Amazon Affiliates, Donations, And Other Such Stuff

Amazon changed its policy regarding collecting sales tax for the state of North Carolina at the beginning of February. As a result, North Carolinians are now able to participate in the Amazon Affiliates program and I decided that it was about time I joined. If you look on the right side of the blog, you will see the Amazon widget with a list of recommended books. They are all related to either gun rights or self-defense.

I am changing my policy on what to do with the commissions earned on these affiliate sites. When I first put up the LuckyGunner banner, I decided to donate all the commissions to the Second Amendment Foundation. I continued that policy when I added the Balloon Goes Up store widget.

I am going to expand the list of organizations getting these commissions. While SAF will still get some of the money, I'd like include other 501(c)(3) organizations that work for gun rights in the mix. Some organizations that I'm thinking of including are the NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund, the Crime Prevention Research Center, and some of the state level groups working for gun rights.

If you know of a state or local level gun rights group that I should include in the mix, please feel free to suggest it in the comments section. The only requirement is that it have 501(c)(3) status.

Why Carry When Hiking?

You are out in the woods communing with nature. It is peaceful and quiet. The only man-made sounds you hear are your own footsteps on the trail. So why in the world would you need to carry a firearm?

This.

Francis "Pat" Gregory, 69, of West Tisbury, and a 76-year-old man from Manton, California, were hiking a trail north of Red Bluff on Friday when they were confronted by a gunman, said Tehama County Sheriff's Lt. Dave Greer.

The robber shot the men after taking their money and belongings, and left the victims for dead on a remote part of the trail until another hiker came upon them about three hours later.

Gregory died at the scene; the surviving victim was hospitalized with critical injuries. A doctor told investigators he was expected to pull through, Greer said.

The men were found about 100 yards from the start of a Bureau of Land Management trail that leads through grasslands, oak trees and lava rocks to an overlook above a bend in the Sacramento River.

You can find some more examples plus some good advice on keeping safe on the trail in Michael Bane's Trail Safe. You can find it here.

How CCI Makes .22 LR Cartridges

Given that few of us can find .22LR ammo in the market due to (hoarding, greater demand, an expanded market, or all of the above), I thought it might be interesting to at least see how the ammo is constructed.  Jim Scoutten of Shooting USA visited the CCI ammunition plant in Lewiston, Idaho.

Turns out that it is a fairly complicated process from making the brass to filling the shells with priming compound to seating the bullets.  While the plant makes 4 million rounds a day, that isn't a lot when you think about it. Doing the math, that is 40,000 100-round boxes or 2,000 cases per day.  Another way of looking at it is that this is approximately one case per Walmart in the United States daily.

Old News I Just Stumbled Across

Awhile back when I reported that Mark Glaze was leaving MAIG/Demanding Mommies/Everytown Moms Against Illegal Mayor, I speculated that Michael Bloomberg wanted to install his own man as head of the organization. That man would be his former Mayor's Office chief advisor for policy and strategic planning John Feinblatt.

I missed the announcement by Erika Soto Lamb, Everytown's communications director, that Feinblatt would indeed be the person in charge.

From Guns.com:

“All good things must come to an end and we are grateful for Mark’s leadership during a time of incredible growth in the movement to prevent gun violence,” said Erika Soto Lamb, a spokeswoman for the group in an email.

“During his three years with Mayors Against Illegal Guns, we celebrated important advances in our fight for reasonable reforms in D.C. and in state capitals across the country,” she added.

“Everytown will continue to be led by our president John Feinblatt. He was previously chairman of Mayors Against Illegal Guns and continues to serve as Mayor Bloomberg’s chief policy advisor on gun issues,” Lamb said.

Obviously, not a surprise. When you have a billionaire control freak who is donating big money to an effort, it should be assumed that they want their guy running it.

