Bob the Nailer for President

And, hey, I wasn't the first to say it!

This from no less than SFWeekly.com:

Wittily adapted by screenwriter Jonathan Lemkin (The Devil's Advocate) from the first in a trilogy of Swagger novels by Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post film critic Stephen Hunter, Shooter is a generically titled studio action picture that turns out to be a surprisingly deft satire about Americans' loss of faith in their government following the 2000 election, the 9/11 attacks, and the ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Betrayed by Uncle Sam both at home and abroad, Swagger starts to seem like the last honest exponent of old-fashioned American virtue — a John Rambo for the Bush II generation — and the more he learns about the conspiracy that has taken hold of his life, the further he sees that it reaches: That everything really is about oil money and that, in the words of the movie's fat-cat Red-state senator (a wonderfully smarmy Ned Beatty), there are no heroes and villains or Democrats and Republicans — only haves and have-nots. Cannily programmed at the start of the 2008 election season, this rampantly amoral and Darwinian film persuasively argues that, in today's America, it's every man for himself and commerce against all. Allow me to be the first to propose: Bob Lee Swagger for president.

A-freakin'-men!

Why I Never Fell in Love with the .40 S&W

Okay, here's another muddy quagmire for me to wade into!

Yes, I know that the .40 S&W, occasionally known as the .40 Short & Weak, has been hailed as the most lethal round from a hand-held weapon since the RPG, packing the pure stopping power of a cement truck filled with molden lead. You can read the adulatory entry in the Wikipedia or, if you've got some time on your hands, you can read all 11,400 entries in the Google search "stopping power comparison between 9mm and .40 S&W." Yes indeedy, the power of a .45 ACP with the capacity of a Wonder-9! Better than peanut butter and jelly in the same jar!

Okay, so no sane person, given any sort of choice, would opt for a 9mm or a .45 ACP when he or she could have this amazing miracle round.

I've certainly shot enough .40...I competed in USPSA with an STI EDGE in .40, the absolute baseline gun for USPSA Limited competition, and it rocked. I shot IDPA with a .40 High Power . When the first little bitty .40s came out — as it happens, it was a Star FireStar M-40 — I shelled out far too much money for a Spanish gun, sent it to gunsmith Mike LaRocca, who bitched mightily but did a flawless action job on the gun, whined until Tim Wegner at Blade-Tech made me an IWB for the little gun. I carried it for several years and put a couple of thousand rounds through it before I changed first to an STI LS-9 9mm, then the SIG P225 in 9mm.

Now why would I voluntarily "downgrade" myself from this Jedi knight light saber of a round to a plain vanilla 9mm, which as everyone who reads gun magazines knows is only slightly more efficient than a spitball from a 13-year-old schoolgirl?

Okey-dokey...let me step you through it:

1) Sophisticated computer-aided bullet design has drastically narrowed the gap between the handgun cartridges. To a large extent, the drastic differences in "handgun stopping power" have involved comparisons with ball ammo.
2) I'm not a cop nor in the military; I can choose to carry any bullet I want. The military has numerous constraints on their handgun ammo, and so does law enforcement. One of those big constraints is price. I buy the round I'm the most comfortable with — Hornady TAPS — and, yes, it's more expensive than the average bear.
3) My experience has been that I can deliver more accurate rounds faster with either a 9mm or a .45 ACP than with a .40 in the equivalent small frame semiauto. I believe this has to do with the recoil impulse of the .40, which is sharp and nasty in a little gun...and I've shot a lot of them.
4) The .40 S&W has a spooky pressure curve, especially related to overall case length. If the bullet is driven back into the case, pressures can spike sharply. I don't like high pressure surprises, no matter how remote the chance.
5) I HATED developing loads for the .40...it seemed to me to be a far more finicky beastie than the .45 ACP (or the 9mm, which I typically don't reload). When I finally got a load that rocked in my EDGE, the High Power flatly hated it. The loads that ran well and were super accurate in the H-P jammed the EDGE up. The loads that worked best in my single stack STI Trojan sucked in everything else. My experience with the .45 ACP and the revolver rounds found much less "swing" with the same loads in similar guns. My baseline .45 loads work pretty well in everything.
6) There's the undefinable "take it to the range" factor...I always take an additional gun (or guns) to the range no matter what I'm there for, just to do a little practice or plinking when I'm done with my main shooting. I found that the .40s stayed in the safe. Hmmmmmmm...David Caruso would call that a "clue."
7) On travels, I have on occasion had to buy ammo from Wally-World or the random K-Mart...in those cases where I know I have to buy ammo, I invariably carry a .45 ACP and buy 230-grain FMJ ball. .45 ball works.
8) Finally, "stopping power" is wildly secondary to bullet placement. Let me say that again...in a handgun round, bullet placement is everything. What I want in a carry gun is the absolute knowledge that I can deliver the shot with that gun and that load. The little .40s required more from me than the 9mms and the .45 ACPs.

