What could possibly go wrong?

On Tuesday, the United Nations again made itself an international laughing stock – except perhaps to the American taxpayers who continue to foot 22 percent of the bill – by appointing North Korea chair of the U.N. Conference on Disarmament.

Well, it is for only four weeks, and it's not like they were the first pick; it works via alphabetical order, and Madagascar or some other country already got their shot (My pun, can you feel it?). It still makes me wonder why the rest of the U.N. conference can't just skip over North Korea like short people get skipped to play basketball and maybe pick a country that is not so insane, like Nigeria.

In other news, Mayors Against Guns has picked Lee Boyd Malvo to be the next spokesman against gun violence.

Appendix Carry

I've been intrigued with appendix carry for quite some time, especially so after I saw a man open carrying a Glock 17 in Home Despot that way over a year ago. Why in the world would I want to carry a gun on the front of my hip? Speed. Appendix carry uses the body's natural mechanics to minimize movement during the draw, and the end result is a natural and fast draw.

But how fast?

This fast:


Yes, I know that Jim Zubiena is a badass with a 1911, but it still shows how fast the draw can be when there is little distance between your hand and your gun.

If you want to know more about appendix carry, check out this Pistol-Training.com thread on the subject.

There is a downside to this form of carry, and that is that if you botch the reholstering of your pistol, you could blow a big gaping hole in your satchel or femoral artery, as the gun will be aimed at your crotch. Speed reholstering is stupid to begin with, and even more so when your holster is strapped to the front of your britches at the 2:30 position. Naturally, you would slow down and think carefully when you reholster, and you could also use a pistol with a hammer and keep some thumb pressure on that baby. If you have a Glock, which doesn't have a hammer, the folks at Pistol-Training.com are in the process of getting a patent on The Gadget, which is like adding a hammer to the Glock, but without the hammer. You will have to go there and see what it is because it really can't be explained. The Gadget will work well for appendix carry, and probably won't add any major cost to your pistol. Also, the benefit of not killing yourself or turning your balls into a pink mist when holstering your firearm is priceless, so there's that.

These days there are holsters expressly made for appendix carry. I do not have any holsters that are made for it, but that will be remedied in the near future. From everything I have read, if you try to use a regular holster for appendix carry, it will be very uncomfortable, which is what my limited experience has told me as well. Also, this mode of carry favors the svelte individual, which I am slowly becoming the opposite of. That means I will have to drastically cut back on the number of Stellas that I consume, with that being a good idea anyways. I'll ring back in with the results in the next couple of months with a holster review.

More mob attacks

There was a big street brawl in DC, a mob of 75+ teens in Cleveland, Ohio were running around punching people, and in Philadelphia, PA a group of people numbering approximately 100 were running around town assaulting people, breaking one woman's leg.

At some point or another, a youthful mob attack is going to be stopped by someone with an AR fresh out of a Magpul training course, and this behaviour will hopefully be a thing of the past. Considering these attacks have been all over the news in the past few weeks and are well known to be incredibly violent, folks should know what to expect if they're caught up in one. I'm not interested in being the guy on the news who got head-stomped by a bunch of excited kids, and I don't know anybody else who is. The savages need to stop pounding the war drums.

Whammo ammo

This weekend I made a point to go out and do some handgunnery considering I have neglected my mental health for a good while now. I had some ammo given to me by a coworker who somehow or another ended up with it, but doesn't own any firearms to shoot it with. Among the free stuff was 120 or so 200 grain semi wadcutters that were handloaded with W231, as well as a box of 185 grain Hornady HP and 200 grain Gold Dots, all in .45 ACP of course.

Shooting the handloads while doing draws was a lot of fun. With a government sized 1911, a Kimber TLE RLII, I could click off rounds very fast, getting quick follow up shots rapidly as there was not a whole lot of recoil. The slide chugga chugged along slowly making things easy on the gun. Later on that night, my brother put a bug in my head about upgrading my carry ammo - 230 grain standard pressure Remington Golden Sabers.

