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Hickok45 On The Savage 99

August 16, 2012 by 3 Comments

Greg Hickok – Hickok45 – reviews the Savage 99 and the .300 Savage cartridge. I don’t own any lever actions but I have been enamored of the Savage 99 and Savage 1899 for a long time now. It is probably because it is different from other lever guns and it is available in a number of calibers that aren’t traditionally found in lever actions. The internal rotary magazine allowed the Savage 99 to use spitzer bullets. Thus, you can find the now-discontinued Savage 99 in such calibers as the .243 Winchester, the .308 Winchester, and the .22-250 Remington.

As all collectors say at one time or another – one of these days…. 

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HuffPo Isn’t Totally Worthless

August 16, 2012 by 3 Comments

While I may think that Arianna Huffington is a parasite whose political leanings change with the wind and that her Huffington Post is usually full of tripe, it does have its uses. For example, in a story about a local Tea Party group, I found out that they are having a machine gun social.

I have shot at Bear Arms a number of times and it is a really nice range. Moreover, the prices for shooting the MP5 are cheaper than a lot of places that I’ve been. Sadly, I won’t be able to attend it as I’ll be at the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Orlando on that day.

It is instructive to read the comments. For people who profess peace and love and gun control, they are amazingly violent in their thoughts and rhetoric.

From Sushigirl:

Oh how quaint. I have an idea, blindfold all of them and let them shoot away.
Actually I don’t mean that, I don’t want anyone to be hurt. But how stupid can these people be. Disgusting.

From FredSanders who has 1910 fans which must mean he comments a lot:

I hope they all blow themselves away defending each other from each other.

 From Cacey with the tagline “ignore rudeness, honor discussion”:

How boring is Asheville if this is the best fund raiser they came up with. A boring event for obviously boorish people.

You get the idea. I’m glad Cacey thinks Asheville is boring because it will mean one less tourist clogging the streets with their Obama bumpersticker-covered Priuses.

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Is This Due To Obama’s 700 Billion Cuts In MediCare Funding?

August 16, 2012 by 2 Comments

Alex Jones’ Infowars is reporting that the Social Security Administration has issued a RFQ or request for quotation for 174,000 rounds of .357 Sig 125 grain bonded hollow points.

The synopsis to the solicitation adds that the ammunition is to be shipped to 41 locations within 60 days of purchase. A separate spreadsheet lists those locations, which include the Social Security headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland as well as major cities across the country including Los Angeles, Detroit, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Denver, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Seattle.

The article speculates about civil disturbance and the Federal government’s preparations for it. I’m not sure about that.

While I’m sure there is a perfectly logical reason behind this RFQ for 174,000 rounds of ammunition by the Social Security Administration, I prefer to think of it as preparations for dealing with all those Gray Panthers who realize that the Obama Administration just screwed them with ObamaCare.

UPDATE: The Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General responded in their blog to the reports questioning this purchase. I wonder how those Special Agents respond to an 80-year old Korean War vet with this M-1 Garand telling them to “get off my lawn.”?

We launched the “Beyond the Numbers” blog more than two months ago to open a conversation with you, whether you are a Social Security beneficiary, or you know a family member or friend who receives Social Security payments.

If you think about it, the Social Security Administration’s programs touch almost all of us at some point in our lives. That’s why we have opened several social media channels to the public, as we strive to be a transparent and accountable government organization for all of our stakeholders.

With those goals in mind, we thought it would be appropriate to address recent media reports regarding the organization’s purchase of ammunition for our special agents’ duty weapons. We should first state that the OIG follows all Federal procurement rules when arranging these purchases.

As we said in a recent post, our office has criminal investigators, or special agents, who are responsible for investigating violations of the laws that govern SSA’s programs. Currently, about 295 special agents and supervisory special agents work in 66 offices across the United States. These investigators have full law enforcement authority, including executing search warrants and making arrests.

Our investigators are similar to your State or local police officers. They use traditional investigative techniques, and they are armed when on official duty.

Media reports expressed concerns over the type of ammunition ordered. In fact, this type of ammunition is standard issue for many law enforcement agencies. OIG’s special agents use this ammunition during their mandatory quarterly firearms qualifications and other training sessions, to ensure agent and public safety. Additionally, the ammunition our agents use is the same type used at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

Our special agents need to be armed and trained appropriately. They not only investigate allegations of Social Security fraud, but they also are called to respond to threats against Social Security offices, employees, and customers.

As we explained in another post, SSA is processing more applications than ever, which means more traffic in SSA offices. Employee and visitor safety is the highest priority for OIG, which, together with the Federal Protective Services and local law enforcement, has jurisdiction over SSA workplaces.

If you would like to comment on this subject, please refrain from making derogatory or inflammatory remarks. Any comments that include abusive or vulgar language, spam, hate speech, personal attacks, or similar content will not be posted, and repeated submission of such posts may result in the user being blocked from future commenting. We reserve the right to determine which comments are acceptable for posting.

