news

Good shoot

Posted on by Caleb

Under tough circumstances – the Boston PD fatally shot a man who turned out to be carrying a pellet gun.

Barker abandoned that car and then managed to steal a Boston police cruiser and lead cops on a high-speed chase from his Mattapan home to Dorchester, where he was surrounded and shot after he refused to drop what later turned out to be the pellet gun, BPD officials said.

Here’s where the problem occurs though.  Even though he had already carjacked a person, then stolen a BPD cruiser and let the cops on a high-speed pursuit, apparently his wife had told the police on the 911 call that he was armed with a pellet gun, and not a real gun.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” she said, according to the transcript. “He’s in the street with a pellet gun. He just came home from work. . . . He is out of control.”

…

When cops arrived, they asked the dispatcher to ask Sanders if she was sure her husband was carrying a pellet gun. “I think (emphasis mine) it’s a pellet gun,” she said.

That’s where the problem arises, and that’s also what ultimately forces me to fall into the category of “good shoot” on this issue.  “Thinking” that something is a pellet gun is not good enough when lives are on the line.  When you’ve got a person who has already demonstrated a complete lack of regard for human life (via the two car thefts and high speed chase) pointing what appears to be a gun at you, “I think” isn’t good enough.

It’s a tough situation, and my sympathy goes out to the wife, as well as to the cops who had to pull the trigger.  The anti-police crowd are going to pile on to this like there’s no tomorrow, because they will often seize at any flimsy justification to paint the police as the bad guys.

gun control

Canada’s rising tide of crime

Posted on by Caleb

It appears that Canada is following in the footsteps of England when it comes to violent crime.

Police blame crime lifestyle in gun deaths

The difference that I see is that as for right now, the Canadian government and people are not (yet) blaming “guns” for the rising tide of crime, but they are rather looking for sociological and cultural issues for their problems with crime.  I hope that they do continue on that path, although I’m not optimistic.

Canada’s gun control system is not yet as bad as England, it is still possible, albeit difficult, to own handguns in Canada, and long guns are still relatively common.  My concern with Canada is that they are at a critical moment right now: their government is attempting to abolish their long gun registry but face an uphill battle to do so.  The people of the country acknowledge that their gun registry system is broken, and has become a giant black hole down which money just seems to disappear.

The fate of Canadian gun owners is still undecided – I’m cautiously optimistic for them.  I hope that they are able to see the failures of Britain’s gun control schemes and avoid falling into that trap.

news

This is exactly the stuff

Posted on by Caleb

That makes people skeptical of the whole “religion of peace” of line.

Numerous media reports say Gibbons was arrested after allowing her class of 7-year-olds to name a teddy bear “Mohammed.”

That could be seen as an insult to the Prophet Mohammed, the reports said.

If you read the story, you’ll see that she wasn’t arrested immediately, and in fact it was the children that chose the name Mohammed for the bear, and not the teacher. And yet, she was arrested for violating Sharia law – three months after the fact.

Now, I really have no problem with Islam, or Muslims. The deity to which you choose to pray doesn’t matter to me at all; but what matters to me is when you decide to impose your lifestyle on me or others because you believe that your religion is better/greater than mine.

It is unfortunate that a great percentage of Islam has been hijacked by fundamentalists and extremists. It seems to me that the Religion of Peace is desperately in need of a Great Reformation. Just as the Christian church needed men like Martin Luther to pull it from the darkness, Islam needs a great prophet to step up.

news

Old 1911 appears in Jamaica

Posted on by Caleb

An old “US Property” stamped 1911A1 has been recovered by authorities in Jamaica.

The police say their team targeted premises at 2 Nautilus Avenue in Harbour View, where the .45 Colt pistol with serial number 1315322, along with a magazine containing four live .45 cartridges, was found. Inscribed on the firearm were the words: ‘United States Property – U.S. Army’.

I kind of wonder how this gun ended up in Kingston, actually.  Since (contrary to the story) this isn’t the standard issue sidearm for the Army any longer, it had to have happened a while ago.  Judging from the condition of the pistol in the pictures, I’d say that my “a while ago” theory is pretty solid.

