Target Shooting Prompts Increased Scrutiny of Muslims: ...The events
that triggered the stepped-up scrutiny were the federal probe into a
Muslim charity accused of funneling money to the Palestinian group
Hamas; a target-shooting episode in Phoenix this year involving a large
group of Muslim men and boys firing hundreds of rounds from AK-47s and
other guns; and the high-profile removal in 2006 of six Arizona-bound
imams from a jetliner after passengers and crew complained of their
behavior... Shortly before noon on a sunny Sunday in March, two Toyota
SUVs rolled to a stop along a dirt road in north Phoenix. About 20 young
Muslim males climbed out, armed with assault rifles, a shotgun, a sniper
rifle and handguns. The location near Happy Valley Road and 51st Avenue
is a desert recreation site for off-road motorists, hikers and bikers,
dozens of whom were enjoying the spring-like weather. For more than an
hour, the shooters blasted away at a granite rock and empty cans in
front of a hill...
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/11/16/20081116scrutiny1116.html
---
Israelis Form Own NRA: While the gun lobby in the United States took a
setback last week with the election of Barack Obama, who supports the
ban of assault weapons, a group of Israeli-Americans are now trying to
ease restrictions on gun ownership here in Israel. Modeled and named
after the powerful but controversial Virginia-based National Rifle
Association, it is unclear whether the Israeli NRA will be able to
gather enough support to be in any way influential. Several experts have
already voiced criticism of the group's agenda... (This article appears
below the blogger's comments; I was unable to open the link to the
original article on the Ha'aretz site.)
http://israeljewishnews.blogspot.com/2008/11/israeli-nra-gains-momentum-under-shai.html
---
Rule Two, Rule Three Reminder: A 19-year-old woman was found dead early
Saturday morning after a gun fired while she was handling it, police
said. Ariana I. Portugal was pronounced dead of gunshot wounds when
police arrived at a home in the 900 block of West King Street, said
Officer Linda Galindo, a Tucson Police Department spokeswoman. According
to detectives, Portugal was visiting her boyfriend and obtained a gun
while she was at his home, and the gun fired while she was handling it,
Galindo said. Her boyfriend was not injured. Detectives are still
investigating the shooting. (Rule Two: Don't let the muzzle cross
anything you're not prepared to shoot. Rule Three: Keep your finger out
of the trigger guard, up on the frame, until your sights are on the
target and you're prepared to fire.)
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/267446
---
Zero to Ten Feet: According to Law Enforcement Officers Killed and
Assaulted: 2007, 55 officers were killed by gunfire last year. 27 of the
officers killed were within zero to five feet from their offender and
another ten officers were between six and ten feet from their offender.
Two of the officers were killed with their own firearm. So why are
agencies still devoting so much of their allotted training time to
shooting from the 25-yard line and beyond? Why are agencies still
treating firearms and defensive tactics as separate disciplines? ...
(Overall a good article but, as the equivalent of a defensive tactics
instructor, as well as a firearms instructor, I question the advocacy of
the two-handed close-quarters position. At close range, the second hand
is likely to have more valuable roles and the one-handed versions of
this technique, such as the Fairbairn-Sykes half-hip and three-quarter
hip positions, should work just as well.)
http://www.lawofficer.com/news-and-articles/columns/Nance/zero_to_ten.html
---
Concealed-Carry Essentials: It is easy to forget or overlook some of the
equipment essentials when it comes to carrying a concealed handgun. Here
a very quick and basic over view of some of the essential equipment. The
topic of holster or handgun selection could easily fill up several
hundred pages and still leave many important points out. So, let's take
a few minutes to review five pieces of essential equipment related
concealed carry... (Most list members are already aware of the pages on
my own website on Handgun Selection, Ammunition Selection and Holster
Selection. Related discussions are also included in my book
[
http://www.spw-duf.info/book.html].)
http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/6168
---
From John Farnam:
9 Nov 08
"Civilian Security Force?"
