- So, Joe Biden and wasshername are going to be in the White House here in a couple of weeks. Guess we’ll just have to see how bad it can get. I’m not hopeless, but I’m not exactly hopeful either.
- Look for any progress made in the last 4 years to be washed away in a few months. ObamaCare is coming back, the Iran deal will be back on the table, and contracts to tear down the border fencing will likely be advertised by the end of the year.
- Republican resistance will either be stubbornly ferocious or they will fold like a cheap suit. Guess where the smart money is placing their bets.
- We’re about to find out if all those judicial nominations were worth it.
- If you’re not donating to your favorite political and/or litigation group yet, what’s keeping you?
- Made a trip out of town on Saturday to buy bacon. You read that right: I drove almost an hour from home to visit a little ma-and-pa store to buy bacon for Irish Woman.
- When our grocery store is selling decent bacon for almost $12 a pound, and better bacon can be had for $5 a pound, it’s worth the effort.
- Picked up some Amish butter, because Amish butter, and a few jars of locally-canned jam. Elderberry jelly reminds me of something my grandmother would have made, and Traffic Jam (rhubarb, strawberry, and a few other things) just sounded scrumptious.
- While I was out there, I stopped at one of the larger gun dealers in the area to see what was to be seen.
- The store was busier than I’ve ever seen it. Folks weren’t lined up out the door, but it was almost to that point.
- There were AR-15’s to be had, but they were priced well above my comfort zone. People were buying them.
- Nobody seemed to be bothering with short-barreled rifles or suppressors.
- The only surplus rifles I could find were old, rusty Carcanos, and those were priced at $250.
- There was a nice selection of pistols, and prices were only slightly above what I remember them being this time last year.
- Ammunition was thin on the ground. I saw no 9mm, .45, or .38/.357. There was also no 5.56, although there was a limited supply of .308 and 7.26×39.
- There was also some .22, 7.62x54r, and .30-06, but that was all going for about 50 cents a cartridge.
- .25 was available, but it was even more expensive.
- There was no buck shot to be seen, and only a few boxes of slugs were available. They did have lots of bird shot.
- If you’re looking for odd rifle calibers, you’re probably OK. There was also a lot of 10mm for hand held boomenmachers, if that’s your thing.
- I picked up a new bore snake, because happiness is a clean gun, and a couple pounds of coffee. I’m not really in the market for a gun at these prices, and while I’d like more ammunition, I don’t need it in the calibers they had available.
- When I checked out, one of the employees remarked that they are getting a shipment of ammunition in every day, but they don’t know what’s coming. Their distributor is just sending what’s available.
- Apparently a pallet each of 9mm and 5.56 were put on the floor yesterday morning. The 9mm was gone in an hour, the 5.56 was gone in two.
- Well, it looks like my days of working from home are coming to a middle. Our return to work date has been pushed out a few more months.
- I’m not complaining. I miss seeing some of my co-workers, and my reading is down a lot since I don’t have a commute with an audiobook every day, but being able to roll out of bed, have a cup of coffee, get cleaned up, and then get to work in less than an hour is kind of nice.
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All posts in category Guns
Musings
Posted by daddybear71 on January 10, 2021
https://daddybearsden.com/2021/01/10/musings-358/
With Apologies to Kipling
I went into a Walmart to buy a box of shells,
The manager ‘e up an’ sez, “Those we no longer sell.”
The girls be’ind the register they laughed an’ giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an’ to myself sez I:
O it’s Gun Nut this, an’ Gun Nut that, an’ “Gun Nut, go away”;
But it’s “Thank you, Mister Firearms Owner”, when the mob comes to play
The mob comes to play, my boys, the mob comes to play,
O it’s “Thank you, Mister Firearms Owner”, when the mob comes to play.
I went into a concert as sober as could be,
They waved the guy with a bong in his pocket through, but had no time for me;
They pointed to a “NO GUNS” sign affixed upon the wall,
But when it comes to fightin’, Lord! they give me a call!
For it’s Gun Nut this, an’ Gun Nut that, an’ “Gun Nuts not allowed!”;
But it’s “Can you defend my shop, friend?” when the thugs form a crowd,
The thugs form a crowd, my boys, the thugs form a crowd,
O it’s “Can you defend my shop, friend?” when the thugs form a crowd.
Yes, makin’ mock o’ folks like me who their guns they want to keep
Is cheaper than cleaning up the streets, an’ that’d be starvation cheap;
An’ hustlin’ honest people when they want to shoot a bit
Is five times better business than voters knowing you’re a twit.