Anyone want to take bets on this pistol being “lost” from the Army several years ago?

gun control

Barack Obama doesn’t get it

Posted on by Caleb

Obamarama says that his wife “sees a need for rural gun ownership” and that he “respects the Second Amendment”. Here’s the problem, though. He may respect the 2nd Amendment, but he has no idea what the 2nd Amendment is all about. Here’s a direct quote:

“We should be able to combine respect for those traditions with our concern for kids who are being shot down. This is a classic example of us just applying some common sense, just being reasonable, right? And reasonable would say that lawful gun owners – I respect the Second Amendment. I think lawful gun owners should be able to hunt, be sportsmen, protect their families.

It’s not about hunting, or being a sportsman, and it never has been. I also take issue with the fact that he equates lawful gun owners and child murder, even though those lawful gun owners are most certainly not the people “shooting down” kids in the streets.

Obama really doesn’t get it. To him, the 2nd Amendment isn’t about personal liberty, it’s not a civil right on par with the 1st Amendment, to him it’s a talking point. Obama can say that he respects the 2nd Amendment all he wants, but coming from a member of the board of the Joyce Foundation, I find that hard to believe.

rifles

H&R Survivor Rifle review

Posted on by Caleb

Got out to the range this weekend to test out my H&R Survivor Rifle. Aside from the aforementioned issue that I had with the Winchester cowboy ammo, everything seemed to run pretty well.

Firearm: H&R Survivor Rifle

Caliber: .45 Colt/.410 bore shotgun (fully rifled barrel)

Action: Break open, single shot, single action.

I like this rifle/shotgun, I really do. I tested it with 3 inch .410 shells with #4 shot, and .45 Colt rounds. I didn’t have any of the Winchester Buckshot loads for the .410, but I’m ordering some of those from Midway USA as soon as possible.

With the #4 shot rounds, recoil was present, but not uncomfortable.  The shotgun provided a mild thump with 3 inch rounds.  With the target at 15 yards, a shell full of #4 provided more than enough of a spread to do exactly what this shotgun is designed for – provide meat for the pot.  My squirrel target showed multiple hits to head and body area, but not so many that the meat would have been wrecked.

The rifle portion of the gun performed adequately as well.  I should note that this rifle doesn’t have rifle sights, but just a shotgun bead on the end of the barrel.  That set up was less than ideal for rifle shooting, but still serviceable.  At 25 yards, I could keep groups of 5 shots on an 8 inch target.  For not actually having sights, that’s not too bad I guess.  It is within the performance envelope of what I’d expect to do with this in rifle format, which would be defense against predators at short ranges.

One thing to note about the Survivor is the removable choke tube.  If you’re using it in shotgun mode, the choke tube definitely helps keeps your patterns a bit tighter; but do not forget to remove it if you’re going to be shooting the .45 Colt rounds, otherwise you will ruin your day and your gun.

In a “survival” situation, I would probably grab the Survivor, and although it’s primary use would be as a shotgun for potting dinner, the secondary rifle function would probably come in pretty handy.

ammo

Winchester Cowboy Ammo

Posted on by Caleb

Had a squib load in a box of Wincherster .45 Colt Cowboy loads today.  Bullet lodged in the barrel of my new NEF Survivor .45 Colt rifle, and was quite the pain in the ass to dislodge.  The rifle is fine, no bulges or damage, but Winchester is about to get a snotty letter from me.

So, if you’ve got some Wincherster Cowboy Ammo in .45 Colt, watch yourself.  A squib load in a single shot rifle is pretty easy to detect, but might not be so easy in a wheelgun or lever-gun.

Uncategorized

Megan Meier

Posted on by Caleb

I learned about this recently from Xavier, apparently it’s turning into something of a big deal.  The pertinent details can be found at the Wikipedia entry about the girl’s suicide.   In a nutshell:

Megan Meier was a 13 year old who struggled with depression, met a “boy” on MySpace.  After six weeks of friendship, the boy turned on her and started sending her nasty messages.  Megan killed herself.  As it turns out, the boy was not a boy, but rather the mother (Lori Drew) of one of Megan’s former friends.  And at that, the outrage began.

