Or in this case, magnetism? Now can we say that ToddG has a magnetic personality?
Quote of the Day
Han Solo – “Look, I ain’t in this for your revolution, and I’m not in it for you, Princess. I expect to be well paid. I’m in it for the money.“
Dept. Of Redundancy Dept.
I’ve been looking over the application for the America’s Top Shot TV show (which yes I will be trying to get on) and there are a couple of items that made me laugh. The best one is where the application asks you to rate your skill with different guns on a level of 1-5. In the “rifle” category, there are “bolt/lever”, “semi-automatic”, and then “automatic”. But then in the “other” category, you have “assault rifle” and “machine gun”. I had a wry chuckle over that.
That being said, I’m definitely going to apply – the opportunity is too good for me to pass up taking a shot at it!
The 4 Rules?
“They’re more like guidelines, anyway!” Are the 4 Rules of gun safety, as given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai Jeff Cooper really as sacrosanct as some people claim they are? Recent controversies across the gunblog world have sparked this train of thought on how quick we are as a community to point and holler “they have their finger on the trigger” or “she’s muzzling people with that gun“. In both of those linked instances, those people would be correct: the SniperBabes have several pictures that are in clear violation of Rule 3, and even Breda is clearly violating Rule 2 in that video. So technically, the people that called them out for those violations of The 4 Rules are quite correct if you’re holding to the letter of the law.
But the letter of the law isn’t really adequate to address real life. If you’ve ever met a serious gun owner that claims to have never violated one of the 4 Rules in his or her life, that person has either owned guns for less than a day, or they’re a liar. The 4 Rules are actually elegant in that you need to be breaking at least two of them simultaneously for something bad to happen, and yet we insist as a community on a treating them as though they were rigid doctrine to never be violated. The truth is, we all break the 4 Rules regularly.
- Dry fire practice? You’re breaking Rule 1 for sure, and most likely Rule 3 as well.
- Holstering in an IWB holster? Good chance to break Rule 2.
The list goes on and on and on and on and on; but the point isn’t to say that the 4 Rules aren’t good, or that we shouldn’t be following the 4 Rules. They are, and we should, because adherence to the 4 Rules of gun safety does in fact prevent accidents that could lead to injury or loss of life. The problem is when we treat the 4 Rules as though they’re religious dogma – they’re not. They’re more like guidelines than rules, because rigid sets of rules can’t always apply in the real world. Look at the two examples above, especially the video in Breda’s post. Is there a rule violation? You bet. At any time, was that gun being handled in an unsafe manner or were people in danger? Not even for a split second.
The 4 Rules: they’re great, but like any set of guidelines, they’re not perfect. Once we start acting like we live in a vacuum where we can always apply rigid rules, the 4 Rules then become a crutch for people to escape critical thinking. That’s the most important safety, after all. No set of rules, no mechanical safety is ever going to be a replacement for good critical thinking and reasoning skills.
Easy money
MidwayUSA has donated $15,000 in prize money for the 2010 Bianchi Cup – this money is reserved for first time Production Division shooters.
Larry and Brenda Potterfield of MidwayUSA have announced they will be adding an additional $15,000 in cash prizes to the 2010 NRA Bianchi Cup. “First time Men, Women & Junior competitors using a production firearm and achieving the highest aggregate score of all four Championship Events will be awarded $2,500 for 1st Place, $1,500 for 2nd Place, and $500 for 3rd place. This donation raises MidwayUSA’s total cash contribution to the 2010 NRA Bianchi Cup $65,000.
While I’m not eligible for that prize money (as I shot in the inaugural Production Division last year) adding that bonus for new Production shooters will go a long way towards deepening the field in the new division.
Top Shot TV
This sounds almost exactly like an idea that was posted in the comments right here at Gun Nuts.
If you are skilled with a pistol, rifle or any other firearm, you could win $100,000 in prizes on TV’s first marksmanship competition show. The History Channel and the producers of The Ultimate Fighter are looking for anyone with mind-blowing shooting skills and a big personality to take on exciting physical challenges with multiple guns and mystery projectile weapons.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a professionally trained shooter or a self-taught, average Joe (or Jane!). As long as you’re in good physical shape, have mastered a firearm and can adapt to new weapons and demanding physical situations, you could be America’s first “Top Shot.”
APPLY TODAY!
To apply, email [email protected] with your name, city/state, phone number, a recent photo of yourself and a brief explanation of why you should be on the show. Deadline to apply is January 18, 2010. For more information, visitwww.pilgrimfilms.tv and click on “CASTING” or call 818-728-3729 TODAY!
* Applicants must be at least 21 years of age, a resident or citizen of the United States and reasonably proficient with shooting and marksmanship
Pretty cool if you ask me. Sourced from an email from Michael Bane.