So anyhow, shoot what you want to and what you can shoot well. Your experiences may differ from mine, and you're every bit as correct as me. Not as handsome and scintillating, of course...

Good Week for Mayhem at the Movies!

We can segue directly from 300 to Shooter! More than this, you can't ask...I'm sending an email to Brother Steve Hunter, whose classic (and dare I say it, beloved among gun-sters like myself) book Point of Impact was the basis for Shooter.

I'm back from the Frozen Northlands, where I was on a pretty cool project for SIGARMS, essential "video-editing" their catalog. More about that later. I did get a chanc e to put some rounds through the new SIG P220 Compact, the repla cement for the now-discontinued P245...you'll see the whole video on DOWN RANGE (of course!), but I'll give you a quick bottom line — spectacular! A little .45 that delivers.

I ordered one on the spot.

In fact, I sort of had a P220 epiphany. I got my first 220 .45 back around 1982, one of the European versions with a butt magazine release. The gun had been overhauled and finished with electroless nickel, and it was slick slick slick. In a moment of spectacular weakness, I traded it for a new in the box Browning Hi-Power Combat in .40 S&W. This is when I was still suffering from the delusion that .40 S&W had anything to offer. I shot the first IDPA Columbia Invitational with the H-P and did okay. I eventually had Wayne Noval overhaul the gun, but like every other .40 I've owned, I found myself not taking it to the range, defaulting to .45s and 9mms. I eventually solved this problem by not getting any more .40s, probably the most overrated cartridge on earth.

Anyway, short story, I remembered just how good my 220s shot, so I've resolved to get another full-sized one along with the Compact.

Interesting summation in Real Clear Politics of the D.C. decision on how the Second Amendment is viewed:

For nearly 70 years, the Second Amendment has been the Jimmy Hoffa of constitutional provisions -- missing, its whereabouts unknown, and presumed dead. The right to keep and bear arms, though treasured by many Americans, was a complete stranger to the Supreme Court. But recently, a federal appeals court did something no federal court had ever done before: It struck down a gun control law as a violation of the Second Amendment.

There's also an interesting column from Sam Venable in Tennessee that sums it up well:

But I'm guessing everyday folks - who may or may not own a gun and don't feel strongly either way - will be inclined to side with the court this time around.

Why?

Because we've all felt the heavy hand of Big Brother, and it's a most uncomfortable sensation.

Between the broad auspices of the Patriot Act, domestic surveillance programs and other abuses of time-honored civil liberties, John and Jane Does have come to the sobering realization that Uncle Sam isn't always a kind, benevolent father figure who respects the privacy of his citizens. Unchecked, open government will inevitably morph into an Orwellian nightmare.

I'm certainly no legal scholar. If I interpret the court's ruling correctly, however, it means laws can be enacted to govern gun ownership, but they can't be so sweeping and so absolute that they abridge a basic constitutional right.

If only the courts would take a similar approach to other civil liberties - such as freedom of expression.

BTW, I have to apologize for today's videos on DOWN RANGE being a bit late...I made a critical mistake in wrestling with QuickTime, thinking I could use one of two highly regarded utility problems as a workaround. I probably could have, if I could have obtained said utilities...one company is MIA; the other took my money, allowed me to download the utility,then NEVER sent me the key to turn the program on. Talk about vaporware!

Videos will be up this afternoon, with our new audio intro!

I'm Just an Old Chunk of Coal...

Tell me the truth...do you think this look will work for me on SHOOTING GALLERY and DRTV???

I mean, I've had hair envy for a long time. I look longingly at overwaxed pompadors, dyed brown waves cresting over weak foreheads. Sigh. Anyhow, I think with hair extensions, epoxy and possibly some plastic superstructure I can pull this off...maybe dye the whole thing in some Mossy Oak pattern...

Maybe not...I could go with Realtree...

Put some rounds through a 552 buzz gun today. I understand why rifle people get fixated on the little SIG...it does rock. I also got to play around with the new SIG-branded Airsoft guns, including the 552 Airsoft, which is really really neat. Since you can't have the Real Thing, you can always fantasize...AND DOGS WILL FEAR YOU!

I had hoped to have some video edited for DRTV tonight, but it's late and I have 'way early appointments. I'm going to leave the computer running all night capturing video...nite all!

New Hamster!

Oh mama, can this really be the end...to be stuck inside New Hamster...etc...

I saw some REALLY cool guns today, but I can't tell you anything about them yet! I will have SIGARMS video up next week, so stay tuned at DOWN RANGE! Went to a place tonight that served Anchor Steam on tap...that alone makes the trip worthwhile.

In the meantime, check out NRO's excellent summation of the D.C. gun ruling from a series of top scholars and writers.

I'm gonna try and sneak over to the SIG Academy and crank up a 552 on Wednesday...happiness is indeed a warm machinegun...

