One Thing Leads to Another: I have gotten several responses on the
erroneously cited "vintage .410 caliber rifle" from the article on the
response to last year's Mumbai terror attacks. Sifting and piecing it
all together, it appears that while India was still her colony, Britain
wished to supply her police with a riot weapon that would not be much of
a threat to British forces if it were to fall into enemy hands. As a
result, they converted Lee-Enfield (SMLE) Mk III rifles into single-shot
shotguns, chambered to fire the British two-inch, brass-cased .410
shotshell (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee-Enfield). Some of these were
subsequently reamed to accept the longer American .410 shotshells, when
they were imported here.
Most gunners know that the shotgun gauge system established bore
diameter from the division of a pound of lead into equal-sized balls.
Thus, the bore of a 12-gauge shotgun matches the diameter of a lead ball
that weighs one-twelfth of a pound and so forth. The exception is the
410 shotgun. This inch-fraction designation appears to stem from the
development of the above-mentioned British shotshell, apparently created
from the un-necked, untapered, parent case for the British .303 rifle
cartridge.
A short time back, I learned the origin of our .44-. 38- and .32-caliber
handgun bores. In the days of cap and ball, 100 balls to the pound
produced a .44-caliber ball, 150 produced .36 caliber and 200 produced
31 caliber. These were the designations of the original blackpowder
revolvers. The .36-caliber ball was translated into a .38-caliber
cartridge by the diameter of its case and it is unclear how the
31-caliber ball morphed into a .32-caliber cartridge; nominal bullet
diameters for American .32-caliber cartridges run from 0.312 to 0.315
inches. On the other hand, the nominal bullet diameter for our
44-caliber cartridges is 0.429 inches. This probably reflects the
result of the Russian demand for an unheeled, inside-lubricated bullet
when Smith & Wesson landed the huge Russian contract for their No. 3
44-caliber revolver. Thus, it was a Russian army ballistician who
actually gave us the form of our current revolver cartridges, via Smith
& Wesson. Colt continued, for a time, using heeled bullets, such as
those used in .22 rimfire cartridges, with hollow bases to seal the bore
on firing.
---
Brady Bunch Files McDonald Brief: The Brady Center has filed its friend
of the court brief in the case of OTIS MCDONALD, et al., Petitioners, v.
CITY OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, et al., Respondents... They say their brief
is "in support of neither party," but what are they really saying?
..What they're saying in the Chicago case is essentially the same thing
they said in the Heller Washington D.C. case: Gun bans are "reasonable"
and consistent with the Second Amendment proscription that "the right of
the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." This does not
surprise anyone who has been watching these Brady characters for any
length of time. After all, we're talking a group that - in spite of
putting on a kinder, gentler public face via a name change - still
internally identifies itself by its original name: Handgun Control, Inc...
http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m11d28-Chicago-gun-case-brief-shows-prohibitionists-unreasonable
http://www.chicagoguncase.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/08-1521acbrady.pdf
IACP Chimes In: We spoke yesterday about the Brady Center amicus curiae
brief filed in McDonald v. Chicago, a case that challenges Chicago's
handgun ban. We saw how the Brady claim that gun bans are "reasonable"
and "common sense" fits in with their long-established goals, despite
any claims to the contrary assuring people otherwise. Over the next few
days, I'd like to look at their partners on the McDonald brief: First
up, The International Association of Chiefs of Police, a major
beneficiary of the notoriously anti-gun Joyce Foundation...
http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m11d29-Chicago-gun-case-Top-globalist-cops-say-keeping-Americans-disarmed-is-reasonable
Bloomberg, Racism and McDonald: ...The connection between restrictive
gun regulation and racism is far from new. Racial bigotry could, in
fact, be reasonably considered the root of "gun control" in America.
