Apparently, the questionnaire/job application for positions in the new administration contains a question about whether or not you’re a “registered” gun owner, which kind of displays a lack of knowledge about our nation’s firearms laws, since the vast majority of states and localities don’t have any kind of registration scheme for firearms.
6 Months Away
We are officially 6 months out from the 2nd ever 2ABlogBash, and now we have a contest.
I will be in Phoenix come May, and I hope to see you there as well. Because let’s face it, all the cool kids will be there.
Bond, James Bond.
Quantum of Solace is out in theaters today.
I had really grown distant from the James Bond franchise during the Pierce Brosnan days. While I liked Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is not Enough and Battle for the Ice Castle in Racecars Die Another Day were so awful that they went a long way towards completely turning me off to James Bond. It was a multitude of factors, but bad acting, ridiculous over the top scenes and sloppy gunplay just did me in.
Then Casino Royale came out, and I was filled with fear and trepidation. A new Bond, new directors, and…holy cow it was awesome. I remember walking out of the theater thinking “where was this James Bond all my life”? With that in mind, I am extremely excited about the new Bond movie, The Quantum of Solace. If, like the reboot of the Batman franchise, they continue in the same direction as the Casino Royale with gritty, intense action, and stay away from the cheesy weirdness that has haunted the Bond films, then they will have made another excellent movie.
Revolver Gun Porn
Smith and Wesson 327PD – an airweight .357 Magnum revolver. Scandium frame, titanium cylinder, weighs in around 24 ounces.
Comes standard from the factory with the hi-viz fiber optic sight on the front post. For the really cool part, it’s an eight shot .357 which has had the cylinder cut to take 8 round moon clips for faster and more efficient reloading.
Smith & Wesson’s website has the MSRP set around 1100 dollars, however the general prices that I’ve found seem to be in the 800 dollar range, which is a lot more palatable. As far as ammo selection goes, you wouldn’t see me shooting a lot of .357 through this revolver if I had one, those flyweight wheelguns are not pleasant to shoot full house magnum loads through. I’d spend a lot of time shooting lower recoil .38 Specials, and I’d probably carry .38 Special +P rounds in this gun if I ended up buying one.
I have to say though, I do like the looks of the gun. It’s got nice lines, and the wood grips give it a sort of class that is lacking in some carry guns.
Protip
Don’t post videos of yourself on the internet adding a “device” to a semi-automatic rifle to help you bump fire it.
I’m not going to post a link to the offending party, but come on people, have some common sense. We’re trying to differentiate semi-automatic rifles from machine guns in the minds of the average citizen, and you’re going to post videos on how to make your semi-auto AR work “just like a machinegun?” And your URL even uses the word “machine gun”? Not smart.
Of course, the cherry on the sundae is the rubber band you use to help you bump fire. With the ATF’s track record of well, doing whatever the heck they want, adding what they may classify as a “device” to your new blaster is a neat trick to land your fanny in federal court.
Now, before you pile me for calling this guy out, I don’t really care if he’s bumpfiring or not. If that’s what rocks your jollies, then by all means go ahead. But over here, I’m trying to fight and win a battle for public opinion, which is something we’re really going to need for the next four years. And like I said, that’s not helping. It’s important that the average Joe understands that there is a huge, functional difference between automatic weapons and civilian legal semi-auto rifles, and calling your website “________machinegun.com” doesn’t help.
Steel this Friday
At Marion County Fish and Game, as usual.
I may or not be there, depending on two items: 1) how I feel when I wake up tomorrow morning, and 2) how the weather is. If it rains, they move the match so you shoot it under the hoods, which (and this is no knock on my friends at MCF&G) basically makes the match suck. The problem when you’re shooting under the hoods is that it’s incredibly loud and it makes it very difficult to hear your hits on the steel.
I love steel matches, next to IDPA it’s my favorite type of competition; that’s why I’m hoping that it doesn’t rain and that I feel great tomorrow, because I haven’t shot anything in a while due to vacation and this damnable cold – I’m itching to put some bbs downrange.
Ruger Named Firearms Manufacturer of the Year
The National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers has named Ruger their Firearms Manufacturer of the Year at their 35th annual meeting.