The police concluded that there were no relevant statutes under which they could hold Lori Drew responsible for Megan’s death, and as such the case was closed.

I think the cops did the right thing.  I also think that people who are posting Lori Drew’s address online or vandalizing her property are in the wrong.

I will probably get the usual comments that call me cold hearted, and I am sure that someone will say that when I have children it will be different – I acknowledge that.  But here’s my disconnect: what Lori Drew did was heinous and reprehensible.  But there is no way to hold her criminal responsible without creating a terrible legal precedent that would surely return to bite good people in the ass.   My heart breaks for Megan Meier’s parents, because they did have their daughter taken from them.

What actually pisses me off the most is the reactions of people who purport to “support” Megan Meier’s parents.  From posting the Drew’s address on the web, vandalizing the Drew’s property, shouting to the heavens that the laws be changed to make it illegal to insult someone on the internet, suggesting violence against the Drew family, and sundry other foolishness.  I’m especially put off by the fact that actual crimes have been committed against the Drews – what exactly is that supposed to accomplish?

I don’t want people to think for a split second that I’m defending Lori Drew or her repugnant, immoral actions.  But just because she did something wrong doesn’t revoke any of her rights, nor does it give anyone the right to violate Lori’s rights in some kind of revenge.

That a little girl died is a tragedy – but committing more crimes, or criminalizing certain types of speech you don’t like certainly isn’t going to change that.

hoplophobia

More British PSH

Posted on by Caleb

Posters for stupid “Shoot ’em Up” movie banned in England.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it backed 55 people who complained about posters for the thriller “Shoot ‘Em Up.”

The ads attracted complaints from people who said they were offensive and insensitive to those who had been affected by gun crime, citing the family of Rhys Jones, an 11-year-old boy who was shot dead on a street in Liverpool.

Here’s a crazy idea, guys.  Instead of complaining about movie posters, why don’t you do something about the rising tide of violent crime in your country?  Just a thought.

Unfortunately, banning movie posters that show people holding guns seems to be right in line with the British “action plan” about violent crime.  It’s frustrating, because anyone with a brain can see that you can’t prevent crime by wishing hard; which seems to be exactly the tactic that the Brits are using these days.  Instead of targeting violent offenders with serious jail time and harsh penalties, they appear to be interested only in appearing to do something about crime.

Uncategorized

Cruise Ship hits iceberg

Posted on by Caleb

A cruise ship in the Antarctic has struck an iceberg in this incident.

Passengers aboard a cruise ship to the Antarctic were roused from their beds and hustled into lifeboats early today, when an iceberg punched a small hole in the ship’s side.

Despite what people may think, iceberg collisions still present a serious danger to modern shipping, much the same as they did for the Titanic back in the day.  To that end, the US Coast Guard runs the International Ice Patrol, which unfortunately for the passengers on the aforementioned cruise ship, only operates in the North Atlantic.

Based on what I can find in the article, the evacuation and emergency procedures were handled in a professional and expeditious manner, which allow the entire crew and passenger complement to escape with no loss of life.  The passengers and crew are currently on board a Norwegian liner, and everything appears to be okay.  The unfortunate downside is that the vessel that struck the iceberg may be a lost cause, because of the publishing of the article I sourced, it was listing heavily to starboard and continuing to take on water.

Icebergs still present a serious danger, especially in the Antarctic region.  The Argentinian Navy and Coast Guard don’t operate anti-ice patrols as effectively as we do in the northern hemisphere, which can lead to situations like this.  The real problem with icebergs though is detection – 7/8ths of an iceberg’s mass is below the surface of the water, which means that a small iceberg can have the same radar signature as a small boat (read: not much), but is still capable of inflicting serious damage on shipping.

Hopefully, they’ll be able to keep The Explorer from going under, and then story can have a completely happy result.  Again, Bravo Zulu to the Explorer’s crew for handling their ship and preventing any loss of life.