associated with the NRA, it’s buyer beware,” Kreidler said. “The attempt to insure a criminal act is a rip-off for consumers. The policies sold are deceptive and dishonest. I would be remiss as the state’s insurance regulator if I didn’t shut them down.”

Kreidler, 76, is in his fifth term as insurance commissioner. He is an optometrist by training. He served 16 years in the Washington House and Senate as well as one term in Congress. He lost re-election in 1994 after voting for the Clinton “assault weapons ban”.

Uncategorized

Life After Dick’s

October 20, 2019 by 2 Comments

There is life after Dick’s. At least there is for some former Field & Stream stores. The two in North Carolina that were purchased by Sportsman’s Warehouse have now opened for business.

We are in the Piedmont Triad this weekend visiting the granddaughters and took some time to check out the Greensboro store. It is still laid out – for now – like the old Field & Stream. Moreover, from my conversation with a store employee, much of the staff came over from Field & Stream. That said, they appeared to be happy with the move.

From an email, I understand the Asheville store has opened as well. The grand opening at both stores will be October 25th and 26th. I’m sure there will be some specials but the store staff hasn’t been told what they will be yet.

The other thing I noticed was this sign.

The store was still stocked with a good deal of Field & Stream branded products but as you can see they are clearing it out.

I didn’t take much time to check out prices as this was a run in, run out type of visit. I did notice that the gun racks had some large open spots. There was a sign saying to expect more firearm inventory soon. I’m guessing that will include those evil AR-15s now that Ed Stack is gone.

I am happy with the change and hope Sportsman’s Warehouse does well in North Carolina.

Uncategorized

#ReleaseTheList

October 16, 2019 by 1 Comment

The ultra-progressive group Demand Justice released a list of 32 potential nominees for the Supreme Court. They want Democrat presidential candidates to adopt this list or to release one of their own. This is what then-candidate Donald J. Trump did in 2016 to good effect.

I agree. Release the list! If the list(s) adopted by any of the Democrat candidates is anything like the Demand Justice list, it will be full of radicals, with little judicial experience, chosen to appease constituent groups.

Professor Josh Blackman provides a convenient grouping on The Volokh Conspiracy.

Academics: Michelle Alexander (Union Theological Seminary),  James Forman, Jr. (Yale), Pamela Karlan (Stanford), M. Elizabeth Magill (Virginia), Melissa Murray (NYU), Bryan Stevenson (NYU), Zephyr Teachout (Fordham), Timothy Wu (Columbia),


Progressive Litigators: Brigitte Amiri (ACLU), Nicole Berner (GC SEIU), Deepak Gupta (Gupta Wessler), Dale Ho (ACLU), Sherrilyn Ifill (NAACP LDF), Shannon Minter (National Center for Lesbian Rights), Nina Perales (MALDEF), Thomas A. Saenz (MALDEF), Cecillia Wang (ACLU),


Current/Former Government Officers: Xavier Becerra (California AG), Sharon Block (one of the three NLRB appointments at issue in Noel Canning), Vanita Gupta (Former Obama DOJ), Lawrence Krasner (Philadelphia DA), Catharine Lhamon (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights), Katie Porter (House of Representatives), Jenny Yang (Former EEOC Chair)


Federal Judges: Richard F. Boulware (D. Nev.), Jane Kelly (8th Circuit), Cornelia Pillard (D.C. Circuit), Carlton Reeves (S.D. Miss.)


State Judges: Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar (California Supreme Court), Anita Earls (North Carolina Supreme Court), Leondra Kruger (California Supreme Court), Goodwin Liu (California Supreme Court)

Let’s look at the sitting judges first. All of the Federal judges were appointed by President Barack Obama. They have between five and nine years of experience and only one of them is on a Circuit Court of Appeals.

Pages: 1 2

Uncategorized

Game Theory

October 15, 2019 by 2 Comments

Certain truths can be stated without reservation.  FACT ONE: American youth love video games.  And, FACT TWO: Guns have been a large part of our history and culture for hundreds of years.  Here’s another: Without the constant renewal and growth of new participants, the gun culture and shooting sports will wither and die, and the Second Amendment will be closely behind it.  The Second Amendment would become a quaint reminder of a distant past, then, gradually, incrementally, be reduced to an abstract symbolic concept.  

If one were to set out to address the challenge of finding new participants for the shooting sports, where would you look and who would you look for?  Well, it would be nice to target young people, heaven knows the more “mature” crowd is already well represented!  It would also make sense to target people who already have demonstrated some interest in and knowledge of guns.  

This ideal demographic of future competitive shooters, firearms enthusiasts, and Second Amendment activists exists within the world of video gaming.  We know from anecdotal evidence that the cross-pollination opportunity between the video gaming culture and the “real” gun culture is significant.  In fact, even the briefest look at the gaming industry reveals the staggering scale of the numbers involved.  Gaming is huge!  According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 97% of all teenagers play video games; and 81% of 18-to-29 year olds are gaming, and a large percentage of those games are based on shooting and gun themes.  For example, the ‘Red Dead Redemption Part 2 Cowboy’ action game grossed over $725 million its opening weekend and has sold over 25 million copies.

