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It’s Just Another Moral Monday

August 7, 2013 by 2 Comments

If you read the New York Times or follow North Carolina politics, you may have heard of Moral Mondays. It is a protest organized by the so-called progressives in North Carolina to vent their feelings towards Gov. Pat McCrory (R-NC) and the Republican-majority North Carolina General Assembly.

This past Monday the protests moved to the progressive island of Asheville which, by the way, was number 3 on the list of Best US Cities for Hippies. Need I say too much more?

Given that perception is reality for these protesters, it is not surprising that they think that the state’s education budget was much higher the last time that the Democrats controlled the General Assembly. Actually it isn’t. But that didn’t stop the protesters from signing a petition demanding that the education budget be restored to the levels passed by the Democrats. The video below from the Buncombe County Young Republicans shows just how out of touch most of these people really are.

UPDATE: YouTube removed the Buncombe County Young Republican’s video. They are saying it violates YouTube’s terms of service. I guess showing the stupidity of low-information voters constitutes a violation. The local TV station WLOS reports some of the people signing the petition are saying that they were duped. Uh, hunh. Has duped become another word for stupid liberals?

Not to be deterred by the anger of idiots complaining to YouTube, the Young Republicans have just reposted the video using Vimeo.

Mountain Moral Monday education petition from Buncombe YRs on Vimeo.

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Not Just For Women

August 7, 2013 by 2 Comments

The NRA has been featuring a series of training videos featuring Kim Heath. They are called Tips and Tactics and come under the NRA Women TV label. Just because they are labeled “women” doesn’t mean men can’t get a lot from them.

I know for a fact that I’m not in the same physical condition I was in my 20s and 30s. I think one of my docs has referred to it as “deconditioned”. What it means is that I don’t have the same strength and stamina that I had earlier in my life. Kim’s videos show different ways to compensate for our body’s limitations.

The latest is on managing rifle weight. As a day of shooting goes on the rifles tend to get heavier. Kim shows a way to take some of that weight off your arm and transfer it to your body.

I also really like the Counter Supination Grip that she shows in the video below. I might not use it all the time but it does allow you to transfer the weight of your AR from your arm to more of your body.

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Morris V. US Army Corps Of Engineers

August 6, 2013 by

The Mountain States Legal Foundation filed suit yesterday in the US District Court for the District of Idaho challenging the US Army Corps of Engineers’ prohibition on firearms on Corps-administered lands. The plaintiffs in the case, Elizabeth Morris and Alan Baker, are residents of Idaho who wish to have functional firearms for self-defense while they are camping, boating, or hiking in Corps-administered recreational areas.

A bit of the history behind the suit from MSLF:

Ms. Morris 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, and also a Utah Concealed Firearms Instructor. He 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.

Because Corps of Engineer regulations ban functional firearms, even while camped in tents, Ms. Morris and Mr. Baker are subject to criminal prosecution if they exercise their Second Amendment rights. The Corps of Engineers did not respond to requests from MSLF seeking exemptions from its firearm ban for Ms. Morris and Mr. Baker. Also filed with their complaint is a motion for a preliminary injunction, asking the court to immediately stop enforcement of the firearms ban.

The lawsuit makes the point that when camping a tent should be considered a temporary dwelling that is treated no differently than something made from bricks and mortar. This argument was used in another successful MSLF lawsuit against the State of Nevada and their park system. Mr. Baker was the plaintiff in that case.

The plaintiffs present two claims for relief. The first alleges that by prohibiting law-abiding individuals from possessing a firearm in a temporary dwelling on Corps-administered lands, the US Army Corps of Engineers and the other defendants are violating the plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights. The plaintiffs are asking for both declaratory and injunctive relief.

The second claim for relief in Morris et al v. US Army Corps of Engineers et al is that the Corps is again violating the plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights by prohibiting the carrying of a functional firearm – whether openly, concealed, or in a vehicle. Again, the plaintiffs are asking for both declaratory and injunctive relief.

While the Heller decision allowed the prohibition of firearms in “sensitive areas”, I think it would be hard to argue that a campground or a lake constituted a sensitive area. They are not sensitive areas like the control house for the dam and powerhouse on Lucky Peak Lake.

The complaint in Morris et al v. US Army Corps of Engineers et al can be found here.

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It’s Small But Still An Increase

August 6, 2013 by

The National Shooting Sports Foundation reported their adjusted NICS checks for the month of July 2013. It marks the 38th straight month in which the NSSF-adjusted NICS checks increased when compared to the same month a year previously.

The July 2013 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 855,259 is an increase of 0.2 percent over the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 853,355 in July 2012. For comparison, the unadjusted July 2013 NICS figure of 1,271,571 reflects a 1.4 percent decrease from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,289,585 in July 2012.

The increase was only 0.2%. While still an increase, I think it may mark the end of the massive rush to purchase guns and ammo that started when President Barack Obama started proposing gun control measures in the wake of the Newtown shootings. That said, even if the August numbers come in lower than the previous period in 2012, we are seeing a new normal. Gun sales may have hit a plateau but it is a much higher plateau.