Desperately wanting
I remember running through the wet grass…Sorry, got a little distracted there, because I was cruising Gallery of Guns and and saw this. With some action work and a new set of grips, a 5 inch GP100 would be pretty money for Bianchi Cup’s production division, and it would do so in a way as to not break the bank. I’ve definitely had worse ideas. Not a bad idea for a budget competition gun for Bianchi Production Division or ICORE’s new Retro Division.
Who's on first?
From the comments at Tam’s, where she notes that if Glock comes out with a .22 LR caliber pistol and keeps with their naming conventions, it will be the Glock model 40. Reader JB reproduced almost the entire “Who’s on First” skit but rewriting as dialog between Tam and I referencing the internal inconsistency in Glock’s naming and caliber conventions. Here’s part of the skit, with the rest being after the jump because it’s LOOOOOONG.
- Caleb: Well Tam, we’re here in Las Vegas, Nevada at the 2010 SHOT Show. You know Glock is showing off their newest pistol and I just finished talking with their National Sales Manager about it.
Tam: Well Caleb, if you were just talking with their rep, you must know all about it.
Caleb: I certainly do.
Tam: You know it’s been a while since I interviewed Gaston Glock for The Arms Room. So you’ll have to tell me about the new product, and then I’ll know what’s going on.
Caleb: Oh, I’ll tell you about the pistol, but you know it seems to me they give these things now-a-days very peculiar names.
Tam: You mean funny names?
Caleb: Strange names, pet names…like Miss Perfect…
Tam: How is it perfect if it misses?
Caleb: No, that’s the slogan.
Tam: A “slow gun” seems like a silly idea.
Caleb: Uh, it’s Scottish Gaelic for “battle cry”.
Tam: If it’s supposed to be Scottish, you want the Martini-Henry Mark III.
Caleb: Don’t need a martini, I have my coffee.
PAUSE
Caleb: Well, let’s see, we have on the table, the Glock Forty.
Tam: That barrel looks kind of small for a Glock .40.
Caleb: Uh, it just looks like a Glock Forty to me.
Tam: Did you really just talk with their sales rep?
Caleb: Yes.
Tam: You gonna be writing an article on this pistol for Gun Nuts?
Caleb: Yes.
Tam: And you don’t know what the pistol is?
Caleb: Well I should.
Tam: Well then this is the Glock .40?
Caleb: Yes.
Tam: I mean the type of pistol.
Caleb: Forty.
Tam: This gun right here.
Caleb: Forty.
Tam: The new gun from Glock.
Caleb: Forty.
Tam: The new gun…
Caleb: This is the Glock Forty!
Tam: I’m asking you if this is the Glock .40.
Caleb: That’s the gun.
Tam: That’s this gun?
Caleb: Yes.
Tam: Well go ahead and tell me how that’s true.
Caleb: That’s it. The Forty.
Tam: That’s the .40?
Caleb: Yes.
PAUSE
Tam: Look, does Glock produce a .40 pistol?
Caleb: Certainly.
Tam: It’s a Glock and it’s a .40?
Caleb: That’s right.
Tam: When I ask for a Glock .40 I would be handed this gun?
Caleb: That’s right.
Tam: All I’m trying to find out is what kind of Glock this is.
Caleb: Forty.
Tam: The gun is a .40…
Caleb: That’s it.
Tam: So if I want to shoot a .40…
Caleb: You can, right here. The Glock Forty.
Tam: This is the .40?
Caleb: Yes.
PAUSE
Caleb: What’s wrong with that?
Tam: Look, all I wanna know is when you ask for this gun in a store, what do you say?
Caleb: Glock Forty.
Tam: It’s a .40?
Caleb: The Glock Forty.
Tam: How is it a .40?
Caleb: That’s it. That’s the Forty.
Tam: .40?
Caleb: Yes.
PAUSE
The hottest Gun Nuts ever
Last night’s Gun Nuts was quite a bit of fun, as we were joined by Ashley, Jen, and Francine from SniperBabes.com; the owner of SniperBabes came along for the ride as well. You can listen to all of last night’s show right here. One of the topics of the show is the now available SniperBabes and Gun Nuts co-branded calendar, which has generated quite a bit of controversy amongst the online gun community. LabRat from the Atomic Nerds called in last night to address just that issue, but if you want to hear her call, you’ll need to download last night’s show. Last night’s show is also available in .mp3 format for on the go listening.
Of course, Gun Nuts Radio is available for download on 
for you iPod/iPhone users.
Last night’s show was a great show – we were very happy to be joined by Roger and the ladies from SniperBabes, and I think that in the show we hit on an internal debate in the shooting community that’s similar to the 1911 vs Glock debate inasmuch as it’s an incredibly polarizing issue. The thing to remember at the end of the day is regardless of how you feel about the calendar, or Gun Nuts, or SniperBabes is that we are all on the same side. The goal is the same for all of us – to bring more people to the shooting and hunting sports and to expand and protect our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Check out last night’s Gun Nuts Radio to hear the debate in full!