revolvers

New gun!

Posted on by Caleb

The Brazilian Contract Smith & Wesson I talked about here arrived while I was in Michigan. I got home yesterday and dinked around with it a bit. I’d like to thank the GunBroker seller who tossed in some half-moon clips for free as well; I’d hate to be at the range punching the empties out with a little dowel.

The gun itself looks great; the blue is still pretty well intact, the stampings are are clear. It has the S&W logo on the left side of the gun, and the Brazilian stamp on the right side. On the barrel, it just says “Smith & Wesson .45”. One of the neat features about this gun is that one of the previous owners removed the original grips (decreasing the collector value to be sure) and replaced them with a really gorgeous set of stag grips. I had been thinking before the gun arrived that I would replace the stag grips with a replica of the original grips. However, when I actually held it yesterday, the stag grips fit my hand perfectly, and I’ve got to admit that they look really sharp on the gun.

I’m going to take it out to the range this weekend and see how it shoots. This gun has done something that none of my other guns have – I am excited to shoot it based entirely on the trigger pull. My Ruger GP100 has a good DA trigger pull. My Taurus Tracker has a good SA trigger pull. The DA pull on this Smith is so crisp and smooth it’s unreal. The DA pull is so good that it feels better than the SA pull on my ’35 Beretta. The Single Action pull on the Smith is…well…it’s amazing. I have never been excited to shoot a gun based entirely on the trigger pull during dry-fire until now. I have visions of ragged one hole groups dancing in my head.

Like I said, I’ll take it to the range on Saturday – I’ll post some pictures and a full breakdown then.
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Uncategorized

Good enough for James Bond

Posted on by Caleb

And good enough for me. Of course, I’m speaking of the venerable .32 Automatic Colt Pistol cartridge, known in Europe as 7.65mm.

I just watched the film “Dr. No” the other day, I was struck by the scene in which 007 is instructed to turn over his Beretta in favor of the Walther PPK, which in the words of their weapons expert has a “delivery like a brick through a window”. Now, I don’t think that the .32 ACP (or 7.65mm Browning) has quite that delivery; but that’s neither here nor there. For years, it was considered perfectly acceptable as a police cartridge in Europe. Obviously, that time has passed, as everyone in Europe is now carrying various 9mm pistols.

Here in the states, the .32 ACP is currently in the midst of something of a comeback; brought on primarily by teeny little pocket pistols such as the Seecamp and the Kel-Tec P32. I can think of at least a half dozen of my gunnie friends that stick a little Kel-Tec in their pocket when they can’t pack a bigger gun.

The .32 ACP’s most notable impact on history was most likely the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, which as you no doubt know set the whole of Europe to shooting one another. Additionally, it’s been issued in various types of pistols to the German military, the Italian Navy, and (I believe) in the form of a Savage pistol was a sidearm issued to US Army flag officers during World War II.

I have one .32 ACP in my collection, a 1935 Beretta, which was a substitute standard pistol for the Italian Air Force and Navy during WWII. Mine was manufactured in the mid 50’s, so it’s too old to have seen service during the war. While it doesn’t have a “delivery like a brick”, it’s quite accurate if I do my part. As I grew uncomfortable with carrying a .22 (my P22), I have started carrying the Beretta when a bigger gun is impractical. The Beretta is light, accurate, and conceals well under summer clothing.

While I don’t recommend the .32 ACP for your primary weapon, it certainly is better than a pocket full of rock, or a sharp stick. If you’re uncomfortable with such a light caliber but enjoy the light weight and easy concealability of a pocket pistol such as a .32, I’d suggest you look to the derringer type weapons for more hitting power.

blogs

I have got to remember

Posted on by Caleb

that my parents read my blog. Sorry about the language, there. My dad does make the excellent point that while it can be effective in reaching certain demographics, the use of profanity certainly is not a “language skill”; and with my vocabulary really shouldn’t be something that I resort to on any sort of regular basis.

And don’t worry, Dad. Despite my aspirations to be a Purveyor of Innovative Profanity, I really do need to find a better way to say things. Otherwise I’ll never get that thrice-damned Thinking Blogger Award.

-Ahab

self defense/shooting

Protip: Don’t "drag ‘em inside"

Posted on by Caleb

Have you ever heard the one from the gun store commando? It goes “shoot ’em outside and drag ’em inside”, the idiotic logic behind that being that the fuzz aren’t going to prosecute you if the body is inside the house. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together and make a spark should know why that’s a dumb idea. Unfortunately for her, a woman in Michigan was apparently lacking the brain cells, and is now learning why moving the bodies is a bad idea.

Gardner and Johnson said it was then that the woman forced the second robbery suspect to drag the gravely wounded man onto her enclosed porch and then kick in the door to make it appear the robbers were trying to break into her home. She held the second suspect for police. Only then did she call 911 to report a break-in and a shooting, Gardner said.But after police arrived, they found “drag marks” leading to her front porch and other evidence that indicated she likely wasn’t telling the truth, according to Gardner.

In the end, investigators got acknowledgment that the incident occurred in the driveway and that the two men were allegedly robbing her because “she is a drug dealer and she was supposed to have had a large amount of money with her,” Gardner said.

The story previously mentions that the woman is being charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possession with intent to distribute. I have a couple of thoughts on this particular incident

Thought One – Don’t shoot people outside and drag them inside. Cops are not stupid and will probably figure that one out. This woman’s shooting probably would have been completely justified otherwise, but she had to go and screw around with the scene and lie to the cops about it.