From Reconstruction Era "Black Codes" mandating disarmament of freed
slaves, to bans of "Saturday Night Specials" (favored at one time by
African Americans because they were affordable), to New York's own
Sullivan Act (intended to disarm Italian immigrants), etc., the Racist
Roots of Gun Control are a shameful part of our nation's history. Even
more shameful is the fact that it's part of not only our history, but
our present, as well. Actually, with McDonald v. City of Chicago pending
in the Supreme Court, this is probably a good time for a reminder that
significant motivation for passage of the Fourteenth Amendment after the
Civil War was the need for protection of freed slaves' right to keep and
bear arms, state laws notwithstanding, as 19th Century Senator Jacob
Howard argued during Senate floor debate (pdf file) on the amendment...
http://www.examiner.com/x-2581-St-Louis-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m11d30-Mayor-Bloombergs-racist-gun-policies
---
The Beat Goes On: Connecticut residents are strapping themselves with
more guns this year despite a downward trend in crime on the state and
national level. According to the Department of Public Safety's Special
Licensing and Firearms Unit, based out of Middletown, the issuing of
pistol permits increased this year by 53 percent from 2008. There is
also a 14 percent increase in the renewal of permits. In 2008, 9,601 new
permits were issued along with 26,457 renewed licenses. As of Nov. 24,
2009, more than 14,660 new permits have been issued and the number of
renewed licenses is currently just above 26,450. "Gun sales and
permitting has hiked up since Obama took office. These people are
worrying needlessly," said Department of Public Safety Office Supervisor
Diane Morrel... People who wish to receive a pistol permit can do so
rather quickly. First, they must obtain a local permit from their police
department or first selectman and complete a gun safety course. If they
want to be permitted within the state, they must apply through the
Department of Public Safety's Special Licensing Unit and provide a birth
certificate. Once certified, the permit is valid for five years... (Ms.
Morrel and Lt. Vance seem to disagree about the propriety of commenting
on political motivations for getting licensed.)
http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2009/11/30/news/doc4b133634c7289021666990.txt
..Haley is one of nearly 327,000 Indiana residents who have some kind
of active handgun permit, according to a database maintained by the
Indiana State Police. The ISP's database, obtained by The Herald-Times
through a public records request, paints a picture of how many Hoosiers
can carry a handgun in public. The database shows: Of the 4,976 active
handgun permits within Monroe County, 4,941 - or 99.2 percent - are
personal protection permits, which is on pace with the state as a whole.
The other 35 handgun permits are other types of permits, such as hunting
and target shooting. One in about 26 Monroe County residents has a
permit to carry a handgun in public. To put that in perspective, that
means of the 600 people who could fit into a sold-out Buskirk-Chumley
Theater, about 23 people could be armed. In the H-T coverage area, Brown
County has the highest percentage of people permitted to carry handguns
in public based on population, at about one in eight. The handgun permit
database may provide an accurate picture of how many people can legally
carry handguns in public, but it's only part of the picture...
http://cable.tmcnet.com/news/2009/11/29/4505388.htm
---
More on the Other Seattle Gun Suit: ...Warden is the Seattle man who's
currently challenging the city's gun ban. Two weeks ago he was ordered
out of the Southwest Community Center after walking in with a .40
caliber glock strapped to his side. Today he filed a lawsuit against the
city. And about thirty minutes ago he answered a call from The Daily
Weekly and proved himself to be anything but crazy... Warden is uniquely
suited to that challenge. He won't get very specific about who he works
for. (He says it's "a federal government agency in a field of labor and
employee relations.") But as a certified pistol instructor and range
safety officer with a law degree, he's got the chops to argue he's been
wronged. While the NRA and Alan Gottlieb's Second Amendment Foundation
have also filed similar suits, Warden says his public stunt at the
community center actually gives him a leg up. "It has to do with legal
standing," he says. "In order to have your case heard by a judge you
have to have been harmed in some tangible way. The other case they may
have standing. My goal was to simply make sure that that wasn't even an
argument." ...
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2009/11/the_reasonable_man_behind_the.php
---
Oops, Wrong Apartment: A person who kicked down an apartment door was
shot and injured Thursday night, Gresham [OR] police said. Officers were
called at 9:11 p.m. on Thursday about someone trying to kick in Nathan
Brown's apartment door in the 1200 block of East Powell Boulevard. Brown
said his 2-year-old daughter was sleeping when he heard a loud noise. "I
heard three distinct loud bangs like someone was kicking my door. It
wasn't like a knock, it was emotionally charged. It scared me," Brown
said. He grabbed his handgun and cracked the door to see who was there.
Brown said two men were standing outside, shouting at him in Spanish.
