Uncategorized

Joining Forces In Illinois

February 1, 2016 by 5 Comments

One of the guiding principles of war is the concentration of forces.

To achieve success in war, it is essential to concentrate superior force, moral or material, to that of the enemy at the decisive time and place. Concentration does not necessarily imply a massing of forces, but rather having them so disposed as to be able to unite to deliver the decisive blow when and where required, or to counter the enemy’s threats. Concentration is a matter more of time than of space.

Having fought determined enemies of gun rights for a long time, the Illinois State Rifle Association has learned a thing or two about both strategy and tactics. Thus when I read the release below from ISRA, I shook my head in approval at the wisdom of it.

ISRA and Illinois Carry are joining forces in lobbying the Illinois General Assembly. Dr. Valinda Rowe and her husband Mike Rowe will be the Springfield coordinators for both ISRA and Illinois Carry. This concentration of forces to lobby for gun rights in Illinois will bring a greater focus to both the opportunities and threats facing Illinois gun owners.

Illinois State Rifle Association and IllinoisCarry.com Join Forces!


When the General Assembly returned to session this week, there were two new faces joining the Illinois State Rifle Association team. Valinda Rowe and husband Mike will serve as Springfield Coordinators and lobbyists for both the ISRA and IllinoisCarry.com. It was almost inevitable that the top two Second Amendment organizations in the state should team up to form an even more effective presence in Springfield. The national award winning ISRA and the national award winning grassroots group, IllinoisCarry.com, are joining forces for an even stronger front in the battle for Second Amendment rights for Illinois citizens. The two organizations represent nearly 40,000 gun owners in the State of Illinois.


ISRA President Don Moran, “We have worked closely with Valinda and Mike over the past decade, our parallel cases, IC / SAF’s Moore v Madigan and NRA / ISRA’s Sheppard v Madigan being the straw that broke the camel’s back in moving CCL forward in Illinois. It’s been a partnership for some time and our codifying it has been long overdue. The ISRA welcomes Valinda and Mike on board and we look forward to continuing to fight together for firearms rights in Illinois for years to come.” ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson, “I am pleased that the ISRA and IllinoisCarry are working together. The gun owners of this state will be well represented by this partnership.”


Valinda, spokesperson for IllinoisCarry and her husband, Mike, are excited about their new role in Springfield, “We believe this partnership will benefit both organizations and help each one to be better, stronger, and more efficient in many ways. We have always enjoyed working alongside our friends in the ISRA and we are excited to see that relationship expand. It is our hope to not only strengthen the ISRA’s presence in Springfield but to also increase the overall presence of all Second Amendment supporters.”

Correction: I incorrectly referred to Valinda Rowe as Dr. Valinda Rowe. I mixed Valinda’s credentials up with those of another stalwart in the fight for concealed carry in Illinois – Dr. Paula Bratich DVM.

Uncategorized

2016 SHOT Show Day Three: Gunblast.com

February 1, 2016 by 3 Comments

Hybrid AKs which incorporate many of the features of the AR-15 seem to be growing in number. On Day Three of the SHOT Show, Jeff Quinn features two of them. The KF-47 comes from Palmetto State Armory and the M10X Elite Hybrid 7.62×39 is available from MM-Industries.

Alexander Arms is coming out with a 180 grain bullet specifically designed for the .300 Blackout. It will be be available in their subsonic cartridges. Many of the heavier bullets up until now have been .300 Mag bullets used in the .300 Blackout cartridge.

I’m glad to see that XS Sights is coming out with suppressor sights for 1911s with a Novak cut. They currently have them for Glocks.

More on other things that Jeff found on Day Three of the SHOT Show are in the video below.

Uncategorized

2016 SHOT Show Day Two: Gunblast.com

February 1, 2016 by 1 Comment

Who would have ever thought Colt would have released a semi-auto M4 carbine for less than $700? I guess that is one of the “benefits” of their bankruptcy. Jeff Quinn interviews Colt about it. The carbine doesn’t have a dust cover nor a forward assist. That said, it is a simple matter to add them to the carbine if you want them.

What I consider the major find from Day Two is the Inland Manufacturing-Ithaca collaboration on a reproduction of the Ithaca 37 Trench Shotgun from WWII. It will retail for $1200. I’m not sure if it comes with the bayonet or not.

These are two of the finds that Jeff found in Day Two of the SHOT Show. More can be seen below.

Uncategorized

2016 SHOT Show Day One: Gunblast.com

February 1, 2016 by 1 Comment

Jeff Quinn does a good job of covering some of the new product introductions at the SHOT Show. He came across a number of things I wish I had seen. Given the size of the the SHOT Show, it is no wonder I missed them this year.

For example, the Italian gun maker Pedersoli is now making a .45 Colt/.410 “pistol” modeled on the old Ithaca Auto and Burglar shotgun. For those who don’t know the history of the Auto and Burglar, it was a short barrel shotgun with a pistol grip in 20 gauge. It was made from 1921 until the passage of the National Firearms Act in 1934.

Another interesting find was the new 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum cartridge. This was the first new cartridge introduction by Weatherby in the last 17 years.

You can see this and more in the video below.

Uncategorized

And This Is Why The Gun Culture Distrusts The Media

January 28, 2016 by 6 Comments

The Guardian is a center-left newspaper out of the UK. It is also vehemently anti-gun.Their latest effort was published on Saturday as I was flying west to go east (but that’s another story for another time).


