Monday, October 12, 2015

Great To See A Detective Special Reviewed


Colt hasn't been making the Detective Special since the latter part of the 1990s. Still there are a lot of old ones hanging around. Heck, one is even in my gun safe.

Hickok45 did a review of an earlier edition Detective Special in .32 Colt NP that was published today. He did a good job on it. He is absolutely correct about the Colt trigger and stacking. It really does stack when shooting it double-action.

You have to wonder how much it would cost to make one of these revolvers nowadays. Probably too much to be economically viable.


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Sunday, October 11, 2015

CMP Will Be Able To Sell Surplus 1911s If Obama Signs The Bill


I reported back in May that Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) had proposed that the Civilian Marksmanship Program be allowed to sell surplus 1911 pistols. Currently, it is costing the Department of Defense approximately $200,000 annually to store them.

The House passed the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2016 with Rep. Rogers' amendment in it. However, the version passed by the Senate did not contain the provision authorizing transfer of these pistols to the CMP. Given this and other differences, the NDAA FY 2016 had to go to a conference committee to iron out the differences.

In what can only be considered a win, the Senate acceded to the House's wishes and agreed to a pilot program.
Transfer of surplus firearms to Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety (sec. 1087)
The House bill contained a provision (sec. 1085) that would authorize the transfer of surplus firearms to the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP).

The Senate amendment contained no similar provision.

The Senate recedes with a clarifying amendment that establishes a pilot program limited to .45 caliber handguns and restricts the amount of handguns that can be transferred to the CMP to no more than 10,000 units annually. Additionally, it requires the CMP to provide a report to Congress after the conclusion of the pilot program, obtain a federal firearm license to conduct any and all handgun sales, and adhere to all local, state, and federal laws in respect to handgun sales.
It's a start.

 The conference report was sent to both houses on September 29th. The House voted 270-156 to accept the conference report on October 1st. This past Wednesday, October 7th, the Senate likewise voted to accept the conference report by a vote of 70-27.

Going over the list of senators who voted for and against the conference report you see some oddities. For example, notoriously anti-gun Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) voted for the conference report. Conversely, pro-gun rights Republicans like Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rand Paul (R-KY) voted against it. That said, I imagine their votes had nothing to do with the CMP provision and everything to do with other things within the NDAA FY 2016.

I do have one caveat:  the bill still must be signed by Barack Obama. I have not kept up with the politics of this bill to see whether he plans to sign or veto it.

I have no idea what the cost will be or the condition of the surplus 1911s. That said, I think it is time for me to start assembling my CMP qualification portfolio and join a CMP club like the Garand Collectors Association. If you are a member of the Glock Sport Shooting Foundation, you qualify as it is a CMP-affiliated club.



H/T Rob Reed
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Saturday, October 10, 2015

Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others In California


California SB 707 was signed today by Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA). The bill prohibits gun owners from carrying concealed or otherwise on school property. The bill also make it against the law to have a single round of ammunition in your possession on school grounds regardless of whether you have a firearm. Brown ignored more than 40,000 letters and petitions from gun owners requesting that the veto the law.

The law exempts law enforcement officers including retired law enforcement. This latter part treats retired law enforcement as a special class even though the 9th Circuit struck down a law giving them special treatment back in 2002.

The Firearms Policy Coalition was one of the leading groups against the law and had hoped that Brown would veto it. I expect that they will file suit in due time to overturn this law.

They put out this release today:
SACRAMENTO – Today, Governor Brown signed into law Senate Bill 707, prohibiting gun owners issued a license by their local police chief or sheriff from carrying handguns for self-defense on California school grounds. It also subjects those with a carry permit, issued only after passing a strict, fingerprint-based background check and agency-approved training course, harsh new criminal liability for merely possessing a single round of ammunition on the grounds of any school or college campus, even if they don’t also possess a firearm.

Brandon Combs, the President of Firearms Policy Coalition, stated, “This is not just an attack on our Second Amendment rights, it is an attack on the most vulnerable in our society. Victims of domestic violence and stalking, judges, prosecutors, and public defenders who have a carry license will now have to leave their registered self-defense handguns at home when picking up their children at school, leaving them without the necessary protection from violent criminals.”

As introduced in February, SB 707 would have broadly eliminated carry on campus for virtually everyone except on-duty police or others specifically authorized to assist in an emergency. But the powerful law enforcement lobby immediately reacted to the gun control bill by offering their full support — in exchange for preservation of existing exemptions for law enforcement retirees. They later cut deals to add in even more special exemptions, including for retired police reservists. Combs believes that this is blatantly unconstitutional.

“The Ninth Circuit decided well over a decade ago that retired police officers are no different than retired plumbers for the purposes of gun laws,” explained Combs. The 2002 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision striking down a California law that gave retired law enforcement officers special exemptions from the Assault Weapons Control Act was reinforced in a 2010 legal opinion issued by then-Attorney General Jerry Brown.

In the opinion, Brown explained that “Silveira teaches that it is….a peace officer’s role as a law enforcement agent that provides a rational basis for distinguishing between a peace officer and a private citizen for purposes of possessing and using assault weapons. A retired officer is not authorized to engage in law enforcement activities.”

Additionally, Firearms Policy Coalition members and supporters submitted over 40,000 letters to the Governor’s office urging a veto of SB 707.

Combs concluded, “It is unfortunate that the Governor has ignored the will of his constituents, common sense, and his own legal opinion. We will now focus on preparing the lawsuit we promised we would file against this unconstitutional law.”