Brown said he told them to go away but then one man kicked the door,
broke the lock and barged in. "I cocked the gun again and expelled a
bullet so he knew it was loaded and I said, 'Stop, I'll shoot you,'"
Brown said. "I pointed the gun at him and I said, 'Stop,' one more time
and that's when I shot." The intruder was struck in the thigh, police
said. Officers said the wound is not life-threatening... (It sounds as
though a peephole or closed-circuit TV might have been useful. Racking
the slide to show that the gun is loaded may place it within the
grasping range of an assailant and could waste a round that may be
needed in the next few seconds.)
http://www.kptv.com/fox12investigators/21738557/detail.html
---
Oops, Wrong Truck: Russell Conrad, 70, a resident of a home on County
Road 561 in Clermont shot and killed suspected burglar Steve Hilson, 32,
after confronting him in his driveway early Saturday. According to a
press release from the Lake County [FL] Sheriff's Office, Conrad was
awakened just before 4:30 a.m. by the sound of the horn in his pickup
truck that was parked outside in his driveway. Conrad armed himself with
a handgun and went out the front door of his home to investigate. When
he got outside, Conrad heard the horn sound in his pickup truck again
before noticing someone inside (the truck). The release says Conrad
fired warning shots and ordered Hilson out of the truck. Hilson's
response was to lock himself in, but Conrad, who was holding the keys,
unlocked the door and once again ordered him out. Conrad told the
responding officers that as he backed away from the truck, Hilson came
towards him, "placing him in fear for his life." The release says that
Conrad then opened fire on the suspect, fatally wounding him... (A
vehicle is generally not worth the risks, physical and legal, of leaving
the safety of one's home to confront a burglar or auto thief. Warning
shots are not advised for a variety of reasons, including liability for
where the bullets may end up and waste of ammunition which may be needed
in the next few seconds.)
http://www.dailycommercial.com/localnews/story/112909shooting
---
Opinions Are like Body Parts...: While anyone with an elementary
knowledge of firearms recognizes the advantages of a handgun for
concealed and close quarters defense use, the time where a battle rifle
could be used for self-defense is rapidly approaching. The size and
weight of a handgun provides many advantages but these factors also
become a liability if one is forced to defend themselves at a distance
of more than a few yards. While there exist handguns used for hunting
and target shooting, those are not usually carried or used for
self-defense and their effective range is still limited, especially when
compared to a battle rifle... (Perhaps more dramatically than with
handguns, there are different rifles for different roles. Michael Gaddy
offers some of his opinions. There is a certain attraction to an AR-15
"lower" coupled with an assortment of "uppers" in different chamberings.
There is also a potential downside to becoming completely dependent on
semi-automatic technology, if its use becomes "restricted" in the
future. Lever-action technology offers rapid follow-up shots and, if
desired, cartridge commonality with several revolver chamberings;
lever-action rifles are not generally selected by those seeking
long-range performance. Opinions are like body parts - everyone's got
'em and most of 'em don't smell too good.)
http://www.lewrockwell.com/gaddy/gaddy74.1.html
---
Medical Advice for Hunters: With hunting season in full swing, officials
at the Pennsylvania Game Commission and doctors are giving advice on
staying safe in the woods. They say that despite getting the most
attention, gunshot wounds are far from the most common injury for
hunters [emphasis added]. "The thing that gets the most press is when
someone gets shot," said John Skiendzielewski, an emergency physician at
Geisinger Medical Center. "But I must say that thankfully doesn't happen
very often." What gets less attention but occurs much more frequently
are falls from tree stands, ATV crashes, sprains, broken bones and heart
problems. "Every year we see hunters that are brought in from the field
with some heart-related conditions," Skiendzielewski said. "I think the
issue with that is that people don't know they're at risk for heart
disease or have heart disease and are all of a sudden in a stressful
environment that they're not used to, walking long distances, climbing
long hills and mountains, lifting heavy objects in cold conditions. All
of these things put a stress on the heart. And for many people the first
symptom is when they have a heart attack." Preparation is the key to
avoiding heart problems, Skiendzielewski said. Get a doctor's opinion if
you're over 50, you're a smoker, if you have high blood pressure,
diabetes or a family history of heart conditions...
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091129/NEWS/911290344
---
Not Without a Fight - the Trailer: List members who would like a preview
of Max Lemus's film of his interviews with RKBA activists across the
nation can get one at YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtEkP4b1HB4
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
The tactics and skills to use a firearm
in self-defense don't come naturally
with the right to keep and bear arms.
http://www.spw-duf.info
