With all the talk in the media being on coronavirus, canceled events, and even season cancellations, I thought it would be appropriate to present something different. It’s a good way to start your weekend.
Outdoor writer and big game hunter Ron Spomer discusses one of the more unusual and interesting rifles that I’ve ever seen. It is the Hoenig round action double rifle. This example is in 9.3×62 which is quite popular in Europe.
The creator, George Hoenig, has retired from gunsmithing so if you want one of these beauties, it will come from the secondary market. According to what he said in the interview, the last ones he sold new went for $27,500.
That’s a bit rich for my blood but I can still appreciate his expertise and craftsmanship.
As an aside, I got to chat with Ron at the SHOT Show. What a nice guy!
The release from NRA President Carolyn Meadows stated:
With our 149th Annual Meeting scheduled for next month in Nashville, we realize many NRA members and meeting guests have questions about the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the potential impact on our convention.
We have been closely monitoring updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Tennessee Department of Health. In fact, earlier today, a state of emergency was declared in Tennessee.
Therefore, we have reluctantly decided to cancel this year’s NRA Annual Meeting, planned for April 16 – 19 in Nashville. This applies to all events and scheduled programs, including the NRA-ILA Forum. We sincerely regret the need for this action, particularly for our many loyal members who join us for this annual celebration of the NRA and our constitutional freedoms. Details regarding the NRA Member’s Meeting will be forthcoming.
Under the direction of NRA President Carolyn Meadows, the NRA Board of Directors is working with the Office of the Secretary in relation to board elections, meetings, and the like.
Please know that we did not reach this decision lightly. We were ultimately guided by our responsibility to help ensure the safety and well-being of our NRA members, guests, and surrounding community.
Please coordinate directly with any hotels, airlines or others who have assisted with your travel arrangements. Most companies have announced plans to accommodate travelers dealing with event cancellations.
Please visit www.nraam.org for additional news and information regarding NRA activities. Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
The message that accompanied this release noted that the Annual Meeting of Members will be rescheduled.
To be honest, with the impact of the tornado on Nashville plus the uncertainty over COVID-19 it was inevitable that this was going to happen. If they didn’t do it and just one person got sick or died after contact with an infected person, there would have been hell to pay.
If you have made plane or hotel reservations, most, if not all, companies are allowing them to be canceled with no cancellation fees, etc.
Speaking of coronavirus, this would be a good time to read or re-read Grant Cunningham’s compilation of suggestions and advice on dealing with the pandemic. I do think many people are overreacting as evidenced by the run on toilet paper. An elderly friend today told me the local Walmart not only had a run on toilet paper but on his Pet Ice Cream.
If you have made plane or hotel reservations, most are allowing them to be canceled with no cancellation fees, etc.
I helped manage the Grass Roots North Carolina booth at the Asheville Gun Show yesterday. I wasn’t there the whole day but here are some quick takes on it.
The fear of coronavirus did not stop people from attending. The crowds seemed to be every bit as big as from the January show. As I noted then, we hadn’t seen crowds like this since 2014.
I did notice booths selling MREs, Mountain House freeze-dry packs, and other emergency foods. No toilet paper sellers that I noticed.
Insofar as people wearing face masks, I only saw two older gentlemen wearing N95 masks.
There were a lot of MAGA red hats in evidence. Then there was the guy wearing the t-shirt saying, “Only Trump Can Prevent Socialism”. It was similar to this one. The difference was that it replaced “you” with “Trump” and had the bear pointing.
The guy wearing the shirt commented that the gun show was probably the only place he could wear it without being hassled. Given the progressive/liberal/radical proclivities of Asheville, I fear he was correct.
The NRA Annual Meeting will be here before we know it. I made hotel reservations for the Complementary Spouse and myself a week ago. We’ll be out near the Nashville International Airport. This means a little bit of a drive in on I-40 but it shouldn’t be too bad. We are staying over until Monday so as to attend the Board of Directors meeting which will be a first for me.
It turns out we will be staying near a contingent of my Minnesota friends who have an Airbnb rental. I last some of them at a wedding in Las Vegas during the SHOT Show officiated by the Rev. Elvis Presley (or a facsimile thereof). This should be fun.
With all the fears of coronavirus, you do have to wonder if it will have an impact on the meeting and show. Given my experience coming home from the SHOT Show, it makes me quite glad that I’ll be driving.
Speaking of coronavirus, wash your hands! My friend Grant Gallagher from the Polite Society Podcast is a PhD immunologist and sent us this article on the persistence of coronavirus on “inanimate surfaces”. I can’t begin to understand most of the science. However, thanks to Grant’s translation from science-speak, it means that your average antibacterial soap won’t be that effective but alcohol based hand sanitizers like Purel and the like will be.