Then it’s Gun Nut this, an’ Gun Nut that, an’ “Gun Nut, wait your turn!”
But it’s “Neighbor, can I borrow a gun?” when the towns begin to burn,
The towns begin to burn, my boys, the towns begin to burn,
O it’s “Neighbor, can I borrow a gun?” when the towns begin to burn.
We aren’t no Dirty Harry’s, nor we aren’t no madmen too,
But honorable folk with firearms, just citizens, like you;
An’ if sometimes our conduck isn’t all your fancy paints,
Why, honorable citizens with firearms don’t grow into plaster saints;
While it’s Gun Nut this, an’ Gun Nut that, an’ “Gun nut, fall in line”,
But it’s “Please protect the unprepared, sir”, when there’s trouble in the wind,
There’s trouble in the wind, my boys, there’s trouble in the wind,
O it’s “Please protect the unprepared, sir”, when there’s trouble in the wind.
You talk o’ bans for magazines, an’ suppressors, an’ ammo, an’ all:
But we’ll stand a turn at guard with you if you treat us rational.
Don’t mess about with empty promises, but prove it to our face
The gun is just a tool, it’s the man sets the pace.
For it’s Gun Nut this, an’ Gun Nut that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!”
But it’s “Saviour of ‘is country” when the guns begin to shoot;
An’ it’s Gun Nut this, an’ Gun Nut that, an’ anything you please;
An’ Gun Nut ain’t a bloomin’ fool — you bet that Gun Nut sees!
Posted by daddybear71 on June 3, 2020
https://daddybearsden.com/2020/06/03/with-apologies-to-kipling/
New-to-me Rifle
The other day, Irish Woman indulged me and we went to the local big box sporting goods store. This is one of those with an indoor fishing pond and enough taxidermy that my loving wife calls it The Dead Zoo.
Anyway, I followed my habit of strolling through the racks of used guns to see if there was anything interesting. It was an embarrassment of riches. They had several Swiss K-31 straight pull bolt actions. There was a rather beat-up Spanish Mauser next to a row of CETME clones. There was the obligatory rack of Mosin-Nagant 91/30’s, all of them looking like they’d been dug out from underneath an old bunker west of Minsk.
By the way, when did Mosins start going for almost $400?
Then I caught a glance of polished wood and steel. Nestled between a couple of Russian shotguns was an old Enfield. Further inspection showed that it was chambered in 7.62×51. It was missing its magazine, but was otherwise in heavily used, but good shape.
Being the responsible adult who had his wife along with him at the time, I put it back on the rack. I asked a few friends to convince me to not go back and get it, and they dutifully told me I needed to go back and get it.
So, tonight, I went back and got it.
My new purchase is a 1967 Ishapore 2A1, an evolution of the SMLE MkIII.
Other than the proof marks and serial number on the receiver, this was the only marking on the rifle. The furniture is dinged up quite a bit, but seems sturdy.
The rifle has seen quite a bit of use. Anywhere the finish could wear off the steel from use, it has. The bore is quite shiny, and I couldn’t find any rust on it.
First, I’m going to learn to tear her down and give her a good cleaning. Then, I’ll find a magazine for her and get it fitted so that I can invest in a few boxes of 7.62×51 and take her to the range.
Time to find out why everybody’s been raving about the Enfield action.
Posted by daddybear71 on October 23, 2019
https://daddybearsden.com/2019/10/23/new-to-me-rifle/
NRAAM 2019 Musings
- What do you get when you mix guns, gear, politics, and tens of thousands of good people into a small area?
- You get a happy DaddyBear, that’s what
- The IMI Tavor X95 SBR 13-inch bullpup was whispering sweet nothings in my ear all weekend. It had a decent trigger, and it was one of the few guns I brought up to my shoulder and immediately had a good sight picture on. This is going on the list to buy if and when I start making Larry Correia money.
- Winchester is dipping its toes into the semi-automatic .22 rifle market with its new Wildcat. They took a lot of the things I like about the Ruger 10/22 and added a few more neat things. This very light rifle will take its own magazines and anything that will work in a 10/22. If you use the Winchester magazines, then the bolt locks to the rear after the last cartridge is fired, something the 10/22 doesn’t have out of the box. Take down is as easy as pushing a rubber button in the butt stock and pulling out the trigger guard. With an MSRP of $249, this might be a fun gun for the range or the truck. As light as the rifle is, it would also be a great gun for working with young people.