In a frightening display of personal dishonesty, the very day after the
election, BHO radically changed his Web Page to reflect a chilling
anti-gun stance, a position kept carefully hidden during the campaign.
Imagine that!
He has also restated his call for the formation of his heavily-armed,
but ill-defined "Civilian Security Force," loyal, apparently, only to
him personally.
Roman Emperor Tiberius (14BC-37AD), infinitely more interested in
coercing political opponents than in public service, imposed onerous
anti-arms edicts upon Roman citizens, in order to make them less
outwardly resistant to his tyranny. He had his Legions, but he raised
another, separate armed force, the Praetorian Guard, which was always
quartered in the City. The cover-story was that Praetorians served as
body-guards for the Emperor, but their real purpose was to harass and
terrorize (disarmed) citizens. "Hitler Youth," centuries later in Nazi
Germany, would serve the same purpose.
Economic and political calamity are never a result of free citizens
being armed. Disaster is the predictable result of weak and corrupt
political authorities. While the State is well and righteously
governed, officials have nothing to fear from armed citizens.
With BHO's already demonstrated duplicity, significant personal risk
will attach to all political activity. The Party currently in power
will have scant tolerance for those who speak out against them.
We're in for a bumpy ride!
/John
(If he pulls it off, I wonder how Big Brother will reconcile arming his
thugs while disarming the rest of us.)
13 Nov 08
Hunting with the XCR!
I just completed a wonderful Hunting Adventure with several colleagues
at a Preserve in the Midwest. I used my Micro-Aimpoint-equipped RA/XCR
in 7.62X39 and Cor-Bon DPX ammunition, an extremely deadly combination,
as it turns out!
Others in our party used mostly 308 bolt-guns. One used a compound bow,
with astonishing proficiency!
I shot a Dall Sheep and a Fallow Deer with my XCR. A colleague also
used my rifle to take down a large, wild pig.
I hit the Dall Sheep at seventy-five meters and at a downward angle. He
was in profile and was hit on the point of the shoulder, as is my
preference. He dropped in his tracks, never taking even one more step!
I saw him fall while still looking through my Aimpoint. Barnes bullet
went through-and-through, blowing out a two-inch exit wound. He weighed
one-hundred pounds. My congratulatory guide commented on how rapidly he
dropped!
The Fallow Deer was also one-hundred pounds, and I took him out as part
of a culling operation, as he had been injured and needed to be
"retired." He surprised us by appearing where we weren't expecting
him! When I finally got a shot, he was in profile at 125m, and it was
overcast and late in the afternoon. Light was fading, and I had to
quickly turn down the Aimpoint by one notch, as the dot was too bright.
It felt like a good shot, but I saw him step forward and behind a tree
after it broke, and I was not at all sure I had made a substantial hit.
My worries, as turns out, were unnecessary! He, too, was hit solidly on
the point of the shoulder and only took that one step forward before
dropping dead. I was thrilled and gratified with the accuracy and
usability of my XCR, as well as the profound effectiveness of DPX
ammunition!
My colleague then used my XCR to shoot a pig as the animal was crossing
the trail twenty meters in front of him. It was a snap-shot! The
Aimpoint made it possible for Dan to get on him fast, and the bullet hit
low on the chest, shredding the pig's ventricles. It also went
through-and-through. The pig ran ten meters and then rolled another
ten, but was already DRT when he came to a rest.
Having now hunted with both calibers, it is my conclusion that the DPX
round in 7.62X39 is at least as effective as the DPX 6.8mmSPC, probably
slightly more!
I love hunting with my military rifles, as it gives me an opportunity to
actually use them in an active circumstance. It is a recommended activity!
One bothersome note: Another colleague used a 308 "Steyr-Scout"
bolt-gun, for which he had paid nearly $3,000.00. It gave him nothing
but trouble!
He had a shot at a pig at relatively close range. As he pressed the
trigger, the rifle went "click" instead of "bang!" He quickly pushed
the bolt handle up and down, re-cocking the striker, and immediately
pressed again, only to hear another exasperating "click!"
