Revolver Range Day

I took my trusty S&W 640 and the NAA Mini out to the range today for some wheelgun practice and to print some "groups." As always, the 640 was more than adequate for most combat distances with a few cylinders full of full-house .357 loads and a few more of some tame .38sp.

What surprised me most was the accuracy I was able to get with the NAA on my first attempt. With the exception of a few fliers that were obviously my fault, the little revolver was capable of keeping it inside the 8 ring of a silhouette target with all of the high-velocity HPs I put through it. The trick, I found, is to grip the weapon with the thumb and first two fingers of my strong hand while cocking the hammer and pulling the trigger with the thumb and index finger of my weak hand. As small as it might be, it's a real-deal, well made firearm that I'll be happy to keep in my pocket, sock, or belly band as a backup gun.

Let's see if this takes the heat off....

It looks like American civilians and FFLs aren't solely responsible for the arming of Mexican cartels after all.

On the Oakland shootings...

Data:

-Lovelle Mixon had been arrested and imprisoned for a gun crime by the age of 20.
-He was out on parole.

Reports:

-He shot 5 Oakland PD officers. 3 dead, one nearly dead.
-He used a rifle resembling an AK and a handgun.

Follow me, everyone. What we witnessed in Oakland was a tragedy. Without even mentioning the public's reaction at the crime scene, most of us will agree that this shouldn't have happened. What most of us will not agree on is that this is not a legislative failure, but a failure of law enforcement and the prison system. He was a criminal, he was released and not rehabilitated, and there was a failure on the part of law enforcement.

Judgment:

Enforce the laws and stop harassing the gun owners. I'll be off blaming Russia for the weapons problems in California. That kind of shell game seems to be working pretty well for the ruling class in D.C.

Budget Weaponlights

I've been neglecting my oldest AR and have taken a lot of parts from it to use in other systems. I detest having a functional and reliable weapon that isn't G2G at any time, so I decided to get a light on it so it will be ready when I need it. Not tricked-out, but ready. A fighting rifle's state of readiness should always include a light.... The light above is a Surefire G2 Nitrolon that I picked up for 30 bucks. The ring is an old Millett low-rise I had in my parts box. Simple, stable, and affordable. Now there's one more rifle that's G2G should I need it.

.223, 9mm, Glock Mags, Holsters, Surefire

I've been in my stockpiling mode for most of this year. Here's what I've found during my shopping trips over the last couple of weeks.

.223 isn't impossible to find, but it's really difficult to find for a decent price. I see a "decent" price as being less than .40/round for good quality brass-cased ammo. I was lucky to have found a couple of private sellers that have switched to AKs and were liquidating their supplies of .223.

9mm must be Austrian for "good luck not getting gouged."

I'm pretty sure it was a fluke, but I found 4 hi-cap factory mags for my G17 for less than 90 bucks in a local shop.

Surefire flashlights are easy to find. Mounts for Picatinny rails aren't so easy.

Leather holsters have not changed at all. It seems like the only segment of the gun market that has not become more expensive.

This is how we do it...

I haven't taught in a university setting in almost two years. Certain economic forces caused my former employer to find a cheaper alternative to part-time and adjunct faculty members, which was fine by me since I made very little money toward the end of my university career. Since then, I've been able to maintain a relatively healthy and lucrative private teaching studio that I run out of my home. By and large, I try to follow the maxim of "Always carry, never tell." As a result, very few of my students know just how much of a gunnie I am, and that's fine.

A few weeks ago, I was at a local training facility retaking some basic shotgun training. As I came out, I ran into one of my older students as he watched his wife handle a snubbie. Let me set the scene for you...

My student is a black man around the age of 60. He was also a relatively big local player in the Obama campaign. He's well educated, but has also spent the bulk of his adult life in academia. As such, he's about as liberal as anyone I've met.

As I came out of the range and into the shop with my 870 in tow and my Glock 17 on my hip, he registered the kind of surprise I expected.

"Doctor! What are you doing here? What's with all the firepower? Are you expecting an invasion sometime soon?"

"My only expectation is to be prepared in the event one happens... I'm surprised to see you here."

"Well, my wife is thinking about buying a gun and getting her permit. I think she's losing her mind."

"If you're ever interested in talking to someone that carries pretty much all the time, I'd be happy to talk about it with either of you. I know it's tough trusting a stranger with all of your concerns in the beginning."

"What's with the rifle? Is that a rifle?"

"Nope. It's a shotgun. This is what I use to defend my home."

The couple was kind enough to invite me to dinner, and we discussed every manner of firearm, what it was used for, the legalities and costs involved, the Four Rules, and some gun-related politics. I offered to bring an assortment of handguns to the range for them to shoot when this question came up...

"How do you feel about assault weapons?"

I answered them with my normal reply, which is "The tool is rarely the reason for the crime. Anyone with malice in their heart can find a way to kill."

"Do you own any?"

"According to the language in the 1994 AWB, yes. Quite a few, actually."

"What would a person like you need with a machine gun?"

And so it went for the better part of an hour... I explained that "assault weapons" were neither "machine guns" nor military weapons. Yes, they may be similar in appearance, but their function is only slightly similar. I assured them that the government took great pains long ago to make many weapons difficult to obtain and subject to strict controls and taxes. The reason the designs are similar is a testament to the ergonomics and reliability of the military design. By the end of the night, without attacking their beliefs or politics, I had convinced an anti-gun guy to come shoot an evil black rifle and some handguns with me and had convinced his wife to get her carry permit.

This is how we change people's minds. We respect their views, we speak to them calmly, and hope that our reasoning resonates with them.

More Commercial Appeal goodness....

The front page of yesterday's CA had this picture of 9 violent criminals who managed to slip through the TN HCP process by lying on their applications or by virtue of a clerical error.


All I could think of when I saw it was How much Alice has changed....


I'm not sure what the CA is trying to accomplish past using the "criminals carry guns and can get permits, so it should be illegal" fallacy.

NAA Mini

I finally found a good, used NAA Mini revolver. As a deep cover and backup gun, it has its place. I bought some CCI shotshells, Federal JHPs, CCI Stingers, and a variety of budget .22lr to test it out. Stay tuned for a range report.

Ammo Prices

You know ammo prices are getting out of hand when a 50rd box of PMC Bronze in .45acp looks like a steal at $17.99.

The liberal bias in TN

I should warn you, this cartoon is way far off to the left. I'll even fess up to liking some things about the liberal agenda. Let same-sex couples get married and divorced. I'd hate to think that an entire segment of the population is missing out on what it's like to split up your entire world with someone you've come to loathe. Abortion? I'm all for it. However, I have no uterus, so I really don't feel like I have a nickel in that dime. However, the fly-in-the-face-of-the-freaking-facts attitude and the obvious scare tactics employed by this cartoonist leave me speechless.

First, if Fred had a history of mental illness, he could neither purchase a gun nor receive a Handgun Carry Permit in TN. Secondly, not all crazy people have cats. Cats, as we all know, are government spies.