In fact, my own introduction into the world of firearms was the indirect result of video games.  My sons’ interest in guns was piqued after playing video games, which lead to an interest in paintball and airsoft guns.  Realizing quickly if I had declared real guns forbidden it would have only strengthened the attraction, I embarked on a mission to learn all I could about safe gun use in order to educate my sons and keep them safe.  I reached out to a knowledgeable gun-owning friend, who gave us a brief introduction to guns and recommended a safety training class.   To my great joy,  guns and the shooting sports have become a central part of our lives ever since, providing countless hours of enjoyment and family bonding.

Of course, only a small percentage of gamers will make the leap from shooting guns in video games to shooting guns in real life.

But a small percentage of a big number is still a big number.  There are barriers to entry that must be overcome. Not everyone has a gun-owning friend (that they know of) to whom they can reach out.  With this in mind, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), promotes the excellent “First Shots Program” offered at many local shooting ranges. The program is geared towards safely introducing first-time shooters to the fun of shooting.

Andrew Gottlieb, Director of Outreach for the Second Amendment Foundation, has begun some excellent work on the issue of gaming and how it relates to the Second Amendment.  A key point he made in his presentation at the 34th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference in Phoenix related to the inevitable blame-game and finger-pointing that occurs whenever a mass murder event occurs and it’s subsequently revealed the “murderer was a video game player”.   Mr. Gottlieb said plainly “The gun people need to stop pointing to the video games as the cause,  because that just makes the gamers point back to the gun as the cause when both parties should be pointing to the acts of the individual perpetrator!”  I must admit, I have been tempted myself to point to games as a causal factor; however, considering how pervasive gaming actually is you might as well point to shoes as the cause of mass murder because as far as I know most murderers aren’t barefoot!  Alas, there are not simple answers to complex problems.  

As firearms enthusiasts, gun owners and Second Amendment advocates, let’s actively look for ways to reach out to the people who are already interested in what we do.  Get out there and find a gamer to take shooting, it’ll be a blast!

Uncategorized

Update On NYSRPA V. City Of New York

October 15, 2019 by

The Supreme Court released new orders relating to oral arguments in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. City of New York.

The motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument is granted. The motion of Neal Goldfarb for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument is denied.

The Supreme Court usually approves the request of the Solicitor General to participate in oral arguments as amicus curiae and will grant his or her request for divided argument.

As to Mr. Goldfarb, he is the only one of those submitting amicus briefs who requested to participate in the oral argument. From what I can tell, he is something of a gadfly who wants to apply linguistics to the legal interpretation. His brief insists that the Court was wrong in its interpretation of language in DC v. Heller.

Uncategorized

Crossing Guard Reinstated To Job; Guns Still Seized

October 14, 2019 by 5 Comments

Stephen Nichols has been restored to his job as a crossing guard in Tisbury, Massachusetts. He was removed from his job over an overheard remark that a nosy waitress construed as a threat to the local school. You can read more about the circumstances in this post.

Tisbury PD Chief Mark Saloio maintains Mr. Nichols was never fired. Rather his job was just under “review” according to his statement to the MV Times.

“The town, collectively, has expressed an outpouring of concern about Mr. Nichols, and his employment as a school crossing guard. We as well share those concerns. We wish to make you aware that today, Mr. Nichols was informed that he may return to his crossing guard duties tomorrow morning,” Saloio wrote in an email to The Times. “This return to work was always pending upon a final review that was in process. Throughout this period, Mr. Nichols has retained his position as a crossing guard for the town. However, these reviews are thorough and complete, and neither immediate nor instantaneous.”

Chief Saloio went on to defend the school resource officer whose forays to a buy coffee while on the job were criticized by Mr. Nichols.

While Mr. Nichols has his job back as a school crossing guard, his firearms and license to carry have not been restored to him.

Dan Larkosh, of the Edgartown firm Larkosh and Jackson, represents Nichols, and he was pleased Nichols was reinstated. Nevertheless he intends to file an appeal of the decision by Tisbury Police Chief Mark Saloio to seize guns owned by Nichols, as well as his license to carry.


Saloio declined to comment when approached at the Tisbury Police Station. He later told The Times, “There’s nothing that I can legally discuss about the matter. Period.” The police department has also refused to release the police report from the investigation citing the “personnel” exemption of the public records law.

Supporters of Mr. Nichols started circulating a petition to get him both reinstated and to get his firearms and carry license restored to him. According to the MV Times, it has garnered over 800 signatures as of this morning.

Absent the publicity brought to this case by it going viral, I doubt Mr. Nichols would have his job restored to him. Now let’s hope it helps to restore his means of self-defense.