- Speaking of Ruger, I really liked the new .22 Wrangler revolver. It’s a six-shot, single-action revolver that caught my “I wanna be a cowboy” eye and kept it. It’s a relatively light gun that fit well in my big hands. The single-action trigger was crisp but not too light. With an MSRP of $249, this would make an excellent trainer or plinker.
- I made the obligatory visit to the CRKT booth to oggle their latest wares. Two things stood out to me. First, there was the $200 folding karambit, dubbed the Provoke. While it has one of the neatest folding mechanisms I’ve seen, I have enough scars on my forearms to pass on this one. The one that really caught my eye was the FlatOut, a basic locking folder. There wasn’t one to be had at the NRAAM, but with the magic of the Internet, I ordered one before I left the show floor. It came out of the box with a wickedly sharp edge, and I’m looking forward to seeing how well it keeps it and how easily it sharpens.
- I learned a rather important lesson on Saturday. Someone I knew from the Internet introduced himself, and he, Drang, and I wandered around the show floor together. He was interested in upgrading the factory sights on his Walther pistol, and we hit all of the usual suspects to see what worked for him. Interestingly enough, only one vendor, XS Sights, has sights that would work on his pistol.
- As a 1911 and Glock owner, it really hadn’t occurred to me that not all vendors provide parts for all common guns.
Posted by daddybear71 on May 1, 2019
https://daddybearsden.com/2019/05/01/nraam-2019-musings/
Old Rifles
As you all can tell, I like old rifles. Yeah, the AR-15 and the other modern or semi-modern guns are fun and I geek out over the latest gilding of the firearm lily. But I have to admit, there’s just something about a big chunk of steel and wood that just feels right against my shoulder.
So, here are a few descriptions of old rifles that just make me happy.
- M1903 – Take the bolt handle between the thumb and forefinger gently, but firmly. With just a practiced flick of the wrist, you can cycle the smooth-as-butter action and be right back on target.
- Mosin-Nagant 91/30 – Smack that thing like it owes you money, tovarisch, and it’ll cycle every time. If it doesn’t, try hitting it with your shovel.
- M-1 Garand – The ping of freedom. Just watch out for your thumb.
- Winchester 94 – I’ll admit it, I like Louis Lamour and Chuck Connors. There’s just something satisfying about working that lever. Almost makes me want to invest in a pair of boots. Almost.
- G-3 / CETME – Fired this a couple of times when I was working toward my Schutzenschnur. More teutonic fun than should be allowed by law.
- Schmidt-Rubin K31 – Bang, pull, bang, pull, bang, pull, bang, pull, with each cycle making the cheap bastard that lives in my head yell out “We are not made of money!!”
Posted by daddybear71 on January 25, 2019
https://daddybearsden.com/2019/01/25/old-rifles/
Don’t you people have anything better to do?
I received the following in email today. Apparently the governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands has a little time on his hands as his constituents prepare for the arrival of Auntie Irma later this week.
NRA Condemns U.S. Virgin Island Firearm Confiscation Plan |
|
NRA Prepared to Engage Legal System to Halt Unconstitutional Order |
|
| Fairfax, Va.—The National Rifle Association on Tuesday announced its strong opposition to the order signed by U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Kenneth Mapp allowing the government to seize personal firearms and ammunition ahead of Hurricane Irma. The NRA is prepared to engage the legal system to halt the unconstitutional order.”People need the ability to protect themselves during times of natural disaster,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director, National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action. “This dangerous order violates the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens and puts their lives at risk.”
After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin instituted a similar order and began confiscating legally owned and possessed firearms. The NRA intervened in federal court and was able to halt the confiscations and obtain an order requiring the return of the seized firearms. The organization then backed federal legislation to prohibit the confiscation of legal firearms from law-abiding citizens during states of emergency. In 2006, President George W. Bush signed this legislation into law. “When 911 is non-existent and law enforcement personnel are overwhelmed with search-and-rescue missions and other emergency duties, law-abiding American citizens must be able to protect their families and loved ones. The NRA is prepared to pursue legal action to halt Gov. Mapp’s dangerous and unconstitutional order,” concluded Cox. |
|
| Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. More than five million members strong, NRA continues to uphold the Second Amendment and advocates enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the armed services. Follow the NRA on social at Facebook.com/NationalRifleAssociation and Twitter @NRA. |
Posted by daddybear71 on September 5, 2017
https://daddybearsden.com/2017/09/05/dont-you-people-have-anything-better-to-do/
Political Roundup
As the new Congress gets moving and we approach the inauguration of the new president, I’m starting to see more and more rather interesting political news come across the wire.
