Gun Nuts Media

Tonight on Gun Nuts Radio, we’re going to be tackling what has become in light of the most recent election, a rather sticky issue.  Namely, how should “libertarian/conservative” gun owners act and treat gun owners that voted for Obama?  Where do we draw the line with our message?  Should we embrace them into the fold and try to evangelize them in the name of “liberty”, or should we let them lie in the bed that they made?

As always, we encourage your comments. I imagine that there will be some strong opinions about tonight’s topic, so we want you to join the conversation by calling in at 347-539-5436. Tonight’s show promises to be an interesting show topically, as Breda and I are of two different minds on the issue; which means that your feedback as the listener is even more valuable. Again, that’s tonight at 9pm Eastern time at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts! Be there!

I’m not a Texan, so I doubt that the event holds as much significance for me as it does for my readers from the Former Republic of Texas, but nonetheless today is a significant day historically, as it marks the beginning of The Battle of the Alamo, which would last until March 6th, at which time the army of Santa Anna would overrun and annihilate the defenders of the Alamo.

When I was a kid, I visited the Alamo in San Antonio, and while I was mostly enraptured by the displays, I couldn’t but help feel a deep sense of history and connection to the place.  In my adulthood, the Alamo serves a mental reminder of the power of a few men who are willing to take a stand against tyranny – a few imperfect men at that, as many of the defenders of the Alamo were not saints.

Today, what can we as gun owners learn from the Alamo, and the eventual battle of San Jancinto?  Well, the first is that we should not forget the Alamo, or the horrible election result of 2008; even more importantly we must not forget what got us that result – a moribund Republican party, and a “media” only too willing to carry water for our opponent.  Just as important as remember what got us here is to remember that hope, liberty, and the fundamental concepts that made America great are not lost.  Just as the fledgling Texas Revolution experienced a great loss at the Alamo, they eventually went on to win the Battle of San Jancinto, and win their liberty.  I have read much doom and gloom lately in conservative blogs – so many people are saying that “this is it”, and “we’re all screwed now” because Obama is the president, or because they passed a terrible bill through Congress, or whatever.  I’m here to say knock that shit off.  It is 1) annoying as hell, 2) defeatist, and 3) mostly it’s just annoying as hell.  I don’t have time for whiners or doom-n’-gloom prognosticators, because they don’t get anything done except kill morale.

We should remember the Alamo – both the real Alamo and our figurative Alamo in the 2008 election.  We cannot forget however that no matter how bad things appear to be in the short term, that hope, real hope, liberty, and the things that the Texians fought for, the ideals on which this country was founded are not lost.  We just need to make 2010 and 2012 our San Jancinto.

Frank details the pros and cons of several different shoulder holster systems in this post, which does an excellent job of discussion the various retention and safety issues inherent in shoulder rigs.

For my part, I’m not a fan of shoulder rigs – because I don’t work around machinery, a hip holster isn’t a problem for me in regards to catching on “stuff”. But the biggest reason I’m not a fan of the shoulder holster is that I like my “street” gear to replicate my competition gear as closely as possible. If I’ve spent hours anchoring my drawstroke to a hip carried firearm in competition, then if the balloon goes up, my hand is going to have a natural stress response to head for where it “thinks” my blaster should be.

If you’re a regular reader, you know the next thing I’m going to say: practice. If you decide that a shoulder holster system is your “cup of tea” you need to practice with it, while wearing “street” clothes. That’s complicated by the fact that a lot of ranges and every competition frowns on shoulder holsters, for the same safety reasons that Frank mentions. Luckily, you can always, always, use dry fire practice. Just remove all ammo from the room, double check that your gun is unloaded, and you’re off to the races.