More on the D.C. Second Amendment Ruling

Lots of blog stuff out there. Say Uncle has excellent coverage. Volokh, via Instapundit, is documenting factual errors on the ruling in both the Washington Post and the NYT. Big media is trying desperately to spin this story their — ie, the antigun — way, but at least based on the NPR interview with Paul Helmke, the curent weasel-in-charge at Brady, they're running around on the verge of wetting themselves. You can read Brady's overwrought press release here.

Not to be outdone, the Violence Policy Center is predicting the end of civilization as we know it:

"While today’s decision is a dream come true for America’s gun lobby and gunmakers, it may mark the beginning of a long, national nightmare from which we will never recover as a nation."

Wow! Cool! I suggest immigrating to Canada; be sure to say hi to Alex Baldwin when you get there! Meanwhile, NBC is running a poll on whether handguns should be legal in D.C., witht he current tally running about 88% in our favor. Tres embarrassing! The rabble just doesn't seem to agree with those media "opinion leaders."

HELL FREEZES OVER!

Lord help us all! The D.C. Circuit Court has struck down the Washington D.C. gun laws for violating the Second Amendment!

Read about it here:

According to the majority opinion, "[T]he phrase 'the right of the people,' when read intratextually and in light of Supreme Court precedent, leads us to conclude that the right in question is individual." The majority opinion sums up its holding on this point as follows:

To summarize, we conclude that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms. That right existed prior to the formation of the new government under the Constitution and was premised on the private use of arms for activities such as hunting and self-defense, the latter being understood as resistance to either private lawlessness or the depredations of a tyrannical government (or a threat from abroad). In addition, the right to keep and bear arms had the important and salutary civic purpose of helping to preserve the citizen militia. The civic purpose was also a political expedient for the Federalists in the First Congress as it served, in part, to placate their Antifederalist opponents. The individual right facilitated militia service by ensuring that citizens would not be barred from keeping the arms they would need when called forth for militia duty. Despite the importance of the Second Amendment's civic purpose, however, the activities it protects are not limited to militia service, nor is an individual's enjoyment of the right contingent upon his or her continued or intermittent enrollment in the militia.
The majority opinion also rejects the argument that the Second Amendment does not apply to the District of Columbia because it is not a State. And the majority opinion concludes, "Section 7-2507.02, like the bar on carrying a pistol within the home, amounts to a complete prohibition on the lawful use of handguns for self-defense. As such, we hold it unconstitutional."

Today's Recipes...LOL!

Okay, meanwhile back in Gun World, first a quick look Across the Pond, where the pathetic remnants of our forefathers continue hell-bent toward spiritual suicide:

Home Office proposes ban on samurai swords

Banning Offensive Weapons proposes a ban on the sale, import and hire of replica samurai swords, adding them to the 17 weapons including on the Offensive Weapons Order.

In the past four years there have been 80 serious crimes involving imitation samurais in England and Wales. The Home Office notes that genuine, collectable swords are not used in crime, but rather cheaper, easily available swords.

Home Office minister Vernon Coaker said: "Public safety is our greatest priority. Samurai sword crime is low in volume but high in profile and I recognise it can have a devastating impact.

Last year the U. K. Home Office was fretting about large chef's knives, remember. Next year, they'll be looking at sharp sticks, knitting needles, fingers to the eye (nyuck, nyuck, nyuck!), and harsh language. Gun crime, of course, continues to soar, because, of course, "...only outlaws will have guns..."

Thankfully, Britain's large contingent of Jedi Knights (I'm not making this up!) are standing firm:

Jedi denounce UK sabre ban plan

The UK's Jedi community today expressed concerns that government plans to ban Samurai swords could hinder their freedom to wield lightsabres in public.

[...]

Breaching the new rules could mean six months in prison, and a £5,000 fine. Anyone carrying such a weapon in public could faces up to four years in prison, the consultation paper suggests.
The paper notes that genuine Samurai swords would not attract the same penalties, and there are also exemptions for other specific martial arts weapons. "We recognise it is the cheap, easily available Samurai swords which are being used in crime and not the genuine, more expensive samurai swords which are of interest to collectors and martial art enthusiasts," Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker. "As such as we are putting forward exemptions for these groups."

The key word here is 'replica'. No one has yet built a working lightsabre, leaving the UK's would-be Obi-Wans inevitably having to wield plastic, flick-of-the-wrist-to-extend weapons in duels with Sith Lords, remotes and, occasionally, each other.

But Jedi fear that the Samurai ban would leave them exposed to future legislation against other forms of imitation weaponry that would, Jedi Temple (Neasden) spokesman Indi-Anna Jones warned today.

