If I ever ask Bitter to marry me, I have found the perfect engagement ring!
Things Learned Reloading
Sorry for the light posting today. Too much having to earn a living going on this week, and tonight is my weekly silhouette match. I thought, though, I’d give an update on some things I’ve learned with respect to reloading:
- You do yourself no favors with a cheap digital scale. They don’t hold zero well enough, and tend to measure underweight if you trickle powder into one. Stick with a quality beam balance or spend the money for a decent digital scale.
- Case tumblers can really shine your brass up nice, to the point they look better once fired than new cases look. At first I thought a high sheen on the brass was merely aesthetic, but it actually makes your brass remarkably easy to spot and recover.
- Powder dispensers don’t seem to measure all that consistently if you’re thinking about loading up to the maximum recommended powder load. I’ve had best results setting the dispenser to throw a bit under and then trickling up to weight.
- A powder trickle is well worth the money.
- My Alpha Chrony is very finicky on a low light range, and often can’t see small bullets like .223 and even 6.8 SPC sometimes. It never seems to have trouble seeing .30-06.
The main thing I’ll be looking to improve is my reloading speed. It can take me a few evenings to reload as much ammo as I can shoot in an hour at the range. Nonetheless, it’s a very fun winter time distraction, much the same way brewing beer is, except reloading isn’t quite as detrimental to health, well, except for the lead exposure risk.
Are Conservatives a Minority
Kim asks the question, Ahab has his answer. Here’s mine:
I think overall, the country is more conservative than progressive. But however any one of us defines conservatism, yes, we probably are a minority. Don’t fear, because here’s the catch: everyone’s political views are a minority political view.
Gun owners are minority in this country, and gun owners who care strongly about gun rights are an even smaller minority. Gun owners who care about gun rights enough to get as involved as many of us are, are a very small minority. But you know what? That’s the case of any special interest.  That’s why we form into associations, coalitions, and political parties in order to advance our causes, and why so often the compromises and vying interests along the political path often produce results and candidates that are less than we would desire.
The Bush Sell Out
Via War on Guns a quite good editorial taking The Administration to task for its brief:
Which raises the question: What the heck was the Bush Administration thinking? For decades, a critical component of the Republican coalition has been working class gun owners who are bothered by the Democrats’ embrace of gun control. Republicans actually seem to have won that battle, with Democrats backing off of gun control legislation in the recent Congress. Why after enduring so much hostile press would the Bush Administration sell out the NRA at this critical juncture? And why make the reversal in a difficult election year, when the support of gun control opponents will be so critical to Republican fortunes?
What’s it have to lose selling anyone out at this point? Bush is about as lame duck as they come, and I’ve never gotten the impression he’s all that concerned about his party’s fortunes. The Bush family are wealthy New Englanders with no real connection to the gun culture. As the article points out:
The less generous answer lies in the reality of the Bush Administration. Contrary to the caricatures painted by liberals, there are precious few issues that the Administration has not sold the Right out on. No Child Left Behind, the prescription drug benefit, monstrous budget deficits, McCain-Feingold, Patient’s Bill of Rights . . . all of these issues cross the gamut of modern politics, and all of them are issues where the Bush Administration’s Rovian plotting has placed it at loggerheads with standard conservatism. Even on judges, where the Administration usually wins plaudits, conservatives forget Harriet Miers, and forget that two of Bush’s first ten Court of Appeals appointments were Clinton appointees. Is it really that hard to believe that the Administration would lurch to the left on the issue of guns?
No, not hard to believe, but we still get to be pissed.
Virginia Gun Show Bill Dead
The Virginia Senate rejected the gun show bill 9-6.
Shocking Developments
In the Virginia SWAT raid gone wrong which resulted in a homeowner killing an officer. Over at Captain of a Crew of One.
I absolutely believe that Officers have every right to defend themselves and fellow officers, but “suppressive fire?” I don’t suppose any thought of innocent people living next door or walking down the street two blocks over should be any concern to Police officers now should it???
WTFO? Suppressive fire is something you use against an opposing ARMY, not something you use against one guy wh0 may be a criminal…or may just be a guy who thinks you were trying to rob or murder him.
It sounds to me like the cops who think they are an occupying force or invading army are the ones who need to “get their minds right.”
Am I wrong???
No, you’re not. Read the whole thing. I do hope the officer making that comment is unaware of what suppressing fire generally entails, and is merely talking out his ass. If that guy is on a SWAT team, that’s scary indeed.
UPDATE: Radley has more. Go read. I also agree about his comments about not making this about individual officers, or about the officer killed. That an officer was killed because of these poor tactics is a tragedy. This is a systemic problem in our society that goes beyond individual departments or people.
Deeper Into the Fever Swamp
The Three Little Pigs is deemed “offensive to Muslims” by a British government agency, and was disqualified from winning the agency’s award.
Airport Security Gaffes
Ahab has another story of a gun owner who forgets he’s carrying and gets through security, then proceeds to “do the right thing” and tell the TSA about it.
If you get past security at an airport with a gun, leave the secured zone immediately and count your blessings. There is no get out of jail free card for doing “the right thing.” The right thing for you is not to confess to the authorities about the crime you just committed.
Thanks from Paul Helmke
Looks like Paul Helmke doesn’t have any problems with the Bush Administration DOJ filing. Helmke knows a gift horse when he sees it, and isn’t going to look this one in the mouth. The Brady Campaign has everything to gain and nothing to lose by fawning over this brief. They won’t mention that six years ago they were furious about DOJ adopting the individual rights view, which is identical to the one they are now applauding.
When your back is against a wall, you have nothing to lose. Bush has offered Brady two things with his brief. The first is a way out of their nightmare. An individual rights ruling that means nothing is something Brady can work with. Remanding back to District Court will likely preserve most of the DC ban, despite what the DOJ may actually think about it. It’s not likely to cause state laws to be threatened in the circuit courts.  Incorporation will be far less likely.
Furthermore, Paul Helmke is aware that gun owners are furious with Bush over the brief, and that this situation puts NRA in a real pickle for 2008. With the gun vote furious at Bush, and with McCain or Romney the likely nominee at this point, NRA is in a very poor position heading into this election. That’s the icing on the cake for the Brady Campaign. Paul Helmke isn’t stupid folks, and what you’re witnessing here is a brilliant political move on the part of the Brady Campaign, compliments of the backstabber in the Oval Office.
DC’s Effective Gun Law
Dave Hardy has the story.