shooting

Walther P22

Posted on by Caleb

So, over the past few days my blog has gotten quite a few hits for people searching for some combination of “Walther P22” and Virginia Tech, or VA Tech, Virginia Tech shooting, etc. This is of course due to the fact that the mutant psycho killer at VA Tech used a P22 as one of his rampage weapons, which has lead to all sorts of media coverage about the Walther. Some of that media coverage has been…less than accurate, to be polite.

I’ve written more than a couple of posts about the Walther, it’s accuracy, reliability and other features. I’ve fired it a lot, and carried it a lot, I am extremely familiar with this firearm. So, in the vein of one of my favorite TV shows (Mythbusters) today I’m going to bust some myths that have sprung up about the P22 in the media.

General Background
The Walther P22 is a semi-automatic pistol chambered for the common and low powered .22 Long Rifle Cartridge. It accepts 10 round magazines and can be had with a 3.4 inch barrel or a longer 5 inch barrel in the “target” model. A small accessory rail forward of the trigger guard is designed to accept Walther’s proprietary laser sight or a rail for mounting a scope or other optical sight. It comes with adjustable sights in the form of a windage adjustable rear sight and interchangeable front sight posts for elevation.

The P22 has a reputation as being notoriously finicky with ammo, generally it prefers higher quality .22 LR ammunition such as CCI Mini-Mags or Stingers. Additionally, the early runs from Walther had issues regarding the integral gun lock (another standard feature) accidentally engaging and shutting down the weapon. This appears to have been corrected in later models.

The Walther is operated in traditional Double Action/Single Action mode, which means that the first shot is fired with a long double action trigger pull (mine measures a neat 10 lbs), with the semi-automatic action cocking the pistol for single action shots for each subsequent trigger pull. In Single Action mode, the trigger on my Walther measures a pleasant 4.5 lbs, with noticeable creep before a clean break.

The Walther is about 75% the size of the larger 9mm Walther P99, and was originally introduced with the thought of being used as a training pistol for agencies which issued the P99. The P22 is sold on the civilian American market as a plinker, a target pistol, and a general “fun gun” in as much as burning up .22 rounds at the range is rather relaxing.

Myth #1

“The P22, chambered for .22 LR is an extremely dangerous close range weapon. Guns like this are designed to be concealed on the body, and their small caliber makes them too small for hunting or law enforcement use.”

I’m not really sure what point the speaker was trying to make about the .22 LR, but he sure did do a good job of making it sound scary and evil. For the record, the .22 Long Rifle is the most common firearm cartridge on the face of the planet. It’s commonly used for everything from target practice to small game hunting to casual plinking. Trying to demonize the .22 as some sort of “murderer’s special” would be laughable if I didn’t know that people are taking idiots like that seriously.

Myth #2

“Guns like the P22 are often referred to as “Saturday Night Specials”, cheap low powered guns that are easy to conceal.”

My little white ass it is. “Saturday Night Special” is nothing but a weasel word, a phrase used by the anti-gun crowd to essentially scare people. It generally refers to a cheap gun, which the Walther isn’t. Retail on them is usually in the $300 area for the 3.4 barrel model, and $325-350 for the 5 inch barrel model. Harrumph. Call my little gun cheap.

Myth #3

…(guns) like the Walther can be fired at extremely rapid rates, firing a bullet every time the operator pulls the trigger.

Well, uh yeah. That’s actually quite true. Of course, so can a double action revolver like a Ruger GP100, or a Smith & Wesson Model 10. In fact, every gun is designed to shoot every time you pull the trigger. Again, I’m not really sure what the person who said is trying to accomplish with their statement, other than to make my little gun sound scary.

I’ll stop here, because I had to change the channel lest I launch my remote through the television. While a part of me is darkly amused at the various attempts to make my little gun sound sooooo scary – I’m also slightly annoyed. Just because some little pismire decided to use a Walther P22 to kill a bunch of people doesn’t make the gun evil. Just because it’s black and plastic doesn’t make it bad, either.

If anyone has any questions about the Walther that I didn’t address in this blog entry, please ask in the comments section. I’d be happy to clear up and misconceptions, questions, etc.

hoplophobia/humor

Guns & Cars

Posted on by Caleb

Lawdog has just a fantastic post up about the hypocrisy of the “we license cars, why can’t we license guns” BS that is and will continue to spew from the gun grabbers.