Grant calls this the key line in the abstract:
The analysis of 22 studies reveals that human coronaviruses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) coronavirus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus or endemic human coronaviruses (HCoV) can persist on inanimate surfaces like metal, glass or plastic for up to NINE DAYS.
Returning to a discussion of the NRA Annual Meeting, ballots for the Board of Directors election must be received by March 29th. That is a fraction more than a month away. As always, any NRA member is eligible to vote for the 76th Director if they are attending the NRA Annual Meeting. It has to be done in person.
You can review my recommendations for the Board election here. To reiterate, I only voted for Frank Tait and Graham Hill. You could vote for up to 31 candidates but why would you.
The bottom line is you need to vote if you are an eligible member. Too few people vote in these elections and you know the result by now. The average local election for dog catcher and coroner has a higher turnout than the NRA board election. That is a shame!
If you are headed to Nashville in April, I hope to see you there.
I know that they call New York City “the city that never sleeps.” It applies equally as well to Las Vegas.
My flight home was at 6:05am so I left for the airport a bit after 4am. There were a ton of people out and about the MGM Grand at that time of the morning. Some were doing the walk of shame, some were drunk, some were hardcore gamblers, and some must have just been night people.
My Lyft driver Amanda was quite pleased to know I was an airport fare. She said at that time of the morning she either got drunks or people heading to the airport.
The flights home on Southwest were uneventful in terms of turbulence and I was able to get an aisle seat on both legs. My first leg was noteworthy but more on that later.
I enjoy the SHOT Show but it is great to get home. Sleeping in your own bed with your own pillow is the key to a restful night’s sleep for me. That and having the Complementary Spouse next to me. I think I was asleep by 9:30 last night. There are people that are “road warriors” who travel constantly for work. They have my admiration for their ability to do it because I know I sure could not do it.
Now back to the first leg of the trip home. Southwest Airlines had routed me from Las Vegas to Baltimore and from there on to Greenville-Spartanburg. When I arrived at the gate in Las Vegas I noticed there were a number of passengers wearing paper surgical masks. I didn’t think too much about it at the time since it is a common practice for many Asians. It turns out most were part of a Chinese group of tourists.
About an hour and a half into the flight I noticed the flight attendants checking on a passenger many rows in front of me. I didn’t think much about it. Then they started passing out paper surgical masks along with alcohol wipes to those around that passenger. They later offered them to anyone who wanted them.
We landed and then stopped short of the gate. They announced that they had a sick passenger and were waiting on health officials to meet us. Below is a picture of what I saw outside the window. There were multiple ambulances, fire department vehicles, and other emergency vehicles.
The captain came on the PA, explained the situation, and said he was just being extra cautious. He later went on to say we were free to leave once we got off the plane.
After about 20-30 minutes, health officials escorted the passenger and his wife off the plane. Then the head of the BWI Emergency Department announced that the passenger was being taken to a local hospital for testing as he had recently been in Beijing, China. He went on to say there was a very small chance that it was coronavirus and we would be notified by Southwest if the passenger tested positive.
Finally, before we were allowed to deplane, they had the tour group leader who spoke both English and Mandarian explain the situation in Mandarian to the Chinese tour group. They were to remain on the plane for a special briefing.
As we got off the plane, paramedics squirted our hands with hand sanitizer. I did speak to one of the paramedics who said they were just being overly cautious about the situation given the spread of coronavirus in China.
This afternoon, a passenger arrived on a flight from Las Vegas to BWI who showed flu-like symptoms and had recently traveled from Beijing, China.
The person did not meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for 2019 novel coronavirus testing but was referred to a medical facility for evaluation to determine whether additional follow-up was necessary. Per guidance from the CDC, no special action was indicated for this person or for any other passengers or crew on the flight.
Following evaluation by medical personnel, the person was released.
The passenger was previously screened and cleared in Mexico and Las Vegas.
Local medical personnel met Flight 2889 once it arrived at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport from Las Vegas due to reports of an ill Customer. Out of an abundance of caution, and in light of the recent concerns of the coronavirus, our Crew followed recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control for responding to concerns to ensure the Customer, and those traveling with them, receive the assistance or support they may need.
Frankly, I’m very glad that they took it seriously and didn’t just slough it off.
As to the other leg of the trip to GSP, the plane was half full so everyone was encouraged to spread out. There were a handful of people on that flight who had been on the previous leg and who also had attended the SHOT Show.
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