First, It would appear that Congress is going to be considering a National Reciprocity bill this session. Not sure how far this will get, but here’s hoping it gets through. Here’s the NRA’s pitch for it:
NRA Backs Concealed Carry Reciprocity Bill in U.S. House
Bill Would Eliminate Confusing Patchwork of State Laws
Fairfax, Va.— On behalf of its five-million members, the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) applauded the introduction of H.R. 38, TheConcealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, authored by Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-8). This legislation would eliminate the confusing patchwork of state carry laws by allowing individuals who possess concealed carry permits from their home state or who are not prohibited from carrying concealed in their home state to exercise those rights in any other state that does not prohibit concealed carry.
“The current patchwork of state and local laws is confusing for even the most conscientious and well-informed concealed carry permit holders. This confusion often leads to law-abiding gun owners running afoul of the law when they exercise their right to self-protection while traveling or temporarily living away from home,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA-ILA. “Congressman Hudson’s legislation provides a much needed solution to a real problem for law-abiding gun owners.”
This legislation would not override state laws governing the time, place or manner of carriage or establish national standards for concealed carry. Individual state gun laws would still be respected. If under federal law a person is prohibited from carrying a firearm, they will continue to be prohibited from doing so under this bill.
“Law-abiding citizens should be able to exercise their fundamental right to self-defense while traveling across state lines,” continued Cox. “This is an extremely important issue to our members and we thank Congressman Hudson for leading the fight to protect our rights,” concluded Cox.
Next, the Senate is considering a proposed constitutional amendment that would impose term limits on senators and representatives. While there are good arguments supporting allowing good public servants to serve as long as their constituents want to keep re-electing them, unfortunately the Congress has practically become a job you can keep as long as you want it.
‘‘ARTICLE—
‘‘SECTION 1. No person who has served 3 terms as a Representative shall be eligible for election to the House of Representatives. For purposes of this section, the election of a person to fill a vacancy in the House of Representatives shall be included as 1 term in determining the number of terms that such person has served as a Representative if the person fills the vacancy for more than 1 year.
‘‘SECTION 2. No person who has served 2 terms as a Senator shall be eligible for election or appointment to the Senate. For purposes of this section, the election or appointment of a person to fill a vacancy in the Senate shall be included as 1 term in determining the number of terms that such person has served as a Senator if the person fills the vacancy for more than 3 years.
‘‘SECTION 3. No term beginning before the date of the ratification of this article shall be taken into account in determining eligibility for election or appointment under this article.’’.
Finally, my Congressman has re-introduced legislation to audit the Federal Reserve. No matter what you think about how money flows in our government and the rest of the country, I hope we can agree that sunshine would make the process a lot easier to swallow and might just make things better.
U.S. Representative Massie Reintroduces Bill to Audit the Federal ReserveWASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Thomas Massie reintroduced H.R. 24, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2017, also known as “Audit the Fed.” The bipartisan bill would require the Comptroller General to conduct a full examination of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve banks.“The American public deserves more insight into the practices of the Federal Reserve,” Massie said. “Behind closed doors, the Fed crafts monetary policy that will continue to devalue our currency, slow economic growth, and make life harder for the poor and middle class.”“No institution holds more power over the future of the American economy and the value of our savings than the Federal Reserve, yet Fed Chair Yellen refuses to be fully accountable to the people’s representatives,” said Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), who introduced companion legislation, S. 16, in the U.S. Senate. “The U.S. House has responded to the American people by passing Audit the Fed multiple times, and President-elect Trump has stated his support for an audit. Let’s send him the bill this Congress.”Former Representative Ron Paul (R-TX), who has long championed this cause, originally introduced the bill in 2009.Massie concluded, “It is time to force the Federal Reserve to operate by the same standards of transparency and accountability to the taxpayers that we should demand of all government agencies.”The Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2017 was introduced with 44 bipartisan original cosponsors. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, chaired by Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), passed an identical version of the bill, which had 201 cosponsors, in May 2016, marking an important step toward getting the bill to the House floor for a vote.
Anyway, please take the time to look into these and other issues Congress is looking into, and make your wishes known to your Senators and Representative.
Posted by daddybear71 on January 4, 2017
https://daddybearsden.com/2017/01/04/political-roundup/
NRA Statement on Designee for the Secretary of the Interior
Below you ‘ll find the NRA’s statement on Secretary Designate Zinke, who has been chosen to head the Department of the Interior under the Trump administration. Personally, I’m still forming my own opinions on the new cabinet, but I like what I hear so far about Congressman. Zinke.
| NRA Statement on Nomination of Ryan Zinke to Secretary of the Interior | |
| Fairfax, Va.— Chris W. Cox, executive director of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action, issued the following statement on the nomination of Congressman Ryan Zinke to be the Secretary of the Interior:“On behalf of our 5 million members, we commend President-Elect Donald Trump for nominating Congressman Ryan Zinke of Montana to be our next Secretary of the Interior,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action. “The sportsmen and women of this nation have long waited for an Interior Secretary who understands the need to preserve America’s outdoor heritage for generations to come. Ryan Zinke will champion those traditions with the devotion of a true outdoorsman while serving as our next Secretary of the Interior.” |
Posted by daddybear71 on December 16, 2016
https://daddybearsden.com/2016/12/16/nra-statement-on-designee-for-the-secretary-of-the-interior/
Letters to Congress
Below is the text of the message I left with Senator Rand Paul on his Senate website. I sent similar messages to my other senator, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and my Congressman, Thomas Massie.
There will be votes in the coming days on measures to use government lists to restrict or deny our civil rights. I urge all of you to reach out to your Senators today, be it by phone or email, and let them know how you feel on the subject. To paraphrase my Congressman, the higher the stack of messages on a subject, the more they pay attention to it.
Senator Paul,
Like you, I was horrified and disgusted by the murders of innocent people in Orlando over the weekend. When one American is attacked, we are all attacked.
But I was also dismayed at the political reaction to this atrocity. While I am not surprised that President Obama and his minions have moved swiftly to capitalize on the nation’s grief, I am also disheartened by the willingness of members of your caucus to abandon civil rights in favor of temporary political gain.
The current proposals before the Senate to restrict the civil rights of citizens without due process of law should not be passed, and I ask you to stand against them. You have stood up for our rights before, and I ask you to do so again. Giving this administration, or any other, the power to restrict any of our rights based on denunciation and suspicion would be a precedent leading to tyranny. Such measures would be enabling acts that permit a faceless government employee, without the checks imposed by having to show cause and give evidence in open court, to negatively impact the life and liberty of our citizens.
Please, as a constituent, I ask you to not only vote against these efforts, but to use your influence to convince others to follow suit.
Thank you for your time,
Tom Rogneby
Louisville, Kentucky
Posted by daddybear71 on June 17, 2016
https://daddybearsden.com/2016/06/17/letters-to-senators/
A Letter to the NRA-ILA
Below is the text of a message I left with the NRA-ILA at their webpage. If you are an NRA member, whether or not you agree with me, please take a moment to give the NRA’s leadership your opinion on how they should handle the present situation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It was with some concern that I learned of the National Rifle Association’s decision to endorse Donald Trump for the 2016 presidential election. Mr. Trump may not be a rock-ribbed supporter of gun rights, but this year seems to have a dearth of those. Considering his opposition in the other major party, I took it as the NRA making the best choice it could between two bad alternatives.
However, today I learned that Mr. Trump plans to meet with the NRA’s leadership to discuss ways in which someone on the government’s terrorism watch lists could be denied their constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms. I will not comment on what Mr. Trump’s motives are for doing this, but I will point out that this more closely aligns him with Mrs. Clinton and President Obama than it does with this proud gun owner.
In response to this, as a life member of the NRA, I have only one thing to ask you, the leaders of the NRA:
Please, tell him no.
Things are much better than they were as recently as ten years ago. To allow the government, no matter who is in the White House and Congress, to wield the power to strip a citizen of their rights because their name appears on a secret list, with no due process protections, would be a huge step backward for gun rights, if not all civil rights.
Mr. Trump is asking you to work with him to find a way to curtail our rights. He needed us during the primaries, and now that he has sewn up the nomination, wishes to put the NRA’s members on the bargaining table.
I ask that senior NRA leadership clearly and publicly refuse to cooperate with efforts to curtail our rights in this manner. I urge you to make it clear that the NRA will not only fight such efforts in the Congress, but at the ballot box as well. And if Mr. Trump insists on reneging on his pledge to stand and fight with us, then I urge you to withdraw the NRA’s endorsement of him. If there is no other suitable candidate to support, I believe we should make no endorsement for president this year. Instead, we should pour our energies to making sure that Congress is a bulwark in the defense of our rights.
Please, for the sake of our rights, do not mince words with Mr. Trump. Tell him no.
Thank you for your time,
Tom Rogneby
Louisville, KY
Posted by daddybear71 on June 15, 2016
https://daddybearsden.com/2016/06/15/a-letter-to-the-nra-ila/
DaddyBear
DaddyBear’s Den 