Rupert Neate and his videographer Mae Ryan did a story called, “Sex, guns and ammo: inside the world’s largest gun industry trade fair”. It was their idea of an expose’ of the SHOT Show. By chance, I happened to speak with Ms. Ryan on the first day of the SHOT Show in the Press Room. I asked if she had gone to Media/Industry Day at the Range and she replied that The Guardian wouldn’t let them attend it. This was in contrast to the young videographer from CNN Money who did attend Media Day, got to shoot some firearms, and had a great time.

Neate tried to tie the growth in sales of firearms to sex, fear of gun control, and mass shootings.

As all marketeers know, sex sells – and guns are no different. Manufacturers have hired a string of professional models to pose with their latest guns. Guns.com, the daily guns blog, collated pictures of its favourite women at the show “who do their very best to highlight and promote new products, equipment and, of course, guns”. Attendees who want to see more are invited to “the sexiest ammo show after party” at the Sapphire strip joint down the strip. Free entry with Shot Show pass.

Guns are a big business, and the industry is raking in record sales and profits as people rush out to arm themselves following a series of mass shootings and out of fear of increased gun control legislation.

He also used misleading stats such as this:

“People are buying guns as part of the American dream of freedom and liberty,” said Brauer, who is based at the Hull College of Business at Augusta University. “And also, the hope and the dream of being able to use guns in self-defence.”

People very rarely get to live out that dream, with FBI data showing that gun owners are 78 times more likely to kill themselves than they are to carry out a “justifiable homicide”, which the agency describes as “the killing of a felon, during the commission of a felony, by a private citizen”.

However, what took the cake is shown in the video below where Neate asks a S&W representative if the M&P 15-22 Sport (in .22 LR) is the same rifle as was used by the Islamofascists to kill 14 people in San Bernardino. This was after he violated Rule No. 1 by pointing what appears to be an air rifle with a scope at an attendee.

The Poynter Institute which has as its mission elevating journalism took Neate, Ryan, and The Guardian to task over its one-sided, misleading, and unfair story.

While the video makes for interesting viewing, in my judgment, the story isn’t fair. It was theatrics masquerading as even-handed reporting. From the very beginning of the video, it was clear the journalists counted on causing a stir on the convention floor…

But when journalists tackle contentious issues, they have an obligation to develop expertise about the story they are reporting. They build trust with sources on all sides of the story. The more you know about a subject, the more aggressively you can pursue it.

Serious subjects require serious reporting. Not self-serving stunts.

I think Poynter hits on the head – serious subjects require serious reporting – not this anti-gun editorial that could just as well have come from Bloomberg’s The Trace.

Uncategorized

Angling For A Veep Spot?

January 26, 2016 by 6 Comments

“Mike Bloomberg is a good man. We disagree on a whole lot of things, but he’s a good person and he’s a patriot and wants the best for the country.”

So saith John Ellis Bush to Jake Tapper.

That would be Jeb! Bush who has spent over $128 million to secure 5th place in a national poll of Republicans.

Bloomberg is, as Michael Bane call him, a nasty little Fascist who would abrogate one, if not more, of our rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights. He already thought he could mandate what residents of New York City could eat and drink. Imagine what he would want to do if President.

Given that, is it any wonder that Jeb! is finding that money can’t buy him neither love nor votes.

It is almost as if he wants Bloomberg to run so that he can be his vice-presidential running mate.

Uncategorized

And This Illustrates My Travel Problems

January 23, 2016 by 4 Comments

I got a call from Southwest Airlines at 8 this morning. They were calling to tell me that the second half of my flight home – Chicago to Greenville-Spartanburg – was canceled and that I needed to make adjustments.

And this is why:

So instead of getting home Saturday night, I will be spending the night in Houston. I’d much rather spend the night in Texas than in Chicago!

We, by the way, live in that nice pink area on the border of Buncombe and Henderson counties. The Complementary Spouse says it has started snowing again — heavily.

It could be worse. I could be living in northern Virginia with a car stuck at the airport. That’s the situation facing a lot of the NRA staff here at the SHOT Show.

Uncategorized

I’m With Ian And Karl On This

January 22, 2016 by 2 Comments

When I asked for suggestions as to which products you wanted me to check out, reader David suggested somewhat facetiously that I see Trigger Point Technology. He also asked me to find out their business plan to avoid getting sued out of existence.

As you can see in the video below made by Ian McCullom and Karl Kasarda of InRange TV, a laser or light that is activated by touching the trigger is really a bad idea. Just like with so-called “smart guns” or “microstamping”, just because your engineers can invent a technical device it doesn’t mean it will work in the real world.

On the Trigger Point Technology product, just say no.

Uncategorized

2016 SHOT Show: Vicious Circle

January 20, 2016 by 136 Comments

What does the fashion forward, well-dressed woman wear when she is in a non-permissive environment to afford her some modicum of protection?

The Mantis Knives Vicious Circle last-ditch knife! It looks like a modern style necklace but it contains a sharp surprise.

Closed

And now open:

The knife opens when you pull it free from the necklace. It isn’t meant to be the first line of defense but it sharp and it can put an attacker in a world of hurt.

The MSRP of the Vicious Circle is $65. It comes in 10 colors and with different stones.

Uncategorized

2016 SHOT Show Industry Day At The Range – GunBlast.com

January 20, 2016 by

Since I only made a part of Media/Industry Day at the Range, I think this 2-part report by Jeff Quinn at GunBlast.com gives a better picture of what was shown there.

I did get to shoot the new revolver from Kimber. It is a six-shot, double-action only .357 Magnum revolver. I found the trigger pull to be smooth and the revolver controllable by even me while shooting .357 Mag ammo. I would have liked to try it with some .38 Special to get a better feel for the gun without the concussion but beggars can’t be choosers.

Now for the second part of Jeff Quinn’s report.