I'm thinking of forming the first Jedi Temple in the little mountain town I live in. I figured the burned out hippies who live here will flock to the Temple, especially when I put up the big posters of Carrie Fisher as a Jabba the Hut's barge 'ho. Pass that collection plate! I suppose it doesn't matter about Britain in the long run...it has my vote as the most likely European country to first adopt Sharia Law. Do you think the imans will require Wookies to wear burkahs? Probably...this from The London Fog blogsite:

Men should wear burkahs too

The United Nations, in collaboration with the World Mental Health Organization and the Women's Universal Suffrage organization, in collaboration with the Homeless Coalition and the Diversity and Anti-Discrimination co-operative, in collaboration with local White Male support groups overlooked by the environmental friendly are advocating mandatory burkahs for all.

What better way to achieve equality and suppress unfair advantages such as those enjoyed by beautiful people than by covering up their mugs? Ugly people deserve a chance too.

Meanwhile, rumors about in Gun World that two major players will be stepping in the blazing hot black rifle market this year. I'm estimating that maybe as many as 750,000 black rifles, primarily AR clones and the numerous flavors or AKs, were sold in 2006. I base this on some preliminary AR manufacturing numbers and a "finger in the wind best-guess" on the AKs. Part of this reflects the November elections...I issued a "buy order," and I stand by it. Secondly, AKs are available at extremely attractive prices, and there's definitely a "betcha can't eat just one" air around them.

There's also a bit of controvery around Matthew Fox's paeon to the H-K 416 gas piston gun in Army Times. Here's his conclusions:

The 416 is now considered in many circles to be the best carbine in the world — a weapon that combines the solid handling, accuracy and familiarity of the M4 with the famed dependability of the rugged AK47.

For the foreseeable future, however, the Army is sticking with the M4 and M16 for regular forces.

[...]

The key to the 416’s reliability lies in its gas system. It looks like the M4 carbine on the outside, but on the inside, H&K has replaced Colt’s “gas-tube” system with the short-stroke piston system. This eliminates carbon being blown back into the chamber, which leads to fouling problems, and greatly reduces parts wear created by super-heated gases used to cycle the weapon. The result, experts say, is that the 416 is more reliable, easier to maintain and has a longer parts life than the M4.

I personally think all this bodes well for the next generation of carbines using some kind of modified piston system, including the presently available SIGARMS 556, the FNH SCAR system (which I have shot in semi, but not full auto due to range restrictions) and the whole host of smaller makers like Robinson, LWRC (which I have shot in full auto) and P.O.F.-USA.

My bone with H-K is that there are zero plans for a civilian version of the 416, which sucks. FNH is working on a civilian semi version of the SCAR, which I liked the heck out of. I'm going up to FNH later this spring and will have a full report for you guys on DOWN RANGE and SHOOTING GALLERY.

I'll be up at SIGARMS next week, working with the 556 and a couple of varieties of SIG pistols that should be available alter this year. Again, watch this space!

Rum Drinks

Yesterday was my day to clean house, including the bird cages, which are roughly perodactyl-sized. While I was slogging along, the teevee was on the Food Channel, playing a Bobby Flay thing on chowder. This launched me into a chowder frenzy, so I spent the evening tinkering together a southwestern-flavored corn and shrimp chowder, based loosely on a recipe I found on the Internet.

The secret to great chowder has nothing to do with rum drinks — the title to a Jimmy Buffett song if you must know. Rather, the secret to great chowder is great tequila. I figured since I was already in the kitchen, I'd make a pitcher of margaritas (see how all this ties back to Jimmy Buffett song titles?).

All you tequila snobs are going to have an aneurysm, but I used a mixture of the legendary Porfidio "Cactus in Bottle" Silver and not-exactly chopped liver Milagro Select Reposada, along with Triple Sec, Gran Marnier, Citronge orange liquer, lime and lemon juice, fresh limes, and a little blended mix.

Well, that makes the chowder go a little easier!

Anyhow, the chowder was a huge success, even though I refused to use heavy whipping cream. Part of the trick is rubbing the shrimp with Emeril's spicey seasoning, letting them sit for awhile, then boiling them in about an inch of half-water/half-white wine (or cooking wine, either works). Saute a medium onion in half-butter/half-olive oil; add a tablespoon of minced garlic; cook 'til the onions are soft. Go very slowly, because high-end tequila doesn't actually lead to intoxication so much as a hallucinogenic shifting of reality. This is a good time not to let the cat in the kitchen or read anything from Hunter S. Thompson outloud.

Add a couple of cups of chicken stock...I only use free-range low-fat low-sodium organic pizza-fed yada yada, but I live in Boulder County, so that can be excused. Add a cup of so (I did a cup and a half, maybe two, of mild) of your favorite tomato-based salsa...boil five minutes.

Toss in the cooked shrimp, chopped; diced new potatoes, boiled; half a cup of fresh basil, chopped fine; one seeded jalapeno, chopped. Season to taste...to me that means salt, pepper and Emeril's. Heaven knows what it means to Bitter Bitch! Bile? I brought this to a boil, had some more margarita, waited another five minutes and added one-half cup of low fat half-and-half . Another five-minute boil, then serve with more margaritas and heated garlic bread. I could have probably topped it with chopped cilantro, but my Sweetie hates cilantro.