Tell me, Mr or Ms. Gun Grabber, that you want to license guns just like cars. You’ll give a gun license to every 17 year-old who wants one — just like a drivers license.

You’re a liar.

Please, go read the whole thing. You won’t be sorry.

humor

BBC VA Tech coverage

Posted on by Caleb

I had to point this out – and they may change the link as well, however the BBC article on the shooting refers to one of the killer’s guns as a 22mm.

Police confirmed that two handguns – 9mm and 22mm weapons – were recovered at the scene of the second shooting, and that one of them was also used in the first incident.

Just a note, dear English readers but it’s actually a .22 LR, in which case the “22” is 22/100’s of an inch. In the ol’ metric that would be about a 5.5mm bullet.

The 210 foot Coast Guard cutter I was on had a 25mm cannon mounted on the main deck, somehow I don’t think that the shooter had any anti-shipping hardware in Norris hall with him.

humor

Blame April – satire

Posted on by Caleb

Author’s Note: I don’t want this to be misconstrued as making light of the tragedy – I assure I am not. This purpose of the below piece is to show my absolute and utter contempt for people who are rushing to find “something to blame” for the events that have occurred in Virginia yesterday. I am appalled by the sheer number of people, both in and out of the media who are rushing to lay the blame at the feet of the police, the NRA, the school, and anywhere other than the individual.

While the media, other blogs, and everyone else is casting about for reasons for the current tragedy in Virginia, after minutes of exhaustive research I have actually produced for you a culprit, a scapegoat, nay an instigator for this horrendous shooting.

Blame April.

The Month of April as we currently understand it is actually a cataclysmic force that each year pushing mankind closer to the brink of extinction. Below I’ve compiled a list of all the tragedies that the horrifying Month of April (or Month of Blood as I’m going to call it) has visited on our poor landscape.

We must act now to prevent further tragedies from occurring. I call on our legislators to enact immediate legislation, effective immediately to remove the month of April from the calendar year, to be replaced with a newer, safer month. Perhaps the month could be titled “Fluffy Bunny Month” to remind us all to live in peace and harmony.

As you can see from the above links, the Month of April is truly a menacing force – each year it lies it wait. As March ends and fills you with hope for a joyous spring, suddenly staring you in the face like a hungry mountain lion is the gaping maw of April, demanding the blood of the young and innocent to slake her never-ending thirst.

BLAME APRIL!

hoplophobia

VA Tech shooting

Posted on by Caleb

I’m having a tough time focusing my thoughts this morning, there is so much emotion surrounding something like this. I quite vividly remember the Columbine shootings in ’99, and before that the North Hollywood Bank Shootout. My thoughts and what prayers I have go out to those that have lost loved ones in this tragedy.

Sebastian (Snowflakes in Hell) has a tremendous post up regarding his feelings on the situation, and the possible reactions. I echo his reluctance to make political hay out of a tragedy like this, and yet I also am not a fool – I remember that Columbine, North Hollywood, and every other mass shooting in my lifetime has been used as political leverage by someone.

Bitter (from the Bitch Girls) points out quite accurate that the leveraging of the tragedy has already begun by some camps. I’d like to say that I’m surprised, but I’m not. It’s not even just the anti-gunners on this one. Jack Thompson, who has tried to blame every mass shooting in history on violent video games has already appeared on Fox and blamed (surprise) violent video games.

It’s stuff like that makes me want to scream. I know that people are going to use this for leverage. I expect it. Could you at least wait maybe until the bodies are cold, you fucking assholes?

This morning, I’m filled with grief and frustration – grief for the families, and frustration because I know what’s coming. Some assholes will decide that the blood of young men and woman makes the perfect lever for more nanny-state laws. “Trust the state with your safety, you can’t do it alone”, and “it’s for the children” are going to be echoing for a while. What is most frustrating is that you can’t argue against it. Try to raise an objection and you’re shouted down, because you can’t argue with emotion.

Right now, I don’t have too much to say; however I’ll post updates as I get them. Again, my heart goes out to the families of the victims.

Media Update
Well, the media is in rare form. This morning, I’ve heard the .22 LR cartridge referred as a “a deadly close range weapon”, and semi-automatic pistols “guns that can be fired every time you pull the trigger”. I really wish they find some “expert commentators” that were actually, well, experts.