Of course, it is important to note that the adjusted NICS checks are not perfectly correlated with gun sales. The NICS background checks are used by many states for background checks on new and existing concealed carry permit holders.

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Colt And Florida

August 6, 2013 by 3 Comments

Back in late 2011, Colt’s Manufacturing Company indicated that it planned to open a plant in Kissimmee, Florida. They said they were going to make a $2.5 million investment in a vacant facility that was owned by Osceola County. While the plant was scheduled to open in 2012, it never did.

Fast forward to today. At today’s Regular Meeting of the Osceola County Board of Commissioners, the Board gave their unanimous approval and authorization for the Board Chair and Vice-Chair to sign the landlord agreement with Colt’s Manufacturing. The lease will run through 2023. This agreement was necessary before the equipment lessor would allow Colt’s Manufacturing to move any machinery into the building.

While Colt has committed to this plant since 2011, I don’t believe any mention has been made of just what will be made or assembled in this plant. Given Connecticut’s new gun control laws, I would not be surprised to see the plant being used for the assembly of AR-15s for the civilian market. However, that is just a guess.

WFTV Channel 9 Orlando has a report on Colt moving in along with the positive reaction by area residents.

H/T Miguel

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No Research Like Misleading Research

August 5, 2013 by

When it comes to recommending studies on firearms dealers, regulation, and gun sales to journalists, the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School is consistent. Consistently bad and consistently biased, that is.

When you see journal articles referenced that have been authored by the likes of Garen Wintemute of UC Davis’ Violence Prevention Research Program , Daniel Webster of  Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and David Hemenway of the Harvard School of Public Health, you know that they have an agenda and that agenda is anti-gun.

And then there is this:

Finally, media outlets such as the New York Times continue to investigate the various mechanisms by which guns are sold on the Internet, often with little oversight or rules in place (also see Wired magazine’s explainer on the issue).

Really? The New York Times? A paper that has never seen a restrictive gun law that it didn’t like unless it was a more restrictive one? As to little oversight and no rules for Internet sales of firearms, these “investigations” totally ignore Federal law that mandates interstate sales must go through a FFL and get a NICS check.

Never let it be said that facts got in the way of promoting an anti-gun agenda at Harvard.

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Ways To Spend A Rainy Afternoon

August 4, 2013 by 3 Comments

There are many different ways you could spend a rainy afternoon.

You could curl up with a good book.

The rain on the roof could make a nap even more enjoyable.

Or, you could shoot a full-auto Thompson submachine gun.

This past Wednesday, Sean Sorrentino and I did the last on the list. Thanks to one of Sean’s readers, artist Guy Smalley, we had a great time with Guy’s Thompson Model 1928 W.H. We also shot a number of other rifles and pistols but the Thompson was the highlight of the afternoon. You can see Guy holding his Thompson with its 50-round drum magazine below. Sean has posted a video of him loading the drum magazine. Through the wonders of editing, it came out OK despite me being the one taking the video.

Due to the weight of the Thompson plus the Cutts compensator, the Thompson at full auto is very controllable. The muzzle didn’t rise that much and it was very easy to keep on target regardless of whether you were firing in short bursts or letting it run.

Some of the other firearms we had available to shoot range from Sean’s Templar Custom AR-15 to my IBM M-1 Carbine to a whole ton of Guy’s firearms. You can see some of the assortment in the next two pictures.

Table 1
Table 2

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time enough to fire everything but we did get to fire quite an assortment.

We ended the afternoon firing Guy’s AR-50 .50 BMG rifle. The muzzle break reduced the felt recoil tremendously. It kicked less than the Mosin-Nagant Model 44 pictured above. They both tore some big divots into the hillside in which we were shooting.

One of the more interesting aspects of the afternoon is that Guy and I live less than a 5 minute drive apart but had never met before even though we live in a little town. I think we’ll be doing some more shooting together in the future.

I want to thank both Sean and Guy for providing great company on a wet afternoon.

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Interesting Graphic On Gun Sales

August 2, 2013 by 2 Comments

A stock investing website, The Wall Street Cheat Sheet, had an article yesterday discussing the financial results for Ruger. The author of the article was looking at the impact of proposed gun control laws on gun sales.

The law of unintended consequences is hitting its mark with politicians and gun owners. Amid a push for tighter gun control laws over the past year, an increase in firearm sales is boosting the nation’s leading gun manufacturer.

 The article concluded that the big push for gun control post-Newtown was a big factor in the growth of gun sales.

The graphic below is from a presentation that Smith and Wesson made to stock analysts. It plots the monthly NICS checks for each calendar year from 2008 to the present.

And then there is this:

According to an analysis of the gun industry by the Associated Press, the federal government has conducted roughly the same number of background checks for gun owners and prospective buyers under Obama’s first term, as it did under George W. Bush’s first six years of presidency. For the first time since 1993, the number of federally licensed retail gun dealers in the U.S. increased in 2010 and 2011, adding 1,167 more licensed dealers.

I guess Obama really is the world’s best gun salesman. 