I actually had a pretty good time...I went to cooking school, after all. Every so often I ought to cook. It was either that or go down in the cold, cold basement, sans margarita, and reload .500 S&W Magnums...

SHOOTING GALLERY / COWBOYS GOOD NEWS!

Ah, the news you've all been waiting to hear!

SHOOTING GALLERY and COWBOYS will be back with new shows on The Outdoor Channel in 2008, with me producing.

Even more importantly, the new management of The Outdoor Channel and I are on exactly the same page...we're going to be taking the two most popular shooting shows in HISTORY up to the next level! Get ready, 'cause it's gonna rock!

More later, but I wanted to get this announcement out ASAP....

UPDATE: USFS Jihad Against Recreational Shooting Rolls On!

First, before I get into my next post on the serious issue of toys designed to grow into invading aliens, let me apologize for the vague post on the Greenies from the U.S. Forest Service meetings yesterday.

Short story...USFS officials are holding "public meetings" all over the country to access recrational uses of the public forestr resource. The local head rangers, who run their area like little medieval fiefdoms, get to choose which "critical areas" to address first. Here in the Front Range, Boulder District Ranger Christine Walsh, who is violently antigun, has been on jihad against recreational shootng. The local Greenies have been doing a series of "show trials" to try and justify their plan to end recreational shooting on USFS — aka, our — land. The second set of show trials, where we lowly citizens get to suggest "solutions" to the non-existant problems dredged up by the last set of public meetings, is under way.

I say they're show trials because:

1) Walsh has told me directly that USFS will "out-of-hand reject" any plans/suggestions that increase USFS liability. That includes any "no net loss" of shooting areas, any formal or informal maps to shooting areas, any information posted as to where and how people can shoot, signage at local shooting areas, even having Rangers give any information on how or where a person can legally shoot on USFS land, etc. This is despite the fact that shooting shares the same liability issues as equestrian sports and kayaking...USFS readily provides, maps, trail information, signage, helpful information, etc. for both equestrian sports and kayaking.

2) Walsh and USFS recreation Director Cat Luna told me directly that the "real issue" with recreational shooting was that by allowing it, USFS was "legally obligated" to clean up the lead contamination. This is nonsense on several levels:
• Lead contamination is hardly an issue in casual shooting areas, where the volume of use falls well below even the lowest EPA estimates on shooting ranges.
• The areas typically involved in recreational shooting in the high country are not "high risk" areas such as wetlands or streams. Rather, they're rocky, largely dry areas often already used for other activities that have far greater impact on the environment, eg motorized off-road activity, staging area for wildfire-fighting equptment in the event of fire, a heavily logged area, etc.
• The Front Range of Colorado is an old, heavily worked mining area! There are mine sites on USFS land that make Cernobyl look like a fun Sunday picnic destination — arsenic, heavy metals of a stunning variety, lead at a level far, far beyond any shooting range, a fascinating cocktail of lesser known carcinogens, the occasional radioactive waste material, etc. I know of at least one incident in the last 12 months where a commercial range was given a pass on cleaning lead contamination because, realistically, the mine sites represent a hugely greater threat. In short, USFS can't afford to clean up the mine sites in the forests; the shootng sites are inconsequential small potatoes.

3) USFS is actively closing shooting areas in the Front Range illegally, using a discredited interpretation of federal law as an excuse. As I've blogged about extensively (here's the link to my most recent story last year) and has been covered extensively in both GunWeek (most recently, Spetember 2006 Archives) and Soldier of Fortune, I first became aware of the USFS jihad when the range I shot on above the little mountain town I live in was shut down for "being within 150 yards of an occupied area," in this case a gravel road. Read my earlier post for all the pertinent information. In short, the USFS and the Department of Agriculture acknowledge that a "road" is not an "occupied area" as stated in Federal law.

The range I shot on, however, is still posted for that reason. At last Saturday's meeting, Ms. Walsh stated again that no shooting could be done within 150 yards of any road, street or highway. I challenged her on her interpretation of the law. First, she told me that "this is not the forum to address that issue." I responded if not here and now, when? This was, after all, a public meeting to address these "critical issues." She then told me that she and her executive staff had "no choice" but to post the shooting ranges, as the USFS Law Enforcement section had told her that was their interpretation of the law.

Hmmmmm, me thinks....so I go to the USFS Law Enforcement people and asked them why they interpreted the law in direct violation of their bosses in Washington. LE told me they did no such thing; that, in fact, the USFS administration had chosen to close the range over the recommendations of ther own enforcement officers and the objections of local law enforcement officers, some of whom actively used the shooting area for training and qualifying.