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CalGuns Alert On SB 249 – Is It Dead Yet?

August 15, 2012 by 1 Comment

There were reports yesterday that California State Sen. Leland Yee’s SB 249 was dead. However, the CalGuns Foundation warns that it may be dead but there still are a few more days left before it can be conclusively called dead.

They released this about the bill and urged those in opposition to keep up the pressure.

SB 249 MAY BE D.O.A.; STOP SB 249 CAMPAIGN URGES CONTINUED OPPOSITION PRESSURE

Cal-FFL, Calguns Foundation opposition letters cited in official Committee analysis that may be the final straw in breaking SB 249

For Immediate Release: August 14, 2012

Reference: Assembly Appropriations Committee Analysis at http://stopsb249.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/sb249_approps_analysis.pdf

SAN CARLOS, CA, AND MADERA, CA – In spite of bill author Senator Leland Yee’s many assurances to the contrary, even the Assembly Appropriations Committee legislative analysis found that the SB 249 gun ban presents California taxpayers with significant cost impacts.

The analysis determined that, among other major costs, SB 249 would impose “[o]ne-time special fund (Dealer Record of Sale Fund- DROS) costs, likely in excess of $200,000 (the AG’s office estimates about $400,000), for the AG to conform existing regulations regarding the definition of assault weapon to the definition of detachable magazine proposed by this bill.”

Implicit in the Committee’s analysis is that SB 249 is a material legislative change to the Penal Code, which would require new DOJ regulations. Senator Yee and his staff have spent considerable time representing SB 249 to be a “clarification of existing law.” We now have further evidence in the Legislative record supporting our argument that SB 249 would harm California gun owners by creating an entirely new standard for “detachable magazine” firearms.

Up-to-the-minute information acquired by Cal-FFL lobbyist Matt Gray of Capital Alliance and Cal-FFL president Brandon Combs suggests that, while SB 249 may not succeed in passing the Appropriations Committee due to the substantial costs issues, it is premature to consider the bill a non-threat to gun rights.

“SB 249 has been proven to be an outrageous attack on hundreds of millions of dollars of legal private property and law-abiding gun owners. We’re encouraged that the Appropriation Committee’s analysis has affirmed our view that California simply cannot afford Senator Yee’s misguided bill,” said Combs. “We urge all of our members and supporters to continue vigorously opposing SB 249 by calling the members of the Appropriations Committee and using the Take Action tools at our StopSB249.org campaign website.”

The STOP SB 249 Take Action page is located at at http://stopsb249.org/takeaction.

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Danville, North Carolina?

August 15, 2012 by 4 Comments

I knew the state of North Carolina was expanding but I only thought it was expanding its population. According to the Vice President of the United States, the esteemed Joseph Robinette “Joe” Biden, Jr., North Carolina has now annexed the south-central Virginia city of Danville and made it part of the Old North State.

The mapmaker who made the map below clearly shows Danville to be in Virginia. He or she must not have taken their cartography training from the Vice-President and is clearly wrong because Joe Biden doesn’t make mistakes.

Or does he?

H/T Gateway Pundit

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Pelosi Is Losing It

August 14, 2012 by 6 Comments

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has a fertile imagination. Either that or she is losing it. Given that she is now 72, the latter is unfortunately a distinct possibility. Having watched my Mom suffer from dementia I wouldn’t wish it on anyone and that includes Pelosi.

Pelosi is firmly convinced that the attempts by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to get Attorney General Eric Holder to honor their lawfully issued subpoena is nothing more than a Republican attempt at voter suppression. The first paragraph of her statement on the filing of a civil lawsuit today by the Oversight Committee is below:

“This partisan lawsuit wastes taxpayer dollars and resources, and is a distraction from the urgent business before Congress: acting to create jobs and grow our economy. It is also designed to distract the Justice Department from its critical job of challenging state laws designed to restrict the rights of Americans to vote.

It is as if 300 dead Mexican nationals and 2 Federal law enforcement officers are just collateral damage in the effort to win elections by hook or by crook.

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Quite A Find In Syria

August 13, 2012 by 4 Comments

Just looking at the contents of this shipping container is enough to get most collectors and Crufflers drooling. I can’t imagine what a full container of Sturmgewehr-44s was doing in Syria.

ForgottenWeapons.com notes that these StG-44s could only be imported as parts kits to the United States. What a shame! I like their suggestion for the Syrian rebels to trade these antiques for a larger number of modern firearms.

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Cummings Issues Mealy-Mouthed Statement On Lawsuit Against Holder

August 13, 2012 by

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has stayed true to form and issued a statement accusing Republicans of playing politics.

