My Sweetie is in California visiting relatives, so I'm batch'ing it...that means I'll probably lock myself in the basement and pull the lever on the Big Blue Machine. When we landed in Denver this AM, it was warm and sunny, and I momentarily entertained going to Cheyenne to shot tomorrow's cowboy match, but a quick glance at the weather app convinced me I was wrong. I hate to shoot any match when I might inadvertently touch the gun and stick to it.
We hammered ut some ground rules for SHOT Show TV while I was out in Cali braving the freeway system. I'm also really excited about a couple — actually 3 — of Internet projects for 2011, which I'd rather not go into in detail until all the "i's" are crossed and the "t's" are dotted.
This week we also started filming for GUN STORIES...every one of our interviews went great. We're working out the logistics of posting the entire interviews on-line when the series starts running.
Interesting piece in a Texas paper on the boom in suppressor sales:
"Nationwide, more than 22,000 of these noise suppressors were sold this year -- 9 percent more than last year -- and the most were sold in Texas for at least the third year in a row, according to statistics released by the National Shooting Sports Foundation..."
Suppressor manufacturers are telling me there's more interest than they've ever seen before, both from LEOs and civilians. I think that's great...more and more people are catching on that America is the only country with a psychosis about mufflers. I've noticed, however, that in New Zealand rimfire suppressers have "soared" in price to as much as $100. I'm going to push NSSF pretty hard on calling for suppressors to at the very least be moved from the $200 transfer tax, same as machineguns, to the $5 AOW tax. In a sane world, suppressors would be immediately "decriminalized" and promoted heavily as the safety device they are. I'm also going to talk to the big suppressor manufacturers and see if we can come up with a common campaign.
I'm setting up a "house carbine," a la Ed Head's flattop AR, suppressed and sighted dead on at 15 feet with an Aimpoint Micro. It is a dedicated tool for home defense. I've got a SureeFire suppressor in the works.
Since I'm Home Alone, Ill catch up on THE WALKING DEAD — my Sweetie is a "ZA," zombie-adversive. I'm definitely going to miss SONS OF ANARCHY, which had it's season finale Tuesday...hell of a piece of television! I watched it twice.
I got in a bunch of 180-gr RNFP .44 bullets for the .44 Russian experiments. I'm going to Trail Boss powder and fiddle around with some light loads for the S&W Break-Tops. That'd be fun to do tomorrow if the predicted snow materializes!
My guess is that a drive to make suppressors more accessible is going to meet considerable resistance. Another industry has popped up in the last decade which could be directly impacted. The gunshot detection systems (like Sentri and ShotSpotter) that more and more urban areas are installing at the cost of millions of dollars. They and the left wing pols are going to push back that suppressors will endanger the population. If you have any info on the use of suppressors and these systems please tell us.
ReplyDeleteRemember "it's all about the kids".
Funny you should mention suppressors. I have had one ordered (22lr) since April of 2010. The Sherriff's background check went through quickly. One local judge wouldn't sign the papers,fortunately the second one did. Now it is stalled at the BATF. My dealer is being told it takes from 6 to 12 weeks for them to start processing it. Aren't liberal bureaucracies wonderful?
ReplyDeleteI'd think that ShotSpotter et al. would still work just fine as they can key off the supersonic crack of the bullet (which a suppressor does nothing about). I don't think they rely much on the sound the burning propellent makes.
ReplyDeleteJust checked the Cheyenne Regulators site, Mike... it sho-nuff is cancelled! Hope you didn't last-minute throw it all in the truck and go!
ReplyDeleteMB,
ReplyDeleteWatch out for that Trail Boss powder, it is very temperature sensitive at light loading levels. I have been shooting it for 5+ years, recently with some cold weather I had a couple of train wreck stages. Pistol primers not reseating because of low pressures, rifle squib. I mean temps in the 30's and 40's. I am shooting 44-40s so expect similar issues with the 44 mag.
Turquoise Bill
SASS 39118
Blake, spent some time this morning web surfing on your comment about the supersonic crack. First a lot of pistol rounds are sub sonic (less than 1100fps). 45acp ball for instance (750fps). So if these systems did key off of that, it would miss many shots. The best I could find for now is a video clip that goes into how shotspotter works. Seems to recognize the total signature of the impulse. Link is below. Like I said I don't know if a suppressor will change this signature and "fool" the system. Be interesting to see if there is some official statement from these companies or anyone else has info.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/video/195-shotspotter.html
I think the tax is less of an issue than the CLEO sign off. Even if you believe that background checks for an inert object like a suppressor are useful, the computer data bases like NCIC etc make the local yokel's sign off obsolete.
ReplyDeleteIt's not like the olden days when the county sheriff or police chief kept manila folders in a filing cabinet. The CLEO doesn't have any information about the prospective purchaser that isn't available to the Feds. All the CLEO is is an impediment to lawful people based on his own uninformed or anti-gun prejudices.
"that means I'll probably lock myself in the basement and pull the lever on the Big Blue Machine."
ReplyDeleteHey, what you do in the privacy of your own home while watching late night Cinemax is your business, pal. TMI.
Since we have an advantage in the system thanks to the courts and the TEA Party, why don't we push to have supressors moved down further to the same NICS check as any firearm?
ReplyDelete