Thought Two – This is actual gun crime – two scumbags decide to rob another scumbag and one of them ends up shot. I would be very surprised if the drug dealer that did the shooting had obtained her firearm legally. I would be equally surprised if her would-be assailants were legally in possession of their firearms.

Thought Three – Nice shooting. A small caliber in the right place will get the job done; one round to the forehead and attacker number one was out of the fight.

The most important thought I’d like to take away from this wonderful little object lesson is that if you are ever in a self defense situation and are forced to plug someone, do not lie to the cops. Don’t plant a knife on the guy, don’t alter the scene, and don’t lie to the cops. I suppose the corollary lesson would be “don’t be a drug dealer”.
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Uncategorized

Civil Rights

Posted on by Caleb

Most of the time, when people talk about “civil rights” in the media, they completely leave out the right to keep and bear arms. However, that isn’t always the case. From this article on ABC News, when a Jewish man was asked why he owned a gun “for protection”:

“As a civil rights advocate, I know that at some point words are not going to be enough, when people are kicking down your door to pull you out of your house because you’re Jewish or black or gay. You can’t be pro-civil rights without being pro guns.”

It is deeply gratifying to me that there are some people who do in fact, “get it”. The rest of the article is worth reading as well; but it isn’t the focus of today’s blog entry. No, what I’m really talking about is civil rights. Obviously, I’m a proponent of the 2nd Amendment; I really do believe that it means what it says, and that the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

However, sometimes I feel like while we’re out campaigning for the 2nd Amendment, the other parts of the Bill of Rights get lost in the shuffle. I believe you have a right to burn the flag, and I have a right to call you a cockwrangler if you do. I have a right to be secure from unwarranted search and seizure, and you have a right to pray to whomever you wish. Those are rights.

People in the pro-2A movement often refer to the 2nd as the Amendment which protects the rest of the Bill of Rights. I don’t entirely agree with that characterization; because to violate any of the individual amendments, you pretty much have to violate two or three others as well. It is of tremendous importance that the gun rights community defend against all attempted violations of our civil rights – not just the one we really like.

One of these days, the ACLU and the NRA will stand side-by-side as pro-civil rights organizations. That would probably be the same day that a flight of pigs will pass a 747 at 15,000 feet.
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Uncategorized

Dumb kids

Posted on by Caleb

According to retired Justice Sandra Day O’Conner, the growing ignorance of the up coming generations on how our government operates will cause the problems with government to escalate in the future.

She added in her 12-minute speech that surveys have shown fewer teenagers can identify the three branches of government than can name the Three Stooges.

I completely agree that civics should be required at the high school level, and I agree with Bitter that if young people aren’t aware of their rights, how will they know if their rights are being infringed?

Of course, there are a lot of problems with the way our schools are run right now – it seems like somewhere the emphasis shifted away from actually educating children and turned to producing good little citizens. I know full grown adults, products of the public school system in several different states who do not have even a basic grasp of how our government works, or a passing understanding of economics.

The problem is that to actually bring about a change to the education system, there must be a cultural shift amongst our alleged educators. Frankly, I don’t think the odds of entrenched academia changing are too good.

(H/T Bitter)
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gun control

A bunch of pissed off miscreants

Posted on by Caleb

I love the verbiage at the end of this post at Sebastian’s; and I agree that a lot of the time some of the rhetoric that you see in the blog community can have the effect of making us look bad. I’ve stated my opinion several times about how I feel about extremist positions in the Pro-2A community. While I understand where they’re coming from, and usually agree with the sentiment, I often find myself disagreeing with the execution of the actions.

For example, Sebastian agrees with David Cordea (as do I) that more transparency in the government would be a good thing. However, Sebastian doesn’t think that David’s idea of anti-ATF Minutemen is such a great idea; and for the record neither do I.

Now, I’m not trying to pick squares with David – I like War on Guns and I think he is a great blogger that’s doing a good thing. So, I don’t want this to be perceived as a personal attack. My problem with some of the more “extreme” 2A advocates is that they place everyone in the country into one of two categories: “With us” or “Against us”. I think that kind of black and white distinction does a lot of damage to the pro-gun movement, actually.

The “us vs. them” attitude of Pro-2A advocacy shows a lack of strategic thinking to me. By taking the hard line position, you unintentionally force people that might be sympathetic to your cause to the other side. We may deride the Fudds and the Suzy Soccermoms, but those are the exact people that we need to embrace and educate.

I want a culture of self-defense, a culture where firearms aren’t stigmatized as evil, a country where I could freely and openly carry a firearm where ever I please. But if we alienate the moderates, the people who don’t mind a revolver for home defense, or a rifle for hunting, we are going to loose. I still believe that the key to preserving our rights as firearms owners lies in educating, not shocking, the Fudds and the Soccermoms.
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Uncategorized

Keep your finger off the trigger

Posted on by Caleb

Because when you don’t, negligent discharges occur. To make things worse, a child was wounded due to the foolishness and inattention of his own mother, and her erstwhile boyfriend.

It’s review time.

The Four Rules
1. All firearms are always loaded
2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it.

By my reckoning, at least two of the four basic rules of firearms safety were broken here. Finger on the trigger, and muzzle direction.

Now, I don’t want to pile on the mother in this case, she probably feels pretty bad for accidentally plugging her son. But what I want to point out is two things, 1) Gun safety exists for a reason, and 2) we don’t need shit like this. I guarantee that this incident did not go unnoticed by the Brady Bunch; and they feed off of stuff like this. So, to quote LawDog, “keep your booger hook off the bang switch.”
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