Cummings Issues Statement on Issa Suit Against Attorney General Eric Holder

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 13, 2012) – Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued the following statement after Chairman Darrell Issa announced plans to file a federal lawsuit today against Attorney General Eric Holder for documents related to the subpoena on Operation Fast & Furious.

“It seems clear that House Republican leaders do not want to resolve the contempt issue and prefer to generate unnecessary conflict with the Administration as the election nears,” said Cummings. “Unfortunately, the American public suffers as House Republicans disregard the real work that needs to be done.”

I guess the best thing that you can say about Rep. Cummings is that he is consistent in his defense of Eric Holder and the Obama Administration. Cummings give truth to the Emerson quote that “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds; adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines”.

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PMC Starfire .45 ACP: A Review

August 13, 2012 by 6 Comments

Russ at LuckyGunner.com recently sent me two boxes of PMC Gold Starfire ammo to test out. I finally had a chance to give it a test yesterday afternoon.

PMC Gold Starfire is made by Poongsan Corporation in Seoul, South Korea. The Starfire bullet was designed for PMC Ammunition by Tom Burczynski who is also the designer of other self-defense hollowpoint bullets such as the Federal Hydra-Shock and HS2, the Quik-Shock, and the Expanding Full Metal Jacket bullet.

The ammo I tested was the PMC Gold Starfire 230-grain .45 ACP with the Starfire bullet. According to the manufacturers specs, it has a muzzle velocity of 850 ft/sec. and generates 369 foot-pounds of energy.

As I don’t have access to a chronograph I couldn’t test the above specs nor could I test how it performs on penetration tests. However, I did test the ammo for how well it shot and how well it fed. The latter is, in my opinion, a critical test for any carry ammo.

The test guns for this test were the 5″ Ruger SR1911, the 4.25″ Colt LW Commander, and the 3.5″ Para-USA CCO LDA. My feeling is that this would test the full spectrum of 1911 models.

Before I tested the PMC Gold Starfire ammo, I ran a full magazine of .45 230-grain ball ammo through each of the test guns to make sure they all were feeding properly. I had no failure to feeds in any of the test pistols. The magazines used were all factory original magazines.

My first test was to attempt to fire a full magazine through each pistol to see how it fed the PMC Gold Starfire ammo. I put two full mags through both the SR1911 and the Colt LW Commander with no failures to feed. However, I could not get the ammo to feed in the Para CCO for love or money.

Was this the ammo’s fault? The answer is, of course, an unequivocal no. It has more to do with angle of the feed ramp of the Para CCO than anything else. I haven’t tried other hollow-point ammo in this particular pistol and I didn’t have any with me to see if it would work. The advice to test a few boxes of your intended carry ammo before actually carrying it is good advice.

My second test was to see how the ammo shot. This is probably not too valid a test as I wasn’t shooting from a rest. Moreover, I haven’t been shooting in at least a month or so. Shooting is a perishable skill and my results prove it. My groups suck. That said, they are all center mass.

I shot six rounds from both the Ruger SR1911 and Colt LW Commander at 5 and 7 yards respectively. I did have one failure to feed in the Colt but no further troubles after I cleared it. I shot a total of 40 rounds of the PMC Gold Starfire and had no duds in the bunch. The felt recoil seemed to be consistent throughout. Checking my brass I didn’t see any bulged primers or any other indication of excess pressure.

The cost of the PMC Gold Starfire ammo is $17 for a box of 20. This compares quite favorably to other self-defense ammo such as Hornady’s Critical Defense, Remington’s Golden Saber, Speer’s Gold-Dot, and, of course, the Federal Hydra-Shock with its Tom Burczynski designed bullet.

Would I use this ammo as an everyday self-defense carry load? The answer is maybe. The bullet is a solid design and the cost is definitely right. As my experience with the failure to feed in the Para CCO makes clear, I’d have to test the round in whatever gun I was carrying but one should do that anyway.

One of the things holding me back from a definite yes is that PMC is not a member of SAAMI – the Small Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute. The advice that is often given to not carry handloaded ammo due to overzealous prosecutors and ambulance chasing lawyers has been expanded in some quarters to include the advice to only carry rounds manufactured by SAAMI members. The thinking is that ammunition from SAAMI members is more likely to conform to their specs and that the load will be consistent from batch to batch. Whether this is a valid concern or not, I’ll leave up to you.

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Case Filed Against Holder

August 13, 2012 by 1 Comment

It’s official. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has filed suit against Attorney General Eric Holder. The committee is seeking a declaratory judgment to force him to turn over the documents that they are seeking in connection with their investigation into Operation Fast and Furious.

The full title of the case is Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, United States House of Representatives v. Holder. The case is filled in US District Court for the District of Columbia and the assigned case number is 1:12-cv-01332.

The Federal Court’s database Pacer shows the case but not the associated documents for the case as of this morning. I assume we will be seeing that later.

The committee’s website does not have any further information on the suit.