Here's what the Feds say about Ms. Walsh's personal interpretation of the law, from GunWeek:

Some critical issues were revealed during Gun Week’s investigation of this latest [USFS] incident. [Veteran USFS Public Affairs Officer in Washington D.C. Alan] Gibbs acknowledged that it is still the belief among USFS law enforcement officers and other staffers that a forest road is an “occupied area” as defined under a forest regulation first discussed more than a year ago as part of an earlier Gun Week investigation into shooting on national forest lands.

He confirmed that law enforcement bases its position on an unwritten, verbal “ruling” by an unidentified federal magistrate that a road is an occupied area. Yet last year, Mark Rey, Undersecretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment—essentially the man who oversees national forest operations—told Gun Week in an interview that this ruling is “an urban legend.”

And as this issue was going to press, Gun Week learned the truth about that “ruling” from the enforcement officer who had brought a case before a federal magistrate in Seattle more than 10 years ago.

USFS Officer Shane Wyrsch told Gun Week that the magistrate, whose name he could not recall, never issued a “ruling” that declared a road to be an occupied area. The magistrate, as Wyrsch recalled, was deciding a citation that Wyrsch, then new on the job, had written to a man who had been shooting, apparently right along a national forest road. During the course of his discussion, the magistrate apparently suggested that if there were people on a road, it might be considered an “occupied area.”

“But that’s all it was,” Wyrsch stressed to Gun Week in frustration, “just his opinion. Who’s to say that another magistrate on the same day on another case might not have said something else?”

Wyrsch agreed that this chance remark has “grown legs” and taken on a life of its own “in the retelling.” He concurred that it was not a formal ruling that has the same effect as law, and he promised that when he returned from an assignment in another state, he would “once again” try to explain this to USFS staff in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest either in a meeting or via e-mail, and try to put the misunderstanding to rest.

After Saturday's meeting, I spoke with RKBA people in Arizona who are fighting USFS incursions there. They reported to me that USFS attempts to shut down shooting areas within 10 yards of roads had been stopped dead because the law does not support such shutdowns!

More than spitting in the face of their superiors, I am concerned that the Boulder Ranger District assumes that lying is an acceptable response to any public criticism. The Greenies have told different stories about the closing of the shooting area closest to me to everyone who has callled to ask about it. Senators and Cngressmen's office staffs have been told various that the area was closed because:
• "There's a subdivision across the street." I drove up there yesterday; apparently the subdivision has been deflated and stored for the winter. It looks to me like the only thing across the street is...more forest.
• "The shooting represents a danger to a nearby natural gas pipeline." There is a pipeline connection near the range...on the side of the road, where it is indeed at risk, from drunk drivers speeding down the gravel road!
• "We have complaints about the shooting on that range." I and longtime NRA Board of Directors member Col. Bob Brown directly asked to see all documentation on those "complaints" — in fact ANY complaints regarding recrational shooting anywhere on USFS Boulder District land. Ms. Walsh told us that 1) there was NO documentation of any kind; 2) that the USFS did not have the funds to record or even keep a log of incoming complaints; 3) that the USFS had issued no citations for littering or illegal dumping on range sites, because they "lacked the funding;" 4) That USFS had investiaged NO complaints of illegal shooting activities, because they "lacked the funding." The entire jihad against recreational shooting is alledgedly based on Ms. Walsh's "gut feelings."
I spoke with USFS enforcement and asked whether they could remember any complaints on the closed range...the answer was no. Oh, and despite the fact that USFS doesn't have the funding to actually do much of anything, they did find the $10,000 necessary to host a series of public meetings to discuss the "recreational shooting crisis," bring in USFS employees from around the state to act as "facilitators" and even hire local police to be on hand in case Col. Brown and I went postal!
In fact, two USFS officials were heard after the last public meeting discussing the lack of documentation on any actual complaints...one of the officials, thinking no one was within hearing range, said, "Well, the thing is we probably only get one a month...maybe less..." In short, even USFS officials are having trouble keeping tabs on their lies.
• "We get complaints about the noise from shooting areas." Welcome to the rural mountain West! In our little town, we have a pamphlet for urban newcomers that says, "WELCOME! Now Behave!" When you move to the rural mountains, it is not the same as living in the city. Cow dookey smells bad! The roads sometimes don't get plowed! Coyotes and mountain lions will indeed eat little Fluffy as an h'orderve, and the bears will wreck havoc on your grill if you don't clean it!!! Your cellphone doesn't work! And in a state where hunting is one of the top three industries, your kids are occasionally going to see Mr. Deer or Mr. Elk in a bloody, disassembled state, not yet conveniently packed in butcher paper or plastic wrap! You're also going to hear gunfire...get the hell over it! Show me in Federal law where my new neighbors from San Francisco have the "right" NOT to hear gunfire. I can hear gunfire from my house, and I like it! It means that people are exercising their Constitutional right, learning to defend themselves, practicing for a shooting sport, getting ready for hunting season. If the gunfire bothers you, there is housing available in San Fran!

We have a problem, boys and girls!