 Gun owners who wish to support the SB 707 litigation can donate at https://www.firearmspolicy.org/california/sb707.
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Thursday, October 8, 2015

Ben Carson Tells The Truth And The Media Doesn't Like It


You know that a Republican candidate has hit a nerve when all the mainstream media try to gang up on him (or her). The latest case in point is the mainstream media's breathless attacks on Dr. Ben Carson for daring to suggest that the disarming of the Jews by the Nazis helped facilitate the Holocaust.

Carson made the suggestion in his new book A Perfect Union.  From ABC which made the issue one of their lead stories on the ABC Evening News with (anti-gun) David Muir.
In Carson's new book “A Perfect Union,” Carson writes that “through a combination of removing guns and disseminating propaganda, the Nazis were able to carry out their evil intentions with relatively little resistance.”
Wolf Blitzer got in on the breathless outrage with the interview below:




What I found particularly sad was this comment from a spokesperson for the Anti-Defamation League:
“Ben Carson has a right to his views on gun control, but the notion that Hitler’s gun-control policy contributed to the Holocaust is historically inaccurate," said Jonathan Greenblatt, National Director of the organization. "The small number of personal firearms available to Germany’s Jews in 1938 could in no way have stopped the totalitarian power of the Nazi German state."
 I might remind Mr. Greenblatt that a very small number of firearms allowed Jewish resistance fighters to keep the Waffen-SS at bay in the Warsaw ghetto from April 19, 1943 until well into May. The final resistance was crushed on June 5th.

As to the rest of the media, I think a simple picture will suffice to say that Ben Carson was correct in saying the lack of arms allowed the Nazis to perpetrate their crimes with relative impunity. If a picture won't suffice for the mainstream media, here is a link to the book so they can read it.




UPDATE: Joel Pollak writing at Breitbart called Dr. Carson's comments a matter of historical fact. He also discussed a shooting class he took sponsored by Jews That Shoot. On the Polite Society Podcast, we have interviewed its founder Doris Montrose about that organization a number of times. She has consistently made the point that Jews should not be complacent and that they should have firearms to prevent a future holocaust.

Dave Kopel discussed the Warsaw Uprising in an article published yesterday in the Washington Post. It was in the context of a forthcoming book, "The Morality of Self-Defense and Military Action: The Judeo-Christian Tradition", that will be published in 2016.
Another eyewitness described the confusion in the German ranks: “There runs a German soldier shrieking like an insane one, the helmet on his head on fire. Another one shouts madly ‘Juden…Waffen…Juden… Waffen!'” [“Jews…weapons!"]
I think that answers the question of what might have happened if the Jewish population of Germany and the rest of Eastern Europe had not been disarmed.
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Well, Hillary, We've Seen How Successful Negotiations With Iran Have Been


Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made an interesting comment during a town hall meeting in Iowa on Wednesday. She compared the NRA to the Iranians and Communists when it comes to negotiating. All I'll say is we've all seen just how successful the Obama Administration has been in its negotiations with the mullahs in Iran. In other words, the US gets diddly-squat and the death to America chanting mullahs get "the bomb".

Frankly, if you think about it, using the negotiating techniques of mullahs and/or "Vlad the Impaler" Putin makes a lot of sense when it comes to gun rights. This is especially true when you consider the gun prohibitionists' idea of compromise is negotiating how much we will give up.




Hillary's comments prior to this remark were to encourage a "Fifth Column", my words - not hers, of gun owners. They have tried this before with false-front organizations like the American Shooters and Hunters Association. I think the average gun owner is on to their tactics by now.

As an aside, I would encourage everyone to listen to Michael Bane's rant on this week's Downrange Radio. It is 45 minutes well spent. He describes the war between those who cherish our freedom and those who would take it away in very stark terms.


H/T The Daily Caller
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Five Easy Steps To A Gun-Free America


When President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and other gun-hating progressives speak about how much they like the "Australian Model", what they really mean is that they want gun confiscation. Unfortunately for them, there are impediments to this.

The good folks at Reason TV have come up with a video to assist the President, Mrs. Clinton, Mike Bloomberg, and all the rest in their campaign to get a gun-free America. By gun-free, I mean, of course, that they will still have their armed guards and we will be at the mercy of predators. As Reason TV says, all it takes is five easy steps.



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Wednesday, October 7, 2015

What Time Of The Month Is It?


That time of the month when Aaron at Weapon Blog posts his monthly compilation of contests featuring firearms, knives, accessories, and the like. That's what time of the month it is!

As you can see below, there are some very nice 1911s in this month's handgun list along with Heizer Defense Pocket AK which I'm sure everyone needs. Or not.

There are plenty of nice ARs as well.

If you do enter one or more of these contests, take a moment and leave Aaron a thank you note on his blog.

I have hot-linked all the links for your convenience.

Handguns
Rifles
Shotguns
Air Rifles
  • None this month
Ammunition
Knives
Constitution
Gun Rights Organizations
  • None this month
Accessories
Raffles
Training
  • None this month
Hunting
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Monday, October 5, 2015

Stance On Gun Rights Is All I Care About


The Guardian did a video called "Progressives with guns: yoga, ammo, and LGBT rights" that appeared on their website yesterday. I found it pretty good and rather even-handed. It featured a transgendered ex-SEAL running for Congress, a lawyer who was a Hare Krishna member, and Top Shot winner Chris Cheng who came out as gay a while back.

Frankly, I don't care if you are transgender. I don't care if you are gay. I don't care if you are a Hare Krishna member (but don't ask me for money at the airport). If you support gun rights, then you are my friend.


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