Dancing in the Blood update
I won’t link to the Violence Policy Center on general principles, but they have a statement up (thanks to Smallest Minority for the link)

These tragedies are the inevitable result of the ease with which the firepower necessary to slaughter dozens of innocents can be obtained. We allow virtually anyone the means to turn almost any venue into a battlefield. In the wake of these shootings, too many routinely search for any reason for the tragedy except for the most obvious–the easy access to increasingly lethal firearms that make mass killings possible.”

Again, I’m disappointed but not surprised.

More dancing in the blood from Dr. Phil, who agrees with Jack Thompson that violent video games are responsible.

We’re going to have to start addressing those issues and recognizing that the mass murders of tomorrow are the children of today that are being programmed with this massive violence overdose.

Figures.

Mutant update
The shooter has been ID’d by authorities.

Police identified the gunman who killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus before turning the gun on himself as student Cho Seung-Hui, university police Chief Wendell Flinchum said Tuesday.

The 23-year-old South Korean and resident alien lived at the university’s Harper Hall, Flinchum said. He was an English major, the chief said.

It also appears that the feds were able to match the bullets from the shooting at the dorm to the rounds from the later Norris Hall shooting.

From the Chicago Trib, it appears that the mutant left a note. No details on its contents yet.

NRA Update
Some of my “left” friends have been almost gleefully waiting for the NRA to make a statement about this, I suppose to justify their mental image of the NRA as evil. Here’s the statement from the NRA’s website.

The National Rifle Association joins the entire country in expressing our deepest condolences to the families of Virginia Tech University and everyone else affected by this horrible tragedy.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families.

We will not have further comment until all the facts are known.

That seems rather responsible.

Guns update
Well, both CNN and ABC have confirmed that the mutant used a 9mm Glock 19, and a .22 LR Walther P22. It’s been confirmed that the Glock was purchased from a gun shop and that the mutant cleared the NICS check. It’s also been confirmed that he filed off the serial numbers, which doesn’t make any sense to me, but then again I’m not crazy.

A few other sources have indicated that the mutant was on anti-depressants, which means that he lied on the forms you have to fill out, as under the care of a shrink/anti-depressants is a disqualifier for gun ownership.

shooting

Young Guns

Posted on by Caleb

Sebastian from Snowflakes in Hell has a post up from the NRA convention regarding the relatively advanced age of the majority of the attendees. I say relatively because while 50 may seem old to me, it’s certainly not over the hill/dead yet, and besides…my mom raised me to be kind to my elders.

Uncle’s got a post up that sort of agrees, and looks at the root of the problem being that generally younger 20-something college kids don’t have the disposable income for the hobby, which can be rather expensive. Now, I was thinking about doing a bit of “all linky no thinky” but I actually have 2 cents (or maybe even a nickel) worth of thoughts on this issue.

Uncle is young for a gun blogger at 35. I have not previously mentioned my age while blogging, but I’m going to now because it helps me make my point. Uncle has me beat by almost a decade in the age category (not to make him feel old). In the sense of youthfulness, I’m literally “the future” of the NRA and the RKBA movement. The reason that I’ve not discussed my age before is part of the same reason why I often worry about the prospects of the overall community of responsible gun owners.

I’ve not discussed my age because I honestly feared that my blog (and thusly my opinions) would be dismissed simply because “I’m not quite old enough.” I don’t particularly have an axe to grind, but I after shooting since I was 8 and competing at the national level when I was 18, I got tired of having my opinions dismissed because I look (and am) young. The problem is widespread, I’m sure everyone has had a run in with the Range Curmudgeon, that one guy who insists that everyone Must Shoot His Way, and is distrustful of anyone under the age of 40-50-whatever. I don’t like seeing anyone condescended to. When I stopped shooting competitively for the Coast Guard, I almost stopped the hobby altogether because of some of the people I encountered at various public ranges.

At the same time, there are so many good people in the shooting community that are interested and care about bringing younger shooters into the fold and instilling in them the love for the sport. It took a few people like that to get me to pick up my guns again after I stopped competing, and every time I meet a new person like that I want to shake his hand. Now that my personal course is set, I can pretty much ignore the Range Curmudgeons and enjoy my time – and also try to share my sport.

While worrying about dismissal due to my age may have been somewhat silly as the gun blogging community all seem to be decent folk, the 2nd reason for my concern regarding the future of our sport is my personal observation of a lack of young shooters in the communities. Shooting USA often profiles young up and comers in the shooting sports, and those spots always fill me with glee at the concept of another youngster added to the game. Then I go the range, and I don’t see anyone under the age of 35-40. I’m there every other week, and I very rarely see young adults such as myself shooting. I do see the occasional family (which is good), but I’d like to see more 23-29 young professional there enjoying a nice day and some hot brass.

Coupled with that is my concern about gun writers. While the writers for gun magazines often get a lot of shit from the internet (and some deservedly so), I also can’t really think of any gun writers that are in their late 20s, or even their early 30s. I mean for one of the major market publications, Guns & Ammo, American Handgunner, American Rifleman, etc. What is going to happen to the industry publications when the current generation of gun writers decide to retire? Where are the Elmer Keith’s and the Jeff Cooper’s of my generation?

That is why I worry. I know very few people my age that own guns, much less that shoot them regularly enough to call it a hobby. Someone in the comments on Sebastian’s thread mentioned that more people will migrate to the movement as they age…what if they don’t? More and more young men and women are being raised with no knowledge or interest in firearms whatsoever. 20, 30, 40, years down the road what happens when the number of shooters has dwindled to half, or a third of the current number? I worry that a generation raised by the nanny-state won’t care about the gradual erosion of the 2nd (and other) Amendments.

This is why I firmly and strongly believe that the best thing you can do for the future of our sport is to introduce people to it. Got a coworker that’s thinking about buying a gun for home protection? Take him/her shooting. Got a neighbor that asks what you do to relax on weekends? Take him/her shooting. Take your kids shooting. Take their friends shooting. I would love to see an article in Guns & Ammo in a few years written by some recent college graduate about how loves shooting and is dearly committed to promoting the sport. Then I’ll rest a little easier.

Uncategorized

A Rebuttal to Kim du Toit’s "No More Heroes"

Posted on by Caleb

You might have read a recent post by Kim Du Toit entitled “No More Heroes”, which paints a fairly grim picture of the state of our current crop of heroes as portrayed in the media and pop culture. He holds up several past examples of heroic persons, such as Joe DiMaggio, Charles Lindberg, Clark Gable, and Butch O’Hare. While I agree with him that the aforementioned are in fact heroes* I do not feel as though we are as bereft of admirable individuals as he would have us believe.

While Kim most excellently points out the lower ends of scum in our society such as Sean Penn, Barry Bonds, Paris Hilton, and Rosie O’Donnell, saying that we have no heroes or admirable men and women is definitely a falsehood. I’m not here to pick squares with Kim, but rather I want to provide you with some more positive examples of heroism from our modern age. Feel free to disagree of course. The categories for inclusion were “performed their various feats during my lifetime”, and “not a dick to people”, among other things.

Sports
In the sporting world, the definition of hero is rather loose at best, as we’re looking to reward grown men for playing what amounts to a child’s game. Nonetheless, the modern sporting world is often at the forefront of the American consciousness, which by proxy places a vast amount of attention on athletes.

Peyton Manning, QB Indianapolis Colts – His on the field exploits are the stuff that young boys dream of, from mounting seemingly impossible comebacks on the last seconds, to setting team and individual records left and right. His added the final piece to resume early this year by leading to Colts to their first Super Bowl win during their tenure in Indianapolis. Despite the tremendous amounts of money, fame, and public exposure, he’s not become a prick. After Hurricane Katrina, he and his brother personally assisted with the delivery of food and other supplies to those in need. After he threw a record breaking touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison, he and Marvin argued over who would keep the ball, but now how you’re thinking. Instead of “I want it”, their discussion was “You have it.” “No, you have it.”

Craig Biggio, 2B Houston Astros – Craig Biggio has quietly been compiling Hall of Fame statistics for 20 years of Major League Baseball. He needs less than 60 hits to have 3,000 for his career, and is 18 home runs away from joining the 300-300 club (300 homers and 300 stolen bases). If he accomplishes that this year, he’ll be the first player in Major League history to do it for one team – he’s played every season of his career for the Houston Astros. I don’t need to tell you how rare that is. Off the field, Craig is a spokesperson, generator of funds, and organizer for The Sunshine Kids, a charity dedicated to helping children with cancer.

Entertainment
Uh…okay, so this one is a reach.

