Three Gun Saturday

This month’s Practical Rifle match at Langhorne Rod and Gun Club was a three gun match.  We had about 40 shooters. Match was cut up into 5 stages.  First stage was at 50 yards.   Three magazines loaded with 10 round each.  Fire one standing, transition to kneeling and fire one, transition to prone and fire one, back to kneeling, and back to standing, repeating until you exhaust all your magazines.  Doesn’t sound too bad, but it gets your pulse rate up.  Lost 9 on the IDPA target — needed to aim higher and I would have only pulled one or two, but I was shooting lower than I would have figured.  Next stage was 25 yards, to 15 yards, to 7.  All done standing.  Ten shots each with rifle, then transition to pistol at 7 yards and engage head of target.  Got too punchy and pulled three of my shots low.  Didn’t do too bad overall.  Next stage was the car:

Car Stage

This stage stressed rapid target acquisition, and had one IDPA swinger, which was tough to hit.  Started out with pistol, then transitioned to rifle.

Rifle Part of Car Stage

Then onto the shotgun. I had to run home to get the shotgun and more 9mm over break, because they didn’t publish the match requirements on the web site like they say they do. Stage one was four shots on steel, but with one catch. Running the shotgun prone, you could only use one hand, and had to single load each round. I had a pump, so I completed the stage with some difficulty. Stage five was also a shotgun stage, which was essentially 7 propped up clays which had to be shot on the run at 21 feet.

I was happy that I got a whole nice bag of brass from scavenging the range after everyone was done shooting, but I’m also happy for this:

Third Prize

Third place! Shoot off was the same as the first stage at a pie plate at 50 yards. First one finished calls a cease fire. I didn’t shoot as well as I could have, so I figured I didn’t place, but we had to break the tie for second because we both had 10 hits, but he had more on the center portion than I did, so he got second, and I got third. Came two hits away from first. Maybe next time!

Christopher Jones Memorial Fund

For my readers in Bucks County and Southeastern Pennsylvania, or even those of you outside the area who would be interested in helping out a law enforcement family who lost their husband/father in the line of duty:

Christopher Jones Trust Fund
Police and Fire Credit Union
852 E. Street Road
Warminster, PA 18974

I will be sending some funds along, since they are in the neighborhood here.

That’s Middletown Township Fire Chief Frank Farry, who is also my new state representative.  This is a tough time for Middletown.

ATF Inspecting C&R FFLs?

This is a rather odd report about ATF inspecting type ’03 FFLs.  Odd because the ATF is not supposed to just show up at a Type 03 licenses premises unannounced, they are supposed to make an appointment if they want to inspect your bound book.  They are entitled to look at your A&D book, and inspect the guns you have in your inventory.  This can be done at your premises, or at an ATF office.  Type 03 premises are typically residences, and are not required by federal regulations to have normal business hours.

Inspections are conducted by ATF compliance regulators.  They are not conducted by ATF agents.  If you’re a C&R licensee, and an ATF agent shows up at your door, you should treat that agent as you would any law enforcement officer who takes an interest in you.  Be polite, find out what his business is with you, but don’t say anything without talking to a lawyer.  If he does not have a warrant, do not allow him into your home.  If he does have a warrant, your next call needs to be to an attorney.

I hope this report doesn’t indicate that ATF is starting to harass C&Rs.  Mine expires next year, and if that’s the case it won’t be getting renewed.

More on Steele

Anyone who lived in the DC television market probably remembers the Michael Steele ads from his Senate bid in 2006.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svzDQivKq8Y[/youtube]

I have to say, I like that he’s different.  He’s an out-of-the-box thinker, or at least willing to give those who have ideas for these non-traditional messages a go.  No, I don’t agree with him on every policy point.  In fact, I probably disagree with him more than I agree with him.  But the role of RNC Chair isn’t about setting policy or casting votes on the House or Senate floors.  He’s there to raise money, promote the brand, and run a great election shop. It will be interesting to see how Steele performs.

Protesting the Military in San Diego

sandiegorotcA group calling themselves Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities (YANO) has their collective panties in a bunch over the JROTC program in San Diego schools.  Apparently they are offended about lessons in safe and responsible gun handling.  You can see the image that offends them so much to the right.

Even better than their inability to distinguish street violence from military training in a safe and controlled environment is the fact that their “Related Information” section features a link to the Onion.  Unfortunately, the Education Not Arms organizers do not appear to be satirists.

Quote of the Day

When did John Boehner grow a spine?

The day before the crucial vote in the House, Minority Leader John Boehner told his troops that the Republican Party is no longer a bureaucracy. “He took us by the throat and told us, ‘You’re no longer the majority, stop acting like it,’” a senior Republican told me about the run up to the vote. “‘If you’ve got an idea, get it on MSNBC. This is an entrepreneurial insurgency.’ He was kicking the ball around. He wants everyone involved. If there’s an amendment, he told us to offer it. If you have 48 seconds for YouTube, get it up there. Get busy and resist in every instance.”

More please.  Of course, this also leads to the depressing conclusion that I like Republicans out of power more than I like them in power.

Hat Tip Instapundit

Online Resource for Virginia Gun Owners

I’ve recently noticed that the Virginia Shooting Sports Association blog has been a great place to get fast and relevant news on Virginia political happenings.  Since the General Assembly is only in session until the end of February, the speedy coverage of important issues is important.

Step Up…Faster Please!

A few days ago I outlined how people could step up and throw some visible and measurable support behind New York’s junior senator.  I warned against gun owners who go with the “wait and see” approach that would encourage all of our guys to sit on the sidelines and show no support until she proves herself again.  What were some of the early responses?  “I will just sit back to wait and see.”

First, reward her for recent past behavior.  The fact is that gun issues don’t come up that often in the Senate.  She signed on to the Heller brief, joining only six other members of Congress from New York.  She’s got a high rating based on her past actions which are the best prediction of her future actions.  Even the wait-and-see advocate SayUncle admitted in his above-linked post that she’s said nothing that indicates she’ll be flipping on the issue.

Second, give her an incentive to stay with us.  Show her that her position reaps rewards.  So what if she frames the debate publicly as about hunting?  That’s her family heritage and a background that many gun owners in her district share.  In the latest survey, there were about half a million resident hunters in New York that spend about $788 million annually and support approximately 11,500 jobs in the state.  That’s a pretty sizeable constituency.  And if it makes her pro-gun record more tolerable for the NYC residents, so be it.  Remember, Heller had nothing to do with hunting, and she supported it.

New numbers show that this is simply not a time to sit back to wait and see.

The survey of New York registered voters said 21 percent are prepared to support her in 2010 while 29 percent prefer someone else. A big part of that work she has to do is with her own party where that figure is 20 percent for her in 2010 and 28 percent against, (by contrast, 24 percent of Republicans say they would support her while 28 percent are opposed). Among Democrats, 63 percent would like to see someone challenge her in a primary while only 11 percent want to see her run unopposed.

Gillibrand’s biggest hurdle will likely be a primary challenge.  There is a possibility that Rudy stepping into the general election could be a huge hurdle since they are statistically tied in a hypothetical match-up.  And in that case, who would gun owners trust more: a Democrat who comes from the part of the state that still votes pro-gun and who has a record of supporting gun rights or a Republican who ran on gun control and ran the part of the state that has some of the most oppressive gun laws in the country?

After my last post, she has more than 150 new supporters on Facebook.  There were some who confirmed via comments or emails that they donated.  It’s time for others to get on board.  She’s proven herself in the past, let’s reward her and show her that it’s a good thing to stick with us.