I don’t see how Larry Pratt can sell himself as an expert on dealing with the Apocalypse if he doesn’t plan to talk about how to confront the eventual zombie menace. I mean, the elephant in the living room isn’t it? At least how to deal with zombies would be tangentially related to gun rights. What good is saving your 401k or IRA from planned confiscation if something has eaten your brain?
Category: Guns
Spot the Mistake
This article from the AP talks about a high school’s air rifle team.  The local news station that picked up the story did something rather humorous, which I’m sure will be obvious if you click through.
Force Disparities
This case in Florida is a great example of the kind of situation you don’t want to find yourself in, and this is happening in a state with a “stand your ground” law. Based on what I saw of the reaction to Marko’s post from the other day, I think a lot of folks out there are confused about what a force disparity is, and when you can claim it.
Grandma has a pretty good case claiming a force disparity if she shoots a young adult male who is attacking her. But a healthy young male is going to have a difficult time claiming a force disparity against another healthy young male even if that other male is larger than you.  When you get into healthy males against healthy males, force disparity is whatever you can convince a jury it is. This is the situation our Florida friend is going to end up in. All the “stand your ground” law does is eliminate a duty to retreat before resorting to deadly force, and reduce self-defense to a “preponderance of evidence” standard from a “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard.  It does not change the fundamental calculus about when deadly force may be used.
Canadian Gun Control on the Internet
Apparently the gun registry fiasco was the first major Canadian scandal to play out on the Internet, and Canadian gunnies were more adept at using it to get their message out:
The Internet allowed average Canadians to express their outrage about the cost and complexity of the gun registry, she said.
But it also allowed a minority to hijack the issue, sometimes using mistruths, said Flumian.
“Particularly, the anti-fire arms registry lobby was very adept at getting their message out,†she said Monday. “It went viral.â€
I see more evidence around these days of Canadian shooters online, so maybe this can be a good vehicle for making some progress. Of course, the only Canadian gun blogger I know of is this guy, and he lives in Maryland.
How to Get Ignored Protesting with a Gun
Just carry a sign in favor of Obama’s health care proposal.  Of course, I think carrying a pistol rather than a rifle probably helps too.
Rule 5
SayUncle proposes an addition to the four rules because of this incident here. I’ll vote yes on that one, but one good practice to get into with Glocks is to remove the holster with the firearm in it. My Glock never leaves the holster unless it’s going away unloaded for long term storage. I’m not a fan of removing a gun from its holster just because.
I use this holster, which is easily removed with the gun in the holster. It requires a quality belt, of proper size to match the clip, because if you don’t it can come off (I’ve had it happen) and the next thing you know there will be a holstered gun at your feet. The leather loops are more forgiving. The good thing about the Glock is also the bad thing about the Glock. If you pull the trigger, it’s going to go bang.
This guy now finds himself facing charge of reckless handling of firearms under the Virginia Code, which is a class one misdemeanor. That won’t make you a prohibited person for the purposes of firearms possession, but I doubt he’ll keep his license to carry.
HSUS Reasserts Call for Bans on Lead Shot
If you think shooters won’t end up in their sights next, you have another thing coming. This is not a new issue. Take this study from 1975 that echos the same debates we’re still having today. What research I’ve done on this topic, which is admittedly not very thorough, there’s some cause for concern about the issue.  For me as long as wildlife populations remain stable, I don’t see too much of a problem, but you don’t want to be stuck in the public debate of arguing that some wildlife losses are accptable.
The real problem is, there’s no good subistitute for lead shot, or lead bullets. There are, of course, non-toxic alternatives, but they are inferior to lead in other properties, and will result in more wounded birds. They are also very expensive. There’s also the issue for lead bullets of laws against ammunition that’s “armor piercing” interfering with being able to make a quality alternative to lead ammunition.
More HSUS Astroturfing
JD in the comments points out that HSUS are also astroturfing in the comment section of the Bismark Tribune. Now, I should say that I don’t have hard IP evidence, but the name is the same, and the comment is the same. If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck …
Star Ledger Strives for Balance and Fails
I think this article in the Newark Star Ledger that MikeB pointed to in the Star Ledger tries to seek balance, by pointing out both sides of the coin. It’s a tired formula the media uses in attempt to appear balanced and insightful, without actually being balanced and insightful, and still pushing an agenda.
It’s also an intellectual cop-out to suggest we just ought to split the difference and be done with it, as if we’re not already sitting on top of a pile of gun laws and regulations already.  It’s difficult to take an article seriously when it’s author can’t even understand the difference between licensed dealers and black market dealers:
Half the guns used in crimes come from one-percent of gun dealers. There can be better oversight of those dealers, and better enforcement of laws.[…]
In New Jersey last month, undercover State Police busted a Glassboro gun dealer who allegedly sold them two assault weapons and a 37 mm projectile launcher, as part of a crackdown on the one percenters.
The guy in the link above is not a legal gun dealer. There is no change in regulatory oversight or new gun laws that are going to affect him. This isn’t some kind of crack down on otherwise legal gun selling operation. This is smuggling. It’s already operating outside the law.
The anti-gun people are always quick to paint this image of rouge licensed dealers who blatantly and willfully violate the law. If that were the case they’d be in jail. It’s always difficult for them to accept that guns are regulated beyond belief, and those regulations don’t do squat about keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals who really want guns.
Small Victory With ATF
After seeing our posts on the pin and weld issue that indicated that maybe ATF would no longer accept pinned and welded barrel extensions contributing to barrel length for NFA purposes, the NRA apparently went to ATF to get the problem corrected. One of my contacts at ILA just informed me that ATF has issued a corrected handbook, which states on the bottom of page 6:
The ATF procedure for measuring barrel length is to measure from the closed bolt (or breech-face) to the furthermost end of the barrel or permanently attached muzzle device. Permanent methods of attachment include full-fusion gas or electric steel-seam welding, high-temperature (1100°F) silver soldering, or blind pinning with the pin head welded over. Barrels are measured by inserting a dowel rod into the barrel until the rod stops against the bolt or breech-face. The rod is then marked at the furthermost end of the barrel or permanently attached muzzle device, withdrawn from the barrel, and measured.
So those of you with ARs that have 14.5 inch barrels with a 1.5 inch brake or flash suppressor pinned and welded on no longer have to worry they might be felons. Thanks to NRA for clearing this issue up.