Real Life
Heroes in the real world carry much more value than a sports hero. Soldiers, Coasties, Marines, police officers, firefighters, or even ordinary citizens in extraordinary circumstances are all heroes. I have always felt that such men and women serve as far superior examples of true heroism than sports figures or movie stars any day of the week.

Nathan B. Bruckenthal, Petty Officer 3rd Class, US Coast Guard – That is a hero. Petty Officer Bruckenthal was the first Coastie to be killed in combat since the Vietnam war, he was serving TAD in the Gulf when during an inspection of a potential threat vessel, his small boat was destroyed by suicide bombers.

Jason Dunham, Corporal United States Marine Corps – Posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions during the Iraq Conflict, Corporal Dunham served in the finest traditions of the US Marine Corps.

There are literally hundreds of examples of heroes out there, in sports, in real life, and people that you might actually know. I’ve got four examples here, just four. I’m not trying to point out the only heroic people of the modern age, but rather I wanted to demonstrate that we do have heroes. Our outlook is neither grim nor bleak. I would love to hear about heroes that you know of in the comments section, whether it’s someone from the news, someone you know personally, etc.

*Author’s Note: Joe DiMaggio cannot be a hero, as he played for the *spit* New York Yankees. Unfortunately, being a Yankee disqualifies someone from “heroic” status. I would suggest as a replacement Ted Williams of a real baseball team (the Boston Red Sox), who was the last major league player to hit over .400 in a season. In addition, he was a decorated Marine Corps aviator, serving in WWII and Korea. Additionally, the author is a rabid Red Sox fan, and hates the Yankees.

Uncategorized

Buy a Gun Day

Posted on by Caleb

Mission Accomplished, and I didn’t even have to break the budget. I went to my local Gander Mtn, and while I was overcome with my usual lust for “one of everything in every color”, I was more specifically looking for something I could both shoot with accuracy, carry sometimes, and (gasp) was semi-automatic.

I had narrowed it down to a few guns, one of which was a used Taurus PT92. The pistol was scratched all to hell, it looked like the previous owner had dragged it behind a pickup truck over a gravel road. It just looked abused, which explained the price tag of $239. Then the helpful clerk mentioned that it came with five magazines – case closed. I picked it up as well as a decent IWB holster for less than $260 overall.

When I got it home and broke it down, I discovered that the previous owner had…liberally…applied oil to all the interior parts, which caused me to launch the guide rod across the dining room when I was trying to put it and the recoil spring back in the pistol. C’est la vie.

While I’ve not fired it yet, the internals appear to be in good working order, the barrel is free of gouges in the rifling. I’m very happy with my purchase, especially because due to the somewhat janky external appearance, I won’t feel bad if I don’t baby this pistol like I do with some of my guns.

Plus, 5 15 round magazines is sure to make Nancy Pelosi cry.

humor

9/11, Rosie, and the Moon

Posted on by Caleb

I’ve previously mentioned my strong dislike of conspiracy theorists. A friend of mine pointed me to one of the finest fiskings of the entire conspiracy movement that I’ve ever read.

My father was interred at Arlington National Cemetery in 2002. I will never forget that day. It changed my life, and was the event that started me writing here at Eject! Eject! Eject!

The man who coordinated that service was on a hill about a half-mile from that side of the Pentagon on the morning of September 11th, 2001. He told me that they had been informed that something was going on in New York that morning. Then he heard something that he said he thought was a missile attack – a roar so loud and so far beyond a normal jet sound that he looked up at that exact moment expecting to die.

What he saw emerge from the trees overhead, perhaps a hundred feet above him, was American Airlines Flight 77 as it went by in a silver blur, engines screaming in a power dive as it hit the near side of the Pentagon. He told me – to my face – that body parts had rained down all over that sacred field. Just like red hail on a summer day. Those body parts are buried in a special place at the base of that hill.

Now. If Rosie O’Donnell and the rest of that Lunatic Brigade is right and I am wrong, then that man – that insignificant Army chaplain and his Honor Guard of forty men – are all liars. He is lying to me for Halliburton and Big Oil. That Chaplain—and all of those decent, patriotic young men in the Honor Guard, and all the commuters on the roads who saw an American Airlines jet instead of a missile – ALL of those people are liars and accessories to murder.

Go read the rest of the article, you won’t be sorry.