bleg

Uncategorized

Is NRA Membership A Requirement Of Your Club?

February 22, 2022 by 14 Comments

I need your help.

NRA membership has been dropping. One reason is that some gun clubs have dropped the requirement that you be a member of the NRA. I am trying to get a handle on how widespread this is.

If you belong to a gun club or range that has totally dropped the NRA requirement, let me know.

If your club has changed the NRA requirement to either the NRA or another 2A organization, I’d like to hear that as well.

Finally, if your club is still 100% NRA but is considering dropping that requirement, that, too, is something I’d like to know.

If your club falls into any of these categories, please give me the details in the comments. Alternatively, you can send me an email at jpr9954 AT gmail DOT com. Let me know the name of the club, its website (if any), and what actions they have taken.

Many, many thanks.

Uncategorized

Bleg – .257 B.B. Magnum?

August 24, 2016 by 7 Comments

I came across an interesting rifle on an auction site. It was a custom Mauser in a most interesting caliber:  .257 B.B. Magnum. I had been looking for a .257 Roberts which this obviously is not. That said, it has aroused my curiosity as I love oddball, wildcat calibers.

Here is the description from the auction site:

Custom Inter Arms Action 257 BB Magnum; custom stainless barrel with muzzle break; this custom cartridge is a 300 Win mag necked down to a 257 caliber; comes with reloading dies; has a custom stock; excellent overall condition;

As to what the B.B. stands for I’ve been given several suggestions. “Barrel Burner”, ” Big Bore”, and what is probably the correct answer, “Belted Bottleneck”.

You can see a picture of the rifle below. It has some rather nice wood plus some interesting inlays in the stock.

Click to enlarge

Has anyone ever heard of this caliber?

Would I be stupid to even bid on a rifle where I can’t even find published load data?

Do you think this would be a screamer?

OK, I think I know the answer to that last question. I really am interested in what readers have to say about this.

UPDATE: The rifle sold onsite to someone for $250 plus the auction house premium of 18%. In the same auction, another custom Mauser in .338-06 sold for $200. Interestingly, that caliber is much more mainstream yet the rifle sold for less.

Uncategorized

NFA Trust Bleg

May 12, 2016 by 6 Comments

I have made the decision to set up a NFA Trust and buy a suppressor or two in advance of the ATF 41F implementation date of July 13th. I’m going the trust route for a couple of reasons. First, it will make estate planning easier as the suppressor will be passed on to the trust beneficiary without the need to pay another $200 tax. Second, other members of the trust will be allowed to use the suppressor without my being with them. It circumvents the potential constructive possession problem for the Complementary Spouse as she does know my safe combination. The issue of fingerprints and photos is irrelevant for my purposes but it is nice to be able to avoid it – for now.

There are a number of prototype NFA trust documents being offered on the Internet. You can get them from suppressor dealers like the Silencer Shop, manufacturers like Silencerco, and a number of attorney–related websites. The cost of these prototype documents are in the $99-199 range. This is a significant cost savings over the estimated $350-500 that an attorney would charge for a “custom” NFA trust. At last year’s Annual Firearms Law Seminar, the BATFE attorney from the NFA section offered some horror stories on NFA trusts that were set up without the hands-on assistance of an attorney.

Yesterday I took advantage of a Gearhog discount offer of a NFA trust for $49. This was a 75% discount off the normal price of $199 from www.199trust.com. This discount offer runs for another two days. My rationale was that I’d not be out of much money if I decided this trust document didn’t meet North Carolina trust law standards.

  1. Has anyone gone the prototype or prewritten trust route? If so, did you run into any problems?
  2. If you did go the prototype trust route, did you have it reviewed by a local attorney to make sure it met the trust law of your state?
  3. Would you suggest having a local estates attorney review the trust? 
  4. What were your reasons for using a trust instead of purchasing the NFA item as an individual? 
  5. If you went the prototype route, did you later have the trust rewritten by a local attorney?
I would love to know your experiences. You can either leave a comment below or email me at jpr9954 AT gmail DOT com.
Uncategorized

Laptop Bleg

July 24, 2012 by 6 Comments

I’m in the market for two laptops.

The first is for the Virtual Stepdaughter who is going back to grad school to get her masters in education. Her current Dell laptop is a 2005 vintage from her freshman year in college. It is more than a bit outdated.

Her non-negotiables are built-in DVD/CD-Rom, Intel (or AMD) based, and decent battery life. She will need to carry it to class sometimes so weight is a major secondary consideration. While her classes will meet only one day a week in person, she’ll have additional work to do through Blackboard and/or WebCT.

My consideration on this laptop is that it not cost more than $600 or so.

The second laptop is for me. I’m in the market for an ultrabook or something light, thin, and MacBook Air-like. I’m torn between the MacBook Air and an Intel Windows 7 based ultrabook. I plan to use it for blogging from the road and the like. Battery-life and weight are my major considerations. I’d like it to be under 4 pounds. I don’t have any preference between a solid-state drive vs. a more traditional harddrive.

I can get employee discounts on HP and Dell through work and because I’m adjunct faculty at a local university I’m eligible for higher ed pricing.

My goal is to purchase these during North Carolina’s tax-free weekend of August 3-5.

Thanks for any and all suggestions.