The next meeting Saturday March 3rd from 10:00 am - 12:00pm at Longmont High School 1040 Sunset Street, Longmont, CO.

See you there!

Sorry for the Light Blogging!

I've been in negotiations hell the last few days! I'm in the process of trying to assemble a jigsaw puzzle without having any idea what it looks like...but, damn it, I'm getting there!

I've got a bunch of stuff to tell you about the most recent set of U.S. Forest Service meetings...snore, nod...let's hope the shooters give up!

I've also got some cool video I'm putting up next week on DOWN RANGE from Ralph Mroz...I'll fill you in later!

President Obama Wants Your Guns!

Thought you guys might want to see what America would look life if Mr. Feel Good Obama is elected. Check this out (source material included):

Obama Positions on Gun Control:

• Ban semi-automatics, and impose more restrictions on other types of firearms possession;
• Ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons;
• Increase state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms;
• Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks with firearms.
• On the issue of prohibiting citizens from carrying concealed weapons, Obama said he believes national legislation should be passed to “prevent other states’ laws [allowing citizens to conceal their guns] from threatening the safety of Illinois residents.”
• “I believe we need to renew–not roll back — this common sense gun law,” [The Clinton “Assault Weapons” Ban]
• Proposes several gun-control laws, including restricting purchases of weapons and ammunition at gun shows, establishing a national database that would capture and record imprints left by bullets, and making gun locks mandatory
• Obama said concealed weapons should be allowed for retired police officers and some military personnel.
• “Ordinary citizens should not be allowed to own military assault weapons, such as AK-47s and Uzis.”

President Obama Wants Your Guns!

Thought you guys might want to see what America would look life if Mr. Feel Good Obama is elected. Check this out (source material included):

Obama Positions on Gun Control:

• Ban semi-automatics, and impose more restrictions on other types of firearms possession;
• Ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons;
• Increase state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms;
• Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks with firearms.
• On the issue of prohibiting citizens from carrying concealed weapons, Obama said he believes national legislation should be passed to “prevent other states’ laws [allowing citizens to conceal their guns] from threatening the safety of Illinois residents.”
• “I believe we need to renew–not roll back — this common sense gun law,” [The Clinton “Assault Weapons” Ban]
• Proposes several gun-control laws, including restricting purchases of weapons and ammunition at gun shows, establishing a national database that would capture and record imprints left by bullets, and making gun locks mandatory
• Obama said concealed weapons should be allowed for retired police officers and some military personnel.

“Ordinary citizens should not be allowed to own military assault weapons, such as AK-47s and Uzis.” Source

A Quick PARA Plug!

I don't usually do this, but it's for a good cause and my friend and supershooter Todd Jarrett asked me to, so take a look at the new Para USA single stack PXT-1911 SSP and the hi-cap PXT P14•45 Gun Rights models.

Yeah, they're really great 1911s, with all the happy trick stuff everybody wants — competition fire control packages, fiber optic fronts, etc. Check out the whole package here and here.

The reason I'm posting it on the blog, however, is that a portion of the bucks from each of these guns goes to the NRA-ILA, which is a Very Good Thing.

You owe it to yourself to check it out!

OUTDOOR LIFE Does It Right

This from the OUTDOOR LIFE site:

We respect Mr. Zumbo's First Amendment right to free speech, and we acknowledge his subsequent apology and admission of error. However, Outdoor Life has always been, and will always be, a steadfast supporter of all aspects of the shooting sports and our Second Amendment rights, which do not make distinctions based on the appearance of the firearms we choose to own, shoot or hunt with.

I think that allowing Jim to resign with honor is the absolutely correct thing to do. It recognizes Jim's 45 years of service as well as acknowledges the new reality. Good job, Todd Smith, on a hard subject!

I've said this before, but now is a time for unity. My whole focus this week — when it should have been on WORKING — has been on making sure everyone in the industry I've spoken to understands that we have to move forward together. As I said on the SIXGUNNER forum, there is a storm coming and it will take all our resources and all our commitment to weather that storm.

I honestly believe that for the first time in years, hunters and shooters are on the same page. The biggest mistake we on the shooting side can make is to treat our hunting compatriots with the same casual contempt we were treated with for so long. It is NOT a time for payback; it's a time to move forward. You guys know how long I have been fighting this fight, and I think you understand what it has cost me. I will not allow defeat to be snatched from the jaws of victory!

It is time to stand together!

And do you realize I haven't made a single sleazy comment on Anna Nichole Smith — who is, paranthetically, still dead — or Britney Spears — who is still bald — in a week? I'm in withdrawal!

The Wednesday Morning Zumbo Hangover

I think it's fair to say the fiearms industry is reeling from L'affaire de Zumbo. ik want to refer you to two of the best commentaries I've seen so far from two of my best friends, Tom Gersham of Gun Talk Radio and Jim Shepherd of The Shooting Wire, Both are veteran, lifelong journalists, and both are experts on the "New Media." First from Tom:

We can take away from this experience several observations.