Shades Of Oliver Twist

If you were exposed to Dickens novels in school or are of an age to remember the movie Oliver, then you know the story of how an older corrupt man used young boys to do his nefarious deeds. In a case of life imitating art, Brad Shipley of Trenton, Florida was arrested for using neighborhood kids to break-in to homes and steal outdoor gear such as guns, knives, and fishing tackle.

Photo from the Levy County Sheriff's Dept

Shipley's scheme fell apart when one of the kids told his mom what he was being forced to do.

Shipley’s plan unraveled when one of the kids told his mother what he had been made to do. The mother contacted LCSO and investigators seized the moment. Investigators were able recover property from six residential burglaries in Levy County, one burglary in Gilchrist County and a storage shed burglary in Alachua County.

According to the Levy County Clerk of Court's office, Shipley is facing 17 counts ranging from dealing in stolen property to burglary to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is being held under a $810,000 bond.

I'm a little surprised at the size of the bond but then again if you are stealing a man's (or woman's) fishing rod and/or his mounted deer head, you deserve to rot in jail.

It's OK, It Was An "Only One"

Parts of Interstate 94 in downtown Minneapolis were shut down yesterday. It seems that there was a driver brandishing a firearm at another driver and the police had to make a "high-risk" traffic stop.

The incident began about 6:40 a.m. on eastbound I-694 in Brooklyn Park, when a motorist called police to report that another driver was displaying a gun.

Police caught up to the driver on I-94 at Olson Highway and blocked two southbound lanes long enough that traffic backed up to W. Broadway. The State Patrol took the man into custody but released him after officers learned he was an ATF agent who was carrying proper credentials.

“It’s under investigation,” said Lt. Eric Roeske of the Minnesota State Patrol. “We’re trying to determine the facts of what occurred.”

The agent’s name was not released per Minnesota Statute 13.82, which allows the identity of an undercover law enforcement officer to be kept private.

So the driver in question was not just any old "only one" but an undercover Special Agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. I wonder if the BATFE will put the Special Agent in question on double-secret probation to go along with his (supposed) undercover status.

Some Good Knife Care Tips

L.T. Wright of L.T. Handcrafted Knives has put up a good video on taking care of your knives. He discusses how to keep them from rusting and how to store them. L.T. also tells how he keeps his leather in good shape. As a gunny, the product he used surprised me - Ballistol.

If you don't recognize the name L.T. Wright, he used to be one half of Blind Horse Knives which split last year into Battle Horse Knives and L.T. Wright Handcrafted Knives. From what I understand, Blind Horse Knives always had two shops in two locations so the split was understandable.

They Need Them Because Raw Milk And Heirloom Seeds Are Dangerous

Given that it seems that every Federal agency has an Office of Inspector General with armed law enforcement officers and a SWAT team, I guess this solicitation by the USDA OIG isn't too surprising.

Solicitation Number:                                              

USDAOIGWEA-5-7-14

Synopsis:

Added: May 07, 2014 2:03 pm

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, located in Washington, DC, pursuant to the authority of FAR Part 13, has a requirement for the commerical acquisition of submachine guns, .40 Cal. S&W, ambidextrous safety, semi-automatic or 2 shot burts trigger group, Tritium night sights for front and rear, rails for attachment of flashlight (front under fore grip) and scope (top rear), stock-collapsilbe or folding, magazine - 30 rd. capacity, sling, light weight, and oversized trigger guard for gloved operation.  NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENT EXISTS.  All responsible and/or interested sources may submit their company name, point of contact, and telephone.  If received timely, shall be considered by the agency for contact to determine weapon suitability.

Beyond the question of why they even need them which is highly debatable, the solicitation has got me to wondering about semi-automatic submachine guns. Aren't they an oxymoron? Perhaps the contracting office didn't want to use the term "assault rifle" or "assault weapon" and just decided that "submachine gun" was a kinder, gentler way of saying they wanted a bad-ass looking firearm to put the fear of God and the USDA into those damn farmers. Given the vagaries of Federal acquisitions, who knows for sure.