There's nothing wrong with Golden Sabers; they've been around for a long time now and have a proven pedigree, but the bullet design is a bit dated, and they are known for core/jacket separation. I have personally witnessed this from shooting them into 5 gallon buckets full of moist dirt. About two out of every ten will have the jacket come off, but the hollow point bullet does expand every time, which I rate second to reliable cycling in my gun. I've run a couple of hundred Golden Sabers without a hiccup through my blaster, and they hit to point-of-aim and are damned accurate.

Once I find a load that works, I'm generally reluctant to change as the cost of one to two hundred rounds for function testing is not in my budget, but I have thought about trying some new loads for the hell of it. I'm not the only one to think about updating my trusted Golden Sabers - Tam came to the same conclusion about the same time I did, and my brother convinced me to check out some modern CCW fodder in the way of Federal HST and/or Winchester Ranger Ts. To further that, the details from a shooting at a gas station in Dayton, Ohio have come to light, and it got me thinking that I needed to be using the best ammo that I can.

In the Ohio shooting incident, two drunk and high scumbags attacked a man at the gas pump and tried to drag him from his vehicle to do who knows what. The victim pulled a Glock 36 and fired two rounds into the guts of one scumbag, the first round being a 230 grain FMJ, and the second being 165 grain Cor-Bon Powerball. The shootee immediately ceased his attack and took up the fetal position on the deck, while the other scumbag poked at him probably saying something along the lines of "you ok bruh?" The shooter took off and dialed 911. Despite all the talk of the incident and the things that went wrong, the ammo did its job and stopped the attack cold. The shootee did survive the two rounds to the center of his abdomen, which has generated some talk about ammo effectiveness.

With all this in mind, I hit the local funshow this weekend looking for some of that Federal HST. I didn't find it, but I did see a whole lot of the Winchester Ranger Ts in 230 grain +P, which use the "Black Talon" design bullet of doom, without the black lubaloy coating. Taking it as divine encouragement, I picked up three boxes of it for function checking in the Kimber. As it turns out, my gun does not like the ammo at all, and I don't blame it.

The recoil was tremendous from my gun. I have shot a great deal of .44 magnum in my time, as well as 10mm, and none of those were as unpleasant as this stuff. The web of my hand was swollen afterwords where the beavertail grip was smashing into it. From a rest, I did manage a 2" 25 yard group minus the first round, which went low, but firing off pairs was a disaster in the making, as there was no way to manage the recoil effectively. I couldn't keep a pair of shots on a paper plate at 15 yards unless I slowed down considerably. In the 70 rounds I fired, I had six or seven malfunctions, four of them being when the slidestop became partially engaged. That could have been from my thumbs hitting it inadvertently, which doesn't happen when I use ammo that doesn't go off like a hand grenade in the chamber. The other malfunction was a nosedive type feeding issue where the round is still in the magazine and the bullet nose is jammed against the barrel hood. Years ago I swore that I would not shoot +P ammo in a 1911, as I don't think it's warranted for the cartridge, and yesterday I relearned that lesson. None of these malfunctions gave me confidence in the ammo, so I am back to the Golden Sabers for the time being.

All in all, I would be better served shooting the 200 grain wadcutters over the Ranger Ts. The Ranger Ts do come in a standard pressure loading, so I'll look for those. I don't know if the Federal HSTs come in standard pressure, but I'm going to look for those as well. I've looked at the Gold Dots and various loadings from Cor-Bon, but I don't see me taking out a loan to buy one box of ammo, so those are out. I'll be studying ammo pretty hard for the next week or so, and maybe next payday I'll find something that works.

Interesting revelations in Project Gunwalker

There is more and more evidence coming out that the ATF was using Project Fast and Furious as a means for fluffing up the numbers of weapons going to Mexico in order to give US lawmakers a chance to push more gun control. If you notice, there's a name of an ATF Special Agent that keeps popping up - Agent Bill Newell, whom I've mentioned a few times before as one who is on the front lines to convince the US public that we're the cause of the cartels having weapons.

Reportercreature: "It doesn't seem like it's that difficult for them to get these guns."

