Steve of the Firearms Blog has a case of accidental discharge due to a malfunctioning Galco holster. Looks as if the leather got a little too soft and pliable. I’m partial to Mitch Rosen‘s work for leather, as I have one of his pocket holsters, but I carry kydex holsters by Comp-Tac for non-pocket carry. I’ve seen all kinds of things go screwy with holsters. It’s a good idea to check them for issues fairly regularly.
Year: 2011
Can’t Take the Snow
A North Carolina man who moved to Pennsylvania got tired of having to dig out his car this winter, and ended up brandishing a gun at the guy operating the snowblower. Unbeknownst to him, apparently the snow blower operator was strapped too. Yet somehow this did not result in a shootout. If you believed the Bradys, the snow would have run red with blood that day, because clearly people can’t resist shooting each other. This guy pretty clearly needed shooting, and yet the legal gun carrier in this confrontation exercised restraint.
Friends Dinner
Sorry for the light posting this evening. Tonight was the Philadelphia Friends of the NRA dinner. I am disappointed not to have won anything, but there will be other dinners. Plenty of non-hunting guns. On raffle this year were a Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22, and a Century AK, both of which ended up auctioned off because people chose the other prizes. The price was good on both. I would have bid if I wasn’t hoarding cash because of the job situation. Plus, the FFL handling transfers is in the city, which means 2% more sales tax. I’ll wait for the Bucks and Montgomery County dinners. You can actually find pretty good bargains at auction if you’re lucky. Who wouldn’t want an NRA Toaster anyway?
Saving Money With a Freezer
When I saw this headline over at Instapundit, my first thought was that William Jefferson had a new book out.
I’ll be here all week.
Own Worst Enemies
SayUncle notes the folks in the comments on NRA’s Facebook aren’t so hot on suppressors. My experience the comment section of NRA’s Facebook page is that it’s a great thing to read if you want your faith in humanity destroyed.
Generally speaking we’re limited in what we can accomplish by what our own people will demand. Many people online spend the vast majority of their time only talking to other people who agree with them, and don’t grasp that the main reason we’re not seeing a repeal of Hughes is that a vast majority of gun owners don’t support civilian machinegun ownership. Many feel the same way about suppressors. I’m not speaking of here of people who happen to own guns, I’m speaking here of people who culturally identify as gun owners (a big difference). We have a long way to go on these issues, but it’s familiarity that breeds comfort.
I’d be a hypocrite if I said everyone should buy a suppressor, and use it at their range, since I don’t yet own one myself. But I’m thinking of soon taking the plunge.
Ballistics Database Fail
Jacob reports the numbers. New York State has collected approximately 312,000 shell casings, spent 40 million dollars, and solved no crimes. NYSRPA press release on it is here:
NYSRPA calls upon Governor Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and state legislative leaders to publicly recognize these boondoggles for what they are, defund the CoBIS program and stand up to the fringe special interests advocating microstamping.
I wouldn’t put any money on that happening any time soon. The standard government answer to something that doesn’t work and wastes lots of money is that it was not properly funded or managed, so the solution is to spend even more money on the failure.
Suspected Astroturfing
John Richardson has uncovered some strong evidence that an Letter to the Editor touted by CSGV is an astroturfing effort. To add more evidence to show that it probably is, I looked up to see whether there was any Charles Ford who held an FFL in Oregon by looking up the list from ATF. There is no one named Ford who holds an FFL in the entire state of Oregon. I think it’s safe to conclude that this is indeed an astroturfing effort by our opponents. As I mentioned, they are not above this kind of dishonesty. It’s the only way they can win.
Like Vultures
Our opponents gather around tragedy like vultures will gather around a corpse. Here’s one report of Brady’s Efforts:
“[Giffords is] the most prominent victim since Reagan,” noted Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
The Tucson incident, combined with the Reagan anniversary, gives gun-control advocates a fresh platform.
Don’t sound so enthusiastic about it Paul. But it’s not just the Brady folks. MAIG is not above exploiting tragedy as well, having gathered as many family of victims as they possibly could, which apparently is one. But it makes you wonder how many of the individuals who are supporting the Fix Gun Checks Act know about all the hidden easter eggs in the bill.
I think the gun control groups are stunned they haven’t been able to get any real traction from this tragedy. I’m not convinced they won’t. If Gabby Giffords becomes a crusader for gun control after she recovers, that might be all it takes. But we’ll see.
NRA, Doctors Compromise on Florida Bill
This was a stupid bill to begin with, so I’m glad they’ve come to an agreement. This wasn’t a fight that needed to be picked.
Todd Tiahrt Responds to Joyce Funded Propaganda
To Minnesota Public Radio’s credit, they printed it. He basically argues that Joe Vince wants to make money off mining the trace data in his consulting work, and that ATF, along with other police organizations, have supported restricting trace data to protect active investigations.