|
|
February 23, 2009 by
One of my favorite times of year is almost here: our annual gun test. In order to test the guns you need to shoot the guns. And in order to shoot the guns you need ammo.
Lots and lots of ammo.
This year I’ve ordered more than 3,500 rounds of centerfire rifle ammo. I don’t even want to guess at how many cases of shotgun shells I’m going to blow through.
My boss is going to freak when he gets the bill.
[ Read Full Post ] February 20, 2009 by
One of the many arguments put forth by fans of then-candidate Barack Obama was that we had no need to fear his stance on guns. He put up a statement on his Web site saying that he “believes” in the Second Amendment, right? He took down statements from his Web site saying he wanted to make permanent the so-called “assault weapons ban” and close the so-called “gun-show loophole,” right? (Both since put back up. Surprise, surprise.)
We also weren’t supposed to be concerned that he had ardently supported every single gun control measure ever put before him. Plus, Obama is supposed to be post-partisan (whatever that means) and was going to shy away from the classic red-blue culture war hot button topics.
We were also told that the problems facing this country were much bigger than quibbling over issues like gun control and that it wouldn’t even come up in the early part of his first term.
I never bought that argument mostly because the politicians who control the legislative agenda in Washington are also the most ideologically driven. They are the folks, like House Speaker Pelosi, who come from “safe” districts that are overwhelmingly liberal or conservative where reelection is a given, resulting in seniority, resulting in leadership positions in Congress.
In December, the New York Times wrote an editorial saying that the NRA were a bunch of no-good meanies who had said all kinds of nasty and false things about Obama during the campain.
The National Rifle Association directed much money and bile against Barack Obama. In false, misleading and, fortunately, ineffective ads, fliers, mailers and Web postings, the group said that Mr. Obama posed a “clear and present danger” to Second Amendment rights and that his election would mean a gun ban.
So it would be false to assume Obama’s election would mean a gun ban, according the Times. And yet in an editorial today the paper is calling for a…wait for it…gun ban!
Do these “smart” people even read their own paper? Or are they just comfortable with their intellectual dishonesty?
[ Read Full Post ]February 18, 2009 by
The details of this story are almost too gruesome to relate, so if you want the full download see here:
Here or here.
I wish I could say I was surprised by the chimp’s attack on the unfortunate woman, but I’m not. Chimps have a long and bloody history of attacking and killing people and nobody has any business owning one as a pet.
What does this have to do with a hunting and shooting blog?
Well, I have a very un-P.C. confession to make, which is that if I were to encounter a chimp in the wild while on a hunt in Africa (granted, an extremely unlikely eventuality) I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to shoot it if it so much as gave me a hard stare. Yes, I really dislike the buggers and that underlying and perhaps irrational animosity extends toward their cousin (and ours) the baboon, which I have on more than one occasion shot.
But is that feeling so irrational? I don’t need a lecture on the fact that in the evolutionary scheme of things that homo sapiens came out on top in relation to the other primates and that they’ve certainly suffered more at our hands than we have at theirs. And yet, on some level I think my reaction is based on a deeply rooted, subconscious recognition that these creatures were probably bitter rivals of our ancient ancestors, with plenty of blood shed as a result on both sides and through whatever happy circumstance we just happened to push them into the jungles and trees instead of the other way around.
Oddly, I don’t have the same reaction to gorillas, but maybe that’s because they don’t throw off the same bloodthirsty vibe. Go figure.
[ Read Full Post ]February 13, 2009 by
Call me old fashioned, but I enjoy shooting with iron sights, even on the most modern guns. So something like this new sight from Sigsauer is right up my alley.
Here are some of the details.
This new sight system provided four site stations for accurate engagement at varying distances including CQB, 100m, 200m, and 300m, all with tool-less windage and elevation adjustment. Designed to work in conjunction with the hooded front sight, the Rotary Diopter Sight System attaches to the receiver’s M1913 rail. Made of durable steel construction the Rotary Diopter Sight System retrofits all existing SIG556 rifles. The front and rear sight co-witness with the SIG SAUER Mini Red Dot Sight and are optimized for M855 and M193 ammunition. The Rotary Diopter Sight System features 0.5 MOA (1/2”) click adjustments and 34” windage/25” elevation adjustment range at 100 meters.
Looks like it is well thought out and as soon as I get one to play with I’ll post a report.
[ Read Full Post ]February 9, 2009 by
Mississippi lawmakers could soon be presented with a bill that amends the state's emergency powers law to allow gun owners to retain firearms in a crisis.
"The government has no business trying to confiscate a law-abiding citizen's firearm or ammunition at any time, particularly in a natural disaster situation," said State Sen. Merle Flowers, the bill's sponsor.
After Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Police confiscated firearms, citing authority to do so under state emergency powers laws.
[ Read Full Post ] February 6, 2009 by U.S. Representatives Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.) introduced H.R. 197 , the "National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009" on Jan. 23.
The bill would provide national recognition for valid state Right-to-Carry licensees, allowing any person with a valid carry permit or license issued by a state to carry a concealed firearm in any other state. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) is expected to introduce the Senate companion bill soon.
[ Read Full Post ]February 4, 2009 by President Barack Obama's urban policy includes what some call thinly veiled initiatives to dilute the Second Amendment by fiat, since legislation and lawsuits haven't been as successful as zealots wish. Objectives include repealing the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts access to confidential data on firearms traces, closing the alleged gun show “loophole,” requiring guns be “childproof,” and making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent.
[ Read Full Post ]
|
|