The pig ran, but he got another shot at it seconds later. This time, he
cycled the bolt completely, ejecting the recalcitrant round and
chambering fresh one, having concluded he had been dealing with a dud.
However, for all his trouble, he was, once again, greeted with only a
frustrating "click."
He then changed magazines, cycled the bolt again, and continued the
pursuit. He got another opportunity ten minutes later, at the same
pig. This time, the rifle functioned normally, and he was able to make
a fatal hit. However, he indicated to me that he was going to get rid
of the rifle as soon as he got home, having lost all faith in it.
Neither I, nor he, was able to provide any kind of explanation for what
happened. But, I mention the foregoing, because this is the fourth
Steyr Scout I've seen in action, having seen three others in Urban Rifle
Courses. Without exception, all have been troublesome! None have run
well. I don't know what the issues are, but I surely won't own a copy
any time soon!
/John
(I don't usually include much hunting material but this piece raises a
few interesting points. If we can assume that other bullets, while
perhaps not performing as well as DPX, offer somewhat parallel
performance, do John's comments mean that the 6.8mm SPC is merely an
attempt to reinvent the wheel? I seem to recall the late Jeff Cooper
arguing that the Steyr Scout was worth the price because it was
preferable to own one perfect rifle than a few mediocre ones. I guess it
may be true, as we say in science, that fact is the greatest enemy of
theory Note how the sheep, which had a significant disruption of its
skeletal structure, dropped in place while the pig, which had its heart
destroyed, ran ten meters.)
Carry a Gun?
"Police Protection" is a contradiction of terms! Police rarely stop
crimes from taking place. Rather, we spend most of our time
investigating offences, after the damage has been done, and after
innocent victims have been permanently disabled/deformed or murdered.
Accordingly, I carry a gun, because I'm too young to be murdered, and
too old to suffer crippling injury at the hands of violent criminals.
Thus:
I don't go armed, because I harbor a secret desire to kill people, any
more than I wear a seat belt while driving, because I have some
compulsive desire to become involved in traffic accidents!
I don't carry a gun, so that I can scare people. I carry a gun, because
the world is a scary place!
I don't carry a gun as a delusional response to imaginary threats. I
carry a gun, so that I can deal effectively with real threats!
I don't carry a gun, because I'm evil. I carry a gun, because I've
already seen more evil than I ever wanted to!
I don't carry a gun, because I hate government. I carry a gun, because
I've seen how woefully limited and impotent all governments are!
I don't carry a gun, because I'm angry. I carry a gun, so that I won't
have to spend the rest of my shortened life being angry with myself for
being naively unprepared.
I don't carry a gun, because I want to become involved in a lethal
confrontation. I carry a gun, because I want to die of old age,
surrounded by family, in my own bed, not alone and hemorrhaging on a
dirty street.
I don't carry a gun, because I'm a Cowboy. I carry a gun because, when
I die (of old age) and go to Heaven, I want to be a Cowboy!
I don't carry a gun, because it makes me feel like a man. I carry a gun
because real men know how to take care of themselves, and the ones they
love, and do so without apology!
I don't carry a gun because I'm "inadequate." I carry a gun, because,
when unarmed and facing three brutish thugs, I am inadequate!
I don't carry a gun, because I love doing it. I carry a gun, because I
love life!
At some point, all of us will have to wager our lives on the outcome of
a single event. There are some things worth risking everything to save;
some things, without which, there will no longer be anything to live
for! At that moment, you either step up to the plate, or slink away.
Either way, you'll never have another chance!
Last Days of ancient Rome:
"Hew down the Bridge, Sir Consul,
With all the speed ye may:
I, with two more to help me,
will hold the foe at bay
In yon straight path, a thousand
May well be stopped by three
Now, who will stand, on either hand,
And hold this Bridge with me?"
/John
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
http://www.spw-duf.info
