shotguns

The People’s Shotgun

Posted on by Caleb

Since everyone is talking about the absolute gun rights fiasco that could occur after this election, I thought I’d talk for a minute about what I’m calling “The People’s Shotgun” –  a cost effective, practically tool that should be in every household to provide food, and should the need arise, defense from predation by animals and bad people.

There are a lot of good scatterguns out there, and if you can afford to get a Benelli or a Beretta, by all means do so.  But the price tag on those guns, along with even the price tag associated with your run of the mill Remington 870 or Mossberg 500 prevents it from truly being “a shotgun for the people”.  What need is in an affordable, serviceable shotgun that will last from generation to generation with little to not maintenance and with the possibility of taking lots and lots of abuse.  And in a perfect world, the People should be able to purchase this shotgun without over-extending your budget in the current economy.

Of course, people who know me have probably now figured out that I’m talking about the humble single-shot break action shotgun, the best examples of which are produced by Marlin under the trade name H&R 1871.  As simple as simple can be, the single shot shotgun often retails for around $100 or less, and can be had in every important caliber from .410 all the way to 10 gauge.  Simple, rugged, and 100% reliable, the single shot shotgun will last you a lifetime, and will certainly last the next four years of our whomever gets elected.  Truly a gun “for the People”.

Of course, I’m not suggesting that you throw you current guns out and buy a bunch of Topper shotguns.  No, my advice is aimed squarely at people who are concerned about the potential for “rough times” ahead, and shopping on a budget for a shotgun that will perform yeoman’s duties in a variety or roles and fashions.  Single shot break open shotguns have been on our farms and in our homes for literally hundreds of years in the United States, and with economic times being what they are, it’s a lot easier to justify $100 for a 20 gauge that will last forever than $500 for anything else.  Again, I’m not knocking Remingtons or Mossbergs or Berettas, but I am pointing out that a lot of people (myself included) are extremely budget conscious, and there’s a lot of appeal in these simple, rugged guns.

Uncategorized

Open Letter to Barack Obama

Posted on by Caleb

From the Chief Lobbyist of the Illinois State Rifle Association:

I lobbied Barack Obama extensively while he was an Illinois State Senator. As a result of that experience, I know Obama’s attitudes toward guns and gun owners better than anyone. The truth be told, in all my years in the Capitol I have never met a legislator who harbors more contempt for the law-abiding firearm owner than does Barack Obama.

While much of the article contains information that will not be news to any of my longtime readers, it is important to read the entire thing – it shows an insider’s view of the outright contempt and hostility with which the possible President views your right to self-defense, and your right to keep and bear arms.

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Obama’s big “pro-gun” push

Posted on by Caleb

Robb takes a look at Obama’s latest fake pro-gun ad.

I’ve been extremely interested in how hard Obama has been going after “the gun vote” – AFL-CIO, AHSA, and a lot of other people are desperately trying to convince gun owners that Obama won’t be coming after our guns if he wins come November. I’ve said before that the left has realized that they need to appeal to us bitter rednecks, but instead of actually producing a pro-gun candidat they give us a hardcore anti-gunner and just try to pretend he’s pro-gun.

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Sarah Palin and Ahab

Posted on by Caleb

Guess who’s going to see Sarah Palin on Friday when she comes to Indiana?  Mrs. Ahab and I will be at the rally, getting all fired up for the election!

Never before has so much awesome been gathered in one location.  If Verizon Wireless Music center implodes under the strain of the intense awesomeness, I will die with a smile on my face.

As a side note, I’m struck by the irony that I’ll have to disarm to see the candidate that wants to defend my right to keep and bear arms.

Uncategorized

Open Carry Mom gets her permit back

Posted on by Caleb

The PA mom who legally open carried to her son’s soccer game has had her permit restored.  This is a good thing, because unlike “open carry events”, this woman wasn’t looking to cause trouble, she just wanted to go her child’s game and relax – it shouldn’t have mattered even for a moment if she was packing, no matter what some allegedly pro-gun people said at the time.

I thought long and hard about this issue – I’m a big fan of open carry in theory, but a lot of the time lately I feel like Open Carry is being abused as a way to get attention and is actually hurting our cause rather than helping it.  However, on this issue I felt like this was exactly how I’d want to see open carry done – casually, without drawing attention to one’s person while so doing.

I’m very pleased to see that rule of law has been upheld in this issue.

ammo

ATK enters into partnership with FN Herstal

Posted on by Caleb

ATK will be working cooperatively with FN Herstal to develop ammo for the SCAR weapons platforms, as well as 5.7mm ammo for the US Civilian market.

That reminds me of a beef I have with civilian firearms manufacturers, but why aren’t we seeing more guns chambered for 5.7mm?  Sure, it’s a souped up .22 Magnum, but there are some people (MEEEEEEE) that flip their lid for a compact carbine with a 16 inch barrel chambered for 5.7mm.  In fact, I bet if you could develop a 5.7mm carbine and sell it for $600 dollars that you wouldn’t be able to make them fast enough to keep up with the demand.  Right now, if I want something to shoot 5.7×28 rounds, I’m either going to buy an FN P90 which has been neutered to make it civilian legal, or an AR-57 from American Tactical Imports.  I guess I could get a T/C Encore made for it (they catalogue barrels in 5.7mm) but a single shot 5.7mm doesn’t really blow my skirt up.

I guess what I’m saying is that I want more guns for this cartridge – as a defensive cartridge I’m indifferent, but as a blaster/150 yard coyote terminator, I’m all about it.

shooting

Shooting under pressure

Posted on by Caleb

I’m a firm believer in competition as a training method, anyone who’s read my blog for any amount of time would know that.  One of the biggest advantages to shooting competitively as a training method is the fact that you’re shooting under pressure (da-da-da, da-da-da-duh).  While the pressure from a buzzer is certainly not as stressful as fighting for your life with a handgun, it does create stress, and learning to manage that stress is a key facet of being sucessful in a gunfight or an IDPA match.

Stress does weird things to the brain, especially when guns are involved.  I can speak from personal experience that even under the limited stress of shooting an IDPA match that your brain will do some strange things while you’re looking at the front sight of the pistol.  I’ve had entire stages where I hear the buzzer, and I don’t even remember seeing the sights, I just remember a lot of shooting and then “unload and show clear”.

But that stress has taught me a lot, and it’s definitely made me a much better shooter – learning how I react under the stress of a match has allowed me to focus on areas where I clearly need improvement, such as my presentation, which falls apart when I’m on the clock.  Oh sure, I can make picture perfect draws every time when I’m practicing, but if you add a teeny little plastic box with a buzzer to the equation, I’m hosed and I completely forget how to grip the pistol.  Of course, the easy solution for that is more practice, practice practice.

Ultimately, I recommend that every try competition.  Bullseye, IDPA, whatever – learn to shoot under pressure; because competition is a much safer place to learn about your stress response than in an actual gunfight.

shooting/sports

Steel Results!

Posted on by Caleb

The results for the latest Friday Night Steel match at Marion County Fish and Game are posted at their website.  In centerfire pistols, I finished 6th out of all centerfire divisions, which makes me feel pretty good as that was my last official match before the IDPA State Championships in a couple of weeks.  I finished 2nd in the Single Stack division, a full 5 seconds behind the leader, which I could have easily shaved off had I not botched a run on the plate rack on stage 2.

All told though, I’m pretty happy with a 6th place finish, especially after my dismal showing last month.  The ParaUSA Gun Blog 9mm is a great gun for single stack – in 9mm there is very little recoil, and when I use the Todd Jarrett Kung Fu Grip(tm), the gun settles quite handily down after recoil.  The only thing that would make this gun perfect would be if I could one with an all-steel frame.

The Friday Night Steel matches are about as much fun as you can have with a pistol – I strong encourage you to head out to next month’s match (in November) and give it a try.  Even if you don’t have a centerfire pistol, you can still shoot the match, there are competing classes for rimfire pistol, rimfire rifle, pistol caliber carbine, and even shotgun.  I will be there in November and I hope you will as well.