The first is that this attitude of "just let them take those ugly, black guns" is common among hunters and competitive shooters. Anyone with that attitude is a fool. Sit down with a hunter from England or Australia, hear him tell the story of what happened there, and watch the tears well up in his eyes when he says they never thought the government would take away their hunting guns. To gun banners, there is no such thing as a good gun. They want them all. When Tom Diaz, of the Violence Policy Center, was on Gun Talk, I forced him to admit that he would like to ban all guns. What about the police, I asked. Once we get all the other guns, he said, the police won't need their guns, either.

A ban on black guns, or "Saturday Night Specials," or 50-caliber rifles, is a ban on all our guns. There is no such thing as a bad gun or a good gun. We can't throw babies off the back of the sled, thinking it will keep the wolves away from us.

The next thing we learn from this is that the world has just changed. This entire episode took place inside of 36 hours, on a weekend -- a three-day weekend for President's Day. It happened...and this is important...entirely on the internet.

Jim, typically, cuts straight to the point:

AR-style rifle enthusiasts have forced the entire shooting industry to acknowledge a blinding glimpse of the obvious: there are many, many more "recreational shooters" out there than there are hard-core hunting types.

For many in our industry, this was a frightening epiphany. They've continued to market their products to the hunting community while blithely ignoring the growth segments of the industry.

They are decidedly not ignoring us anymore.

Jim, Tom and I have been talking — mostly to ourselves! — about the impending paradigm shift for the last couple of years...scary to see it happen. As Jim Shepherd told me, it's the difference between reading about an artillery barrage and being caught in one!

I urge all of you to take the time to read the text of the new AWB, as introduced by Carolyn McCarthy. This is one heck of a document — it closes every single loophole...every single one! It looks like a Violence Policy Center document to me; I see some signs of their position papers in how carefully the loopholes have been closed. This document is a Democratic Party stalking horse...if you don't believe that, I've got some waterfront property in Arizona I'd like to sell you!

Understand the battlefield...

The WAG THE DOG Manifesto

The overriding question right now is where we go from here.

This weekend we "tipped." The on-going tensions between the hunting and the shooting sides of the overall firearms market, which I have been reporting on since I started this blog three years ago, boiled over, and for the very first time, the shooting side of the market flexed its muscles.

And suddenly the whole industry now understands what we have known for years — we are the tail wagging the dog.

There were hints of this at the SHOT Show this year. You couldn't walk the floor in Orlando without a sense that a profound change was underway. The "buzz" was all about black rifles, with the new military pistols and precision rifles following behind. It reminded me of the SHOT Shows in the early 1980s, when the tsunami of practical shooting swept the handgun industry. One year we couldn't even get an appointment with major handgun execs...the next, we're being fetted and the floor is awash in trick 1911s.

There were other market indicators that were consistently overlooked:

• Ammo sales — In recent years, it's .223, 7.62 X 39, .308, with the "traditional" calibers falling behind.
• Parts and accessories sales — In the last 12 months, AR-platform parts and accessories have swamped even the huge 1911 P&A market.
• Major manufacturer participation — S&W successfully launches their M&P AR-15; SIGARMS successfully launches their 556; more announcements are scheduled for later this year.
• Expanded competition opportunities — The explosive growth of 3-gun matches and carbine/rifle precision matches is on the way to recreating a "nation of riflemen (and women)."
• The widespread acceptance of black rifles as a home self-defense tool — this is huge; I'm a convert myself.
• Demand for carbine training courses — Through the ceiling across the country...the shooting academies are packin' 'em in for black rifle classes.
• Expanded caliber offerings — Yes, it was obvious even before Sunday that black rifles were moving decisively into the game fields. From exotics like .30-06 tpo the various .458s, to the WSSM cartridges, the AR platform has proven to be amazingly adaptable.

One point I've made before and I want to make very strongly again is that Jim Zumbo didn't say a single thing I haven't heard before from other "hook and bullet" writers. Such writings and statements are, indeed, based on an ignorance of how the market is shifting.

That ignorance is dangerous. Take a look at USA Today's article this AM:

Police needing heavier weapons
Chiefs cite spread of assault rifles
By Kevin Johnson
USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Law enforcement agencies across the country have been upgrading their firepower to deal with what they say is the increasing presence of high-powered weapons on the streets.

Scott Knight, chairman of the Firearms Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, says an informal survey of about 20 departments revealed that since 2004 all of the agencies have either added weapons to officers' patrol units or have replaced existing weaponry with military-style arms.

Knight, police chief in Chaska, Minn., says the upgrades have occurred since a national ban on certain assault weapons expired in September 2004. The ban, passed in 1994, in part prohibited domestic gunmakers from producing semi-automatic weapons and ammunition dispensers holding more than 10 rounds.

There is a new AWB being considered in Congress, and while this one will likely go nowhere, no one I've talked to believes this will be the last one floