6.8 SPC EBR Fever

Robb’s got it, and wonders about 6.8 vs. .308.  I have a 6.8 upper for my AR, and I will definitely say, it’s not a cheap round to shoot.  I have to reload to be able to afford to shoot it.  But I don’t think 6.8 is going anywhere.  Remington will keep making it, and I’m pretty sure Silver State Armory has no plans to abandon it either.

I’ve found 6.8 shoots very nice compared to 5.56.  Last time I went shooting a few weeks ago, I punched out the 10 ring at 50 yards shooting from the bench, with the 6.8, where the 5.56 didn’t make groups nearly as tight.  The recoil difference is also not that great between the two rounds.  I believe the 6.8 is a great compromise between 5.56 and the larger .308 round.   Certainly better to use in an AR than 7.62×39 Soviet.  In addition to having better ballistics, the 6.8 has a smaller head size that makes it easy to integrate into the AR platoform, without having to change much other than the barrel and bolt.  Magazines for 6.8 are the same size as the standard STANAG magazine, but have thicker walls and a different follower.

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There Will Always Be a Bridge

Bryan Miller is once again blaming Pennsylvania for crime in New Jersey:

This one-way traffic in illegal guns is even clearer and more damaging in Camden, connected to Philadelphia by two major bridges, as a greater portion of its crime guns come from PA than is the case for the rest of NJ. According to Camden County Acting Prosecutor Joshua Ottenberg, 25% of crime guns recovered in Camden in 2006 came from PA. He said: “Any town that has a bridge is obviously going to feel more of an impact…” So, Delaware River towns, Camden and Trenton, each only a bridge ride away from PA and its vibrant illegal gun market, suffer disproportionately.

New Jersey has effectively extinguished lawful gun ownership.  Only about 12% of households owned guns in The Garden State.  Only Hawaii, which never had much of a shooting tradition, has a lower percentage of household firearms ownership.  Pennsylvania’s household firearms ownership rate is much higher, at 35%.  A fairly sizable portion of shooters at my gun club are from New Jersey.  They come here, because there just aren’t many places to shoot over on their side of the river anymore.  The past several decades has seen range after range, club after club, and gun shop after gun shop, close its doors and fold up, and more and more people chose to either leave the state, or give up gun ownership, rather than face the sea of regulations, and the risk that screwing up could land you very serious time in prison.

There’s very little doubt that criminals will follow the path of least resistance when it comes to acquiring firearms, and it’s easier to smuggle them from other jurisdictions than it is to start making firearms in garages and basements.  I don’t dispute this.  What I do dispute is that creating restrictive laws elsewhere is going to have an effect on anything other than trafficking patterns.  Even if you outlawed them nationwide, there will always be a bridge, and it’s not hard to manufacture firearms to begin with, even in a war zone like Chechnya.  The real question isn’t whether gun control affects trafficking patterns, but whether it effects crime, and there’s never been any conclusive evidence that it does.  Let’s take a look at crime rates between New Jersey and Pennsylvania:


(click to embiggen)

Traditionally, New Jersey has had a much higher violent crime rate than Pennsylvania, and it’s only been since New York’s revival that New Jersey’s crime rate has dropped significantly.  This makes sense, because as much as criminals cross borders to commit the crime of smuggling firearms, they also cross borders to commit violent crimes.  New Jersey’s crime would no doubt be even lower if Philadelphia could get its act together, since New Jersey has no large cities of its own.  Many of its smaller cities are among the most violent in the nation.  Far worse than Philadelphia itself.  Bryan can argue all he wants that Pennsylvania needs to “destroy the village in order to save it” in regards to our shooting heritage, but there will always be a bridge.  Criminals will find ways to get guns, and it’s not going to do much to lower crime.

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Penalty Increase in New Jersey

The State of New Jersey is considering increasing the penalty for possession of an “assault firearm” from a third degree crime to a second degree crime, which carries a penalty of up to ten years in prison and a $150,000 fine.  Before anyone in New Jersey suggests “Well, it’s the law and you should obey it!” consider that this is considered an assault firearm in the State of New Jersey:

 http://www.pagunblog.com/blogpics/JCHiggins29.jpg

Clearly any New Jersey gun owner who happens to be an unbeknowing lawbreaker, and possesses one of these high powered .22 caliber machines of death, they deserve 10 years in the pokey!

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Unlikely

Over at Subguns.com, an accusation that politicians are registering machine guns and selling them to finance their campaigns.  The whole theory seems to hinge on this:

The Hughes Amendment had an interesting side effect. If you read Chapter 18, 922 (o) it is not a ban per say but demands Government approval for the manufacture and sale of a machine gun after May 19,1986, the date of enactment. There have been rumors floating around for years that certain politicians have been registering machineguns and selling them. 

922(o) is pretty short and sweet:

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful for any person to transfer or possess a machinegun.

(2) This subsection does not apply with respect to—

(A) a transfer to or by, or possession by or under the authority of, the United States or any department or agency thereof or a State, or a department, agency, or political subdivision thereof; or

(B) any lawful transfer or lawful possession of a machinegun that was lawfully possessed before the date this subsection takes effect.

But you can’t really just read 922(o), which is part of the United States Code, and represents an Act of Congress.  You also have to look at Code of Federal Regulations Title 27, particularly 479 Subpart G, which are all the regulations promulgated by ATF under its authority granted by Congress for the purpose of registration of machineguns.  There is no Congress Critter exception to the ban.  It has been completely unlawful to register a fully transferrable firearm since May 19, 1986.  If this is going on, it’s illegal, and people could go to jail.  Color me skeptical, though.

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LA Times Article on Eric Thompson

Ahab points to (read his whole post, it makes a good point) this rather interesting article in the LA times on Eric Thompson, proprietor of Top Glock, who we mentioned last week.  Back during the assault weapons ban, I ordered one of the few (and expensive) fifteen round magazines from TopGlock for my Glock 19.  It’s never been used in a killing, and I hope to God is never is.  I’m glad to see Mr. Thompson isn’t questioning his convictions when it comes to second amendment rights.

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