ATF Special Agent Bill Newell Mangan: "It's uh, it's as easy as crossing the border."

With the help of our government, apparently.

This is going to be a major scandal, with or without the help of our shit media organizations. Good on the ATF agents and other ABC agents who have come out against Project Fast and Furious, and shame on agents like Newell who carry the water for gun controllers through lies and deceit.

**Update: A letter from Senator Grassley to ATF Director Kenneth Melson. All I can say about that is OUCH!! If you read nothing else on this page or from the links I have provided, check out Senator Grassley's questions at the bottom of his letter. They are covered from point to hilt in barbs.

***Update: The video I posted above was not Special Agent Newell. You can see him here in the video on this page talking about straw buyers, concealing the fact that he had a large hand in allowing those very guns be sold to criminals.

No fighting chance

In the hallways of police headquarters, some police officials were struggling to understand the incident, saying it didn’t sound right.

Even Mayor Francis Slay reacted to the news with skepticism, wondering how three Marines, one of whom was carrying a knife, would lose their knife and a wallet to two un-armed men.

There is this idea perpetuated that Marines are always armed and itching for a fight. While this may be true in combat, and sometimes not even then (ask me how I know), the reality of the situation is closer to what the Marine Corps Spokeswoman said, that Marines are encouraged not to get into an altercation over anything other than a fight for your life. To neck that down to something less official to give to a media weeny, Marines are flatly told that getting into a fight out in public will lead to an end in your career, or a severe demotion, oftentimes being the exact same thing.

You think that the Marine Corps would trust their Marines, but there is no trust. They are not allowed to resist the criminal element, and are denied the means to do so, even on a base.

This was noted during the Fort Hood shooting, where the media was scratching their head in disbelief that a single man armed with a handgun could kill so many Soldiers armed with M16s, when they didn't know that military bases are very strictly kept Gun Free Zones. Paul Helmke even pointed out how the shooting went down at a "heavily fortified Army base", when it isn't very fortified at all, and is filled to the brim with unarmed Soldiers.

Back to the article, here you have two men who swore an oath to protect this nation and are willing to bet their life to uphold that oath, and they are barred from preventing their own robbery on their own soil by a threat of being kicked out of their Service with dishonor. Those Marines did exactly what they were instructed to do, and now the nation will read this article over a cup of coffee this morning and wonder why two highly trained warriors are such pussies. I guess that's better than a lawsuit. Frickin' blood sucking lawyers.

This is a tangent, but I say it again - behind every problem in this country is a battalion of scumbag lawyers. Every stupid "zero tolerance" policy ever imagined can ultimately be traced to its genesis, which is some team of attorneys who only know how to attorn. I complain about that, but I guess every ecosystem has to have maggots to pick the flesh from the bones.

St Louis is a beautiful city, and it's a blast to be there as a Marine. I highly recommend donning a toga during a weekend bar hopping tour while downtown. Not that I've ever done that. That said, there are some very very dangerous parts there, and combine that with a Marine's penchant for strong drink, and some bad policy making it a shameful crime to prevent some scumbags from taking your stuff, and you have yourself a clown show. It's a disgusting shame that the Marine Corps doesn't trust its own to carry a modern self defense tool, but they should at least give them a fighting chance by not barring them from breaking a few noses if threatened by criminals. Marines do know the difference between right and wrong, or they wouldn't be sent into another country with a terrifying arsenal designed to allow them to kill every bad guy in sight while not killing any innocent civilians. Have a little trust.

Dis-Sworderly conduct

In Maryland, an edgy fellow with a grudge and a sword threatens people with the steel, including children!!!Gasp!! Fortunately he sheathed the beast before the cops showed up and forced him onto the path to righteousness.

I do wonder about the charge of carrying a weapon with an intent to injure; I would bet that if he had threatened the responding police officers, they would have shot him very dead, with the investigation and AAR stating that the maniac with the sword represented a deadly threat that had to be stopped with a hail of gunfire. And right they would have been.

One trench at a time

A small town victory in Fairfax, Virginia where air gun legislation was addressed in order to bring it down to something less insane. It appears that despite media hype, there was no opposition to my fellow Virginians who stood in front of the Board of Stupervisors and supported the bill. VCDL President Phillip Van Cleave gives a down to earth statement about what it all means here in this video, and the reporter does a balanced job of covering the issue without butchering the facts.

Wish I had been there.

To catch a predator

Two and four legged predators have become a serious threat to the people of DC. No doubt the black bear was innocently looking for a quick snack, like a jogger or unattended stroller or something, while the scumbag is looking for self gratification at the expense of his victims. Both nuisances could be remedied swiftly by a responsible individual using a modern self defense tool, but such things are not permitted to the citizens. Until they are, it looks like personal safety of DCians is in the super capable hands of the uniformed division.

I wouldn't get my hopes up.

Where was the security?

Prosecutors say Alkebular attacked the 14-year-old boy twice on April 25 inside and outside the zoo. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the victim recognized the group Alkebular was with and tried to avoid it. Several people attacked the victim inside the zoo led by Akebular, who stabbed him twice in the arm before his group fled.

He then went on to catch up with the victim later and stab him in the guts repeatedly.

Uuuummmmm, the Smithsonian Zoo is a Gun Free Zone that is protected by a full time staff of security personnel. A quick check confirms the stipulation right there on their webpage that they "ensure your safety," and that carrying knives there is against the rules. I'm thinking the victim's parents have grounds for a claim against the Smithsonian, as getting stabbed multiple times by a group of youths runs counter to the idea of ensured safety. Notice the specific mention of knives and weapons:

Do not bring any sharp items into the museums such as knives (including pocket or "Swiss Army"-style knives), screwdrivers, scissors, nail files, corkscrews, etc. Firearms, pepper spray, and Mace are also prohibited.

Officer friendly at the top of the page, who appears to be gleefully handing out a parking ticket, looks to have a firearm on his duty belt. Lots of good it did the victim. If kids can wander into an allegedly secure area and stab people with impunity, than it's not really secure, and all you're doing with a policy like that is disarming everyone else. This sort of attack can happen to anyone at that zoo, and is the reason why I have/will never take my family there. I have actual knowledge that the Virginia Beach Zoo and the Virginia Beach Aquarium does not disarm its visitors, so I'll stick with going there.

An instrument of criminal intent

We must ban Twitter. Do it for the children!

Called “flash robs,” these crimes are being organized by young teenagers through various social media outlets, most notably Twitter. Police say the suspects select a time and place and enter the store in droves taking what they want and leaving before security or police can catch them.

Interesting. Looking at some of the examples at the bottom of the article, like the robbery in Las Vegas, makes me reconsider carrying a Glock 17. Twenty plus dudes bursting into a small store and getting violent, taking anything they can get their hands on - I wouldn't want to be standing there when it happens with only six rounds of .380 acp standing between me and the crowd.

What happens if they decide that one of the things they would like to have is your wife? Puts things into perspective now, doesn't it? If they are brazen enough to assemble for a mass shoplifting, maybe if a couple of them decides that that is not enough and there's more fun to be had, the rest will be brazen enough to join in.

A special thanks goes out to the fearless investigator from St. Paul telling people that if they are in such a situation, to make sure to be an especially good witness. Nothing in there about surviving the encounter; just pay close attention to the forty people in the store and hope that one of them doesn't take you out for your troubles.

Those videos really make me miss my Glock 20 that I had to sell years ago. Pity.

Robbery/Murder in a NYC pharmacy

I'm not trying to dance in the blood of the dead, but I thought I would again point out that you can never place your faith in the hands of a scumbag. The mantra of "just give them what they want" and the "don't resist or you'll only get hurt" policies wore through here, and a great tragedy happened:

The man was armed with a handgun, stole prescription drugs and killed everyone in the shop before fleeing with a black backpack.

The shootings happened at about 10:20 a.m. inside a family-owned pharmacy in a small cluster of medical offices in Medford, a middle-class hamlet on Long Island about 60 miles east of New York City.

Sometimes it's just not about the robbery. Why on earth did that man decide to kill those four people? Maybe to get rid of the witnesses? Who knows. I hope they catch the scumbag soon.

The murder happened in a decent part of town according to the statements from those who live there. My guess is that's why the scumbag sought out that particular store.

Probably has been posted before, but. . .

A fully functioning, magazine fed, bolt action sniper rifle. . . . . made of legos. Too cool!

Not gun related, but cool none the less

Checking out this morning's Over Night Thread at Ace of Spades yielded this video of industrial shredding machines and the things they are capable of destroying, which is everything.

I guess whirling blades eating a couch is appropriate material for this blog!

Making high tech weaponry for warfighting

The Libyan rebels are manufacturing some very advanced weapons to fight their government with. When I used to think about rebels building weapons, I thought about the cave dwelling folks who make knock-off Browning High Powers by forging pot metal against rocks, not former cab drivers making robots with remote controlled machine guns.



Technology rules!

Who doesn't want a gun like the A-10?!?

The age old arguement of which fighter plane is better leads to an ARFCOM poster dropping this beauty ***NSFW: Language***:



Being the open minded guy that I am, I have to see the awesomeness in all aircraft. I still think the Spitfire is the sexiest plane ever made.

Pro gun win in Ohio

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Ohio lawmakers on Wednesday passed a bill allowing gun owners in the state to carry concealed weapons into bars and other establishments where alcohol is served.

The General Assembly passed the bill, which also eases restrictions on how guns can be transported in vehicles, in a 55-38 vote.

Good for Ohio. The last sentence in the article mentions that opponents think mixing guns and alcohol would be bad for the public, but they must not have read the law thoroughly as it explicitly states that guns and alcohol cannot be lawfully mixed. The same thing was argued here in Virginia when a similar law was passed, but the opponents didn't read the fine print apparently.

Crazy people roundup

A shooting victim at the funeral of a shooting victim, in Chicago. Why, there aught to be a law or something to prevent stuff like this from happening. Maybe make the whole daggone city a place that is free from idiots with guns. What a swell idea.

Also, TSA screeners conducting an intense scrotum search found a bunch of heroin on a traveler. Oh wait, did I say TSA screeners? My mistake; it was Customs Inspectors, and they weren't sexually assaulting him when they found the drugs, they were interviewing him. Weird. Who would have known that old fashioned police work would produce results?

And again, hailing from Stafford, Virginia we have a psychotic woman ramming her car into another car, all the while her 1 year old is safely strapped into the back seat. Now this may come as a huge surprise, but the whole incident was allegedly started over a man. Shocking!

Kansas City shows off its lunatics with some parents who were off doing who knows what while their crazy ferret ate the fingers off their four month old. Leaving your kids in an air conditioned car while you buy a lottery ticket is grounds these days for state charges, so these people had to know that it was a bad idea to leave their infant at home alone. With an animal that is known to bite.

Now, as you go about your day, look to your left and your right at all the friendly people you encounter and know that at least one of them is batshit crazy. Pay attention to your surroundings at all times.

High end knife making

If you've ever been fortunate to see a hand made knife crafted by a true artist, you may wonder why they can fetch upwards of $750 or more. If you want to know why they cost so much, and what you can expect the knife maker to go through to build it, check out this picture thread by Stan Wilson as he takes you through countless hours building a custom knife for a customer. Lots of sweat went into making it, and it takes the use of special equipment and a steady, gifted hand to create. This man's knives are worth every penny. Simply amazing.

Who's BAD!?!?

I seem to be on a music post-title kick this morning, but that's how I'm programmed.

Haji has a review of Magpul's Battery Assist Device (BAD, get it?), which he stretched out on the range to see how it works. Looks like a quality upgrade for an AR rifle for those that shoot them often. Practicing with it looks to be key, as it slightly modifies the manual of arms, and you don't want to be they schmoe who clicks off a round into a buddy's foot while changing magazines.

My rifles are currently tasked with collecting dust samples from the inside of the safe while I feebly swat at life's little problems, so I'm thankful and intrigued of others who take the time to try out new equipment and post their findings.

Good stuff!