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News On The Business Of Guns

August 2, 2013 by

There are a number of news items from the last few days regarding the firearms industry that are worthy of attention.

First, ArmaLite of Geneseo, Illinois was bought out by Strategic Armory Corps (SAC) of Phoenix, Arizona. SAC was formed in 2011 as an acquisition vehicle with which to buy out firearms and firearms related companies. In addition to ArmaLite, SAC owns high-end tactical bolt-rifle maker Surgeon Rifles, suppressor maker AWC Systems Technology, and AWC Ammo. The head of SAC had this to say on the acquisition.

“ArmaLite is a tremendous addition to our group of outstanding companies and broadens our product line so we can better meet the needs of our customers”, said Mark Johnson, SAC President and CEO. “The history of Mark Westrom over his 19 years of leading ArmaLite will provide a wealth of industry knowledge to our leadership team and allow us to further expand our ability to meet the ever increasing demands for the highest quality products by our customers and the marketplace.”

News comes that longtime tactical and military equipment retailer US Cavalry which declared bankruptcy in March has been purchased by ERMC Corporation of Chattanooga, TN.

US Cavalry Retail Ownership Announcement

Chattanooga based ERMC Corporation, the parent company of Modern Firearms and ASR Uniforms announced today the acquisition of U. S. Cavalry Stores. ERMC purchased all U. S. Cavalry assets to include personnel, inventory and retail stores. I will be working with others in the company to integrate Modern Firearms, ASR Uniforms and U.S. Cavalry into a top notch provider of Military, Police, Fire and EMS uniforms, equipment and firearms.

Public companies are starting to report their sales and profits for the second quarter. Both ATK and Ruger reported their sales and earnings in the last couple of days.

ATK’s business is composed of three segments: aerospace group, defense group, and the sporting group. For me, it is the sporting group of companies that is of the most interest. While the overall sales for ATK were flat for the second quarter of 2013, the sporting group saw a 28.4% increase or $79,346,000. In terms of profit, the sporting group led ATK with a 112.2% increase compared to a single digit increase for the aerospace group and a loss for their defense group. This increase from the sporting group allowed them to beat stock analysts’ expectations of profits.

With the purchase of Savage Arms, the sporting group is now more than just ammo, reloading components and equipment, and other firearms related accessories. It appears that the company leadership also recognizes the importance of Savage to their bottom line. ATK’s President and CEO Mark DeYoung had this to say about Savage.

“The Company’s completion of the Savage acquisition builds upon strong Sporting Group performance and market leadership with a well-respected and recognized brand in the long guns market. We are well underway with the integration of Savage and I am confident our wholesalers, retailers, distributors and consumers will find value in our robust portfolio of product offerings.”

 Ruger had another stellar quarter. Their earnings increased 79% for the second quarter when compared to the same quarter a year earlier. The earnings increase was driven by a 50% increase in sales for the quarter compared to a year earlier. Sales for the quarter were $179.5 million and the earnings per share were $1.63 per share. Both of these numbers blew away analysts’ expectations. Ruger was forecast to have earned $1.18 per share in profits on sales of $154.7 million.

New product sales accounted for 31% of sales in the quarter. New introductions include both the LC380 and SR45 pistols.

Ruger expects to spend upwards of $35 million on capital expenditures during 2013. Much of that will be related to new products and production capacity expansion. I’m sure part of that money will go to getting the Mayodan plant up and running after the expansion plans are finalized. The company is waiting on the tax incentives and grants package from North Carolina to be completed.

CEO Mike Fifer held a conference call today to discuss the company’s second quarter results. Fifer said he expected the third quarter to slow down as things start to return to more normal growth. As reported by CNN Money:

While the trend continued in the second quarter, Ruger CEO Mike Fifer said gun demand appears to be returning to “more normalized growth rates.”

“We haven’t seen any slowing in demand for Ruger products,” Fifer told analysts during a conference call. “But we have heard anecdotally that the normal seasonal slowdown is starting.”

He said sales in the current quarter could represent a “reset from the huge surge” that began late last year.

He was also asked about the damage to the Prescott plant. He said he thinks the total cost to Ruger will be less than $5 million in terms of damage to the roof, equipment, and lost production. They resumed production on Monday. The machinery that got soaked was not being used in current production and was intended for future projects.

Fifer was asked about the new Mayodan plant and what was needed to get it ready. He said that with the exception of adding a section for bluing and for heat treating they only needed to move in the new machinery. He was very complimentary towards the workforce in the Rockingham County area. He said the caliber of the potential employees was “really impressive.” He said the firearms to be produced in Mayodan would be new introductions so he couldn’t discuss what they were yet.

If the overall market demand is starting to slow, I’m going to go out on a limb and say we should expect to see a number of new product introductions from not only Ruger but the rest of the industry. SHOT 2014 should be interesting in that regard.

UPDATE: Steve at The Firearm Blog listened in on the ATK conference call for analysts. He has a review of it here. A couple of points from his review. First, Savage Arms is expected to make ATK around $25-28 million in profits. Second, Steve believes that ATK is in the market to pick up other firearms companies.