And one is none. Our buddy Turk had the slide on his 10mm Witness crack the other day. Like Tam sez, guns break. Even tested designs like the Witness (which is essentially a CZ-75 clone) will break, because like anything else, they are a machine and prone to mechanical failures, failures during the manufacturing process, etc.
Luckily, spare parts for Witness pistols are readily available, so Turk shouldn’t have too much trouble getting his gun back up and running.
David Codrea has a perfect example of why I’ve always found the concept of “Student government” to be a laughable idea. In Oregon, a Marine veteran was wrongly arrested for carrying a gun on campus, which while a violation of school administrative rules – is not a crime. The local prosecutor realized this and dropped all charges against former Marine.
Unfortunately, David shows us that the story doesn’t end there. You see, the “young adults” must have their sense of “justice” satisfied, and this man, this Marine that DARED to defy the ALMIGHTY ADMINISTRATION must. Be. Punished.
From the Oregan Firearms Federation, here is the sad, depressing tale:
The tribunal that tried Marine veteran Jeffery Maxwell laughed after suspending him from Western Oregon University and sentencing him to:
a “psychological evaluation stating he is not a threat to himself of others” and
a mandatory “ten page paper” ” with references, “citing, but not limited to:
1) the importance of following the law,even through civil disobedience.
2) the importance of accepting responsibility for one’s actions
3) and recognizing the impact possession of weapons on college campuses has on others.”So, Maxwell has been told his lawful possession of a firearm on campus is evidence of mental illness and he must “confess his sins.” Welcome to the new Politburo. Maxwell may as well been judged by the Hitler youth for his “thought crimes.”
Jeffery Maxwell’s “jury” were four unnamed students and one staff member of WOU.
The “prosecutor” was Patrick Moser [email protected] “Acting Coordinator of Campus Judicial Affairs”
Maxwell asked to have his “trial” open to the public, which is his right, but was denied.
The tribunal was told repeatedly that they lacked the authority to impose a rule dealing with firearms. But the children who sat in judgment of the veteran were not interested in the law or the facts. They were only interested in attacking and embarrassing a man who had committed no crime but had chosen to exercise his right to protect himself and others.
This had absolutely nothing to do with justice, and everything to do with feelings. The howling children must be satisfied, and it seems that their satisfaction comes at the expense of a good man.
In the aftermath of yesterday’s post on stopping power, someone asked me what round I carry in my defensive firearms. I carry three different calibers depending on the situation, either a .25 ACP, a 9mm, or a .40 S&W. Here are the rounds I carry in each one of those.
All that aside, Tam is right when she said in the comments of yesterday’s post that most modern HP/duty rounds are all designed to meet or exceed the FBI’s penetration tests. Whether it’s a .45, .40, or 9mm, most modern defensive rounds from “duty sized” pistols are going to give you the penentration necessary to produce rapid stops. In fact, International Cartridge Corporation designed a frangible defensive round that meets those standards; a 125 grain HP where 1/2 of the projectile acts like a Glaser, and the other half acts like a wadcutter. It’s pretty neat, and you can watch the penetration test video here.
How is it that Che is a freaking socialist hero/icon, but Pancho Villa never gets any love?
Last night’s Gun Nuts Radio was focused on the gear that we carry in addition to our firearm. The sponsored product, contrary to what I said on the air was not a SERPA holster for an XD, but rather a SERPA Holster for a 1911 style pistol. We actually had a lot of fun doing the show; the discussion of our gear and what we carry was excellent, as it lead to mentioning a lot of good companies and good products, and also lead to the central thesis of the show, which is that your carry gear works as a system. Everything, from your holster to your belt to you knife has a distinct role to play, and in a self defense situation you need them all to do their job.
Glick the “Gun Nuts TNG” Icon to go directly to the show page.
You can also click here to download an .mp3 copy of the show, or you can follow these instructions to subscribe to our show on iTunes.
Speaking of knives, last night’s show featured Jared West of Mantis Knives out of the old homestead in California. Jared and I had talked a bit at SHOT SHOW, and I was impressed with the direction that he’s taking his company, and wanted to have him on the show. Mantis makes a quality product at an affordable price; so check them out if you’re in the market for a new sharp thing. Mantis is also a very “net” and new media friendly company – they’re getting set to open up a forum on their website, and you can also subscribe to get email updates on new products and gear.
Like I said, doing the show last night was fun. I love talking gear with people, whether it’s holsters, knives, flashlights, or Breda wearing a Lara Croft outfit (note: this actually was the topic for about 10 minutes). If you don’t listen live, you can still catch us – just click to hear what you missed!
The good people of Texas are apparently drafting a contingency plan should the government of Mexico undergo a rapid collapse. I’m not going to lie, the concept that our neighbor to the South could be having a small scale internal shooting war while we’re going through a recession is one of those things that kinds of makes me go “uh-oh”.
You think illegal immigration is bad right now? Imagine how bad it would be if their entire government collapsed into chaos.
Yesterday’s post on stopping power reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend who was thinking about buying a firearm for home defense. The conversation went something like this…
Me: “Well, for home defense, a shotgun makes a pretty good tool, especially if you take the time to practice with it. It’s very effective at stopping the threat.”
Friend: “Don’t you mean ‘kill the badguy’?”
Me: “No, I’m not trying to kill him, only stop them.”
Friend: “What’s the difference?”
Me: “If someone is attacking me, I want them to stop their attack. That’s the goal. It’s just an unfortunate side effect of human body mechanics that putting bullets where they stop people produces the unwanted side effect of ‘death’.”
Friend: “Oh.”
Me: “Side effects suck.”
Caliber wars are fun. I’ve been cruising The Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy lately, and for whatever reason there are multiple threads in which some guy rolls in with the assertion that “ROROROR .40 SUXXORS”, while at the same time asserting that the 9mm is a superior caliber. To the .40.
Whenever people start talking about which caliber is “the best”, usually you’ll get three-five solid forum posts about relative muzzle energy, felt recoil impulse, etc…and then after that it just turns into a free-for-all, with everyone chiming in on why “Caliber X sux” or “Caliber Y felled an elephant with a 1-shot stop”. After the “five post” boundary, you’re also going to find a lot of refernces to “hydrostatic shock”, “temporary wound channels”, and fun stuff like that.
Which leads to Ahab’s Rules for Stopping Power – this is how I select my carry and defensive catridges:
So, to put it in general terms, “penetration is king, but a big fat bullet is nice”.
We talked a little bit last week about tonight’s Gun Nuts Radio, which is going to be a “carry gear/gun gear” show, with the exception that to make things interesting, we’re not going to be talking about guns.
Our topic will primarly be carry gear other than guns, such as holsters, knives, and flashlights. Speaking of knives, we’ll be joined tonight by Jared West, president of Mantis Knives from around 9:20 to 9:40 to talk about their products.
As usual, you can join the conversation on tonight’s Gun Nuts Radio by calling us at 347-539-5436. The show goes live at 9pm, and we’d love to have you join us!
Last night, I watched about 30 seconds of President Obama’s speech. During that time, he said at least three or four times that “government is the solution to the economy’s problems”.
I stopped watching after that, because I almost threw my bourbon at the tv, and I liked that bourbon.