Jennifer is looking for a little advice on a .22 pistol or revolver.

Her choices seem to be a Browning Buckmark, a Ruger 22/45, or a S&W 617.

My advice was to also consider a higher-end S&W 22A1, but she’s asking for a wider set of opinions.

So if you’ve got a few minutes, go on over and give her the benefit of your opinion.

This spring, when I was walking around the floor at the NRA annual meeting, I picked up each and every 1911 I could find. I looked at different finishes, different sights, triggers, and doodads.  I tested the actions for smoothness and the triggers for crispness.  It’s the centennial of the 1911, and I wanted to find one that would be my barbecue gun.

Out of all of the offerings, other than the custom jobs that I knew were going to cost more than I could pay, I liked the Remington R1 the best.  I’ve been saving my pennies ever since, and I finally had the money for one, with a little left over in case I could find a good deal on an R1 Enhanced.

Guess what I found at the gun store this weekend?

That’s a used Remington R1with a lot of the parts swapped out with accessories from Wilson Combat and Pachmeyr grips. The original owner bought it, shot half a box of ammo through it, brought it back to the gun store to have a bunch of custom work done to it, shot the rest of the box of ammo through it, then brought it back because it just wasn’t what he was looking for.  I’m not sure what he traded it in for, but I hope he keeps working his way down the gun counter like that so the rest of us can benefit.  Let no-one say I won’t take advantage of someone putting a lot of money into something they finally decided they didn’t like.  I bought it from the shop that did the work on it, which is also my gunsmith, so I’m pretty confident I’ll like everything they’ve done.

Best part for me?  It’s only had 50 rounds through it and has a lot of custom stuff added in that I would have paid extra to get in the R1 Enhanced model.  Only thing that’s missing, as far as I can tell, is the adjustable rear sight and the fiber optic front sight.

It’s still got the stock 3-dot sights, barrel, and bushings.  It’s a much tighter gun than I’m used to with my RIA 1911, but not so tight that racking the slide or rotating the barrel bushing is a pain.

I can’t wait to take it out and put holes in paper with it.  I made it a goal to get a new 1911 in 2011, and I made it!

Dear Guy at the Gun Store,

Yes, I know you saw me looking at that SKS, and just knew that I’d be better served with an AR-15.  Yes, I know that an internal 10 round magazine just isn’t going to cut it against hordes of looters and such. And yeah, I know I can’t reload the steel-cased ammunition the SKS shoots.  And yeah, I know that the AR platform is one of the finest infantry rifles ever used.  And I know I should take your advice because you’re in the Guard, and you grew up around guns.

But son, listen up:

I was messing around with AR platform rifles while you were trying to figure out how to balance on a bicycle with training wheels.  I’ve shot M-16-A1’s and A-2’s, and even messed around with an M-4 once or twice.  I’ve carried that style of rifle over mountains and rivers, across deserts, and through jungles.  I’ve spent more time than I care to think about scrubbing, wiping, scraping, and lubricating AR’s in one form or another.

I used to teach men and women your age how to shoot M-16’s with better technique than “Point it generally downrange and pull the trigger”.  Please don’t equate your basic training experience with my knowledge of the gun, how to shoot it, and its capabilities.

Now, I know that the AR platform has pretty much been perfected, and a modern example of this design fed good ammunition, kept reasonably clean, and using magazines in good working order will work pretty well under all but the worst conditions.  I also know that a well trained marksman with an AR-15 can blow the balls off a gnat at 300 meters.  I’m also not going to poopoo the 5.56 bullet it fires.  Yeah, it’s no .308 or .30-06, but I wouldn’t volunteer to get shot with it either.

You see, I don’t like AR’s for a couple of reasons.  First one is psychological:  I spent way too much time dealing with malfunctions of all types and trying to keep the thing clean to relish the thought of actually owning one.  Second is physical.  It’s just not comfortable to me.  You see, I’m a freak with big hands and large arms.  Holding an M-16 to my shoulder just never felt right to me.  And if I’m not comfortable, I’m not going to shoot as often as I ought to with the gun, and I won’t enjoy it as much.

And finally, I’ve just become enamored with older rifles such as the SKS, Mosin-Nagant, and M-1 Garand.  Nothing against the AR-15, which can be a very slick looking gun, but I just like walnut and beech furniture on my guns nowadays.

So I’m going to take the Matthew Quigley approach to this gun type:  I can shoot it, just don’t have much use for it.

But please, I didn’t mean to offend you when I told you I wasn’t interested in the AR.  If that’s what you like, be my guest.  What works for me might not work for you, and I’ll be the last to try to discourage you from shooting a gun that you like and you can shoot well.  I’ve just lost interest in the AR-15 for my own use.   But don’t let my prejudices against a technology lead you to believe that I’m a Fudd and don’t think your platform of choice is any less valid than mine.

Have a good one, and again, thanks for the advice,

DaddyBear

A lawsuit against the postal service for their policy that does not allow firearms in post offices and their parking lots has been given the green light to proceed by a federal judge.   The post office had asked for a dismissal of the case, opining:

“Large numbers of people from all walks of life gather on postal property every day. … The Postal Service is thus responsible for the protection of its employees and all the members of the public who enter postal property,”

I regularly carry a pistol for self defense, either openly or concealed.  I wear it to the grocery store, the hardware store, and to the big-box department stores, and I’m not the only one.  I’ll bet that more people go through the average Walmart in an hour than go through your average post office in a day.  Somehow, all of us law abiding gun carriers seem to keep it together with few problems. It’s almost as if those who legally carry guns are the type of people who can be trusted to not do illegal or stupid things with their guns.


The postal service and other government offices need to stop punishing the 99.99999% of people in the country who live well within the threshold for being called ‘legal’ and leave us alone to exercise our rights without the hassle of trying to not run afoul of their fear-induced policies.

When asked recently why I carry a pistol, my answer was that the bayonet on my Mosin-Nagant kept getting hit by ceiling fans.

A mother here in Kentucky came home with her two children to find an uninvited guest helping himself to a few of her possessions.  Confronted with an intruder, the lady didn’t choose to cower or to run away from danger.  She defended her home and her family:

According to police, she went to the basement and confronted someone who was in the process of taking items, including her shotgun.
“There was a struggle over that weapon,” Said Sgt. Armstrong. “The struggle led to the suspect and the homeowner fighting over the gun all the way out to the driveway of the home where the suspect was shot.”

Like Kathy Jackson says, if you have to fight, fight like a cornered cat.

The troglodyte in question is now in the hospital after taking a shotgun blast.  While I won’t shed many tears over the death of someone who makes a habit out of breaking into homes and scaring women and children, I hope he survives.  I want him to go to prison and tell the story of how he ended up with such pretty scars.  Maybe his example will knock some sense into a couple of other knuckleheads.

Update – The scumbag in question later died of his wounds.  While I don’t relish the death of another human being, this one was pretty much self-inflicted.  Don’t want to get shot by an homeowner?  Then don’t break into houses.  Notch another one up for the DGC.

To all hoplophobes everywhere:

This is a rifle:

These are umbrellas:

Please learn to tell the difference.  It’s annoying to read about how the SWAT team is called out because someone thought it might rain.