We continue to work on new product development, customer communication, product support and an expanded website that provides Ruger distributors, retailers and consumers with value-added products, new business tools and user-friendly information,” said Chris Killoy, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Ruger. “Our new product offerings are the result of listening to consumers needs and their success is benefitting all segments of the distribution system.”
You know, I will definitely agree that of late, Ruger has been very, very good at giving the shooting public the kind of guns that they want. Ruger introduced the LCP at last year’s SHOT SHOW, and it took off and sold like hotcakes. Despite issues with the trigger on the new SR9, it’s been selling very well; and recently Ruger also ran their Innagural Special on 20 round magazines for the ever popular Mini-14 rifle.
Now if they would only make a GP100 with a titanium cylinder…
Steyr AUGs to be available Q1 2009
Sabre Defence has announced that they are in the final production stages of the new, civilian legal Steyr AUG. If you click that link, it will take you to the Sabre Defence press release on the production of the Steyr AUG. If you go to Steyr’s website, you can see a picture of the new rifle, which I’ve reproduced here as well.
The link will take you to the fullsize version. It’s well, an AUG alright. Counterstrike fanboys across the world are squealing in delight.
Myself, I think it’s a cool looking gun, but I’ve never been a huge fan of bullpup style rifles, once you get past the “hey that’s neat looking” factor. Sure, I like that you can get more barrel into a smaller space with a bullpup, and the AUG has pretty good ergonomics for a bullpup gun.
Bottom line though is that if you’re the kind of guy who bought a Walther G22 just because it was a bullpup, you know have a chance to own a genuine Steyr AUG, the “king” of bullpup rifles.*
*Yes, I know about the SA80 in England, but good luck getting that in a civilian version.
Lead Ammo ban
The Humane Society of the United States (note: this is different from your local Humane Societies, which are organizations for helping and rescuing local animals. HSUS is a rabidly anti-hunting animal rights group along the lines of PETA) is now calling for a nationwide ban on lead ammo.
The Humane Society of the United States renewed a call for a nationwide ban on lead-shot ammunition after the North Dakota Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the results of a lead study last week. According to preliminary findings, North Dakotans who ate wildlife killed with lead bullets had higher levels of lead in their blood than people who ate little or no meat from wild animals.
The problem lies in the fact that what the study actually showed is the exact opposite of what HSUS is claiming. For example:
Participants [people who eat game meat harvested with traditional ammo] in the study had readings lower than the national average and well below the level the CDC considers to be of concern.
Children in the study had readings that were less than half the national average and far below the level the CDC considers to be of concern.
The study showed a statistically insignificant difference between participants who ate game harvested using traditional hunting ammunition and the non-hunters in the control group.
The final nail in HSUS’s coffin is that the study itself recommends that North Dakota hunters continue to donate game meat and venison in specific to food pantries, indicating that there is no inherent risk to it. What amazes me is that HSUS was able to read the exact same report that I read, and essentially flat out lie about it. Well, I guess I should say I’m not amazed, I’m more appalled than anything.
It’s tremendously important that hunters and shooters come together to oppose stuff like this – a ban on traditional ammo would deeply affect all of our ability to hunt, target shoot, and even to defend ourselves. Because AHSA and HSUS accomplished their electoral goal, we can look forward to spending the next four years fighting this kind of stupidity.
Thanks to Sebastian for the link.
Gun Nuts Radio: Best of Gun Nuts
For the folks that listened to last night’s show, I want to say “thanks”, and I also want to apologize to everyone who tuned in expecting a show on the spike in gun sales and EBR recommendations. I apparently have contracted some kind of damned virus, which made me sound like this guy in addition to making feel like 6 pounds of crap in a 5 pound sack. If you want to hear the atrocity that was my voice last night, listen to the first minute and last 30 seconds of the show.
The show we did air was a re-run, and it was a re-run of what I think was one of our very best shows. It was the original “chicks and guns” show, the first time Breda was on the air, as well as Bonnie and Tracy from Pretty Pistolera. If you’d like to download an .mp3 of last nights show, you can by clicking this link. You can also listen to the show in the embedded player below.
Next week’s show will be the scheduled show on gun sales and EBRs, and then the week after that we’re going to start the run up to SHOT SHOW. Last year’s coverage of SHOT was immensely popular, however it was a little one-sided in that I only covered what I wanted to cover. This year, I want to get lots and lots of pre-show input from the readers and listeners that make all of this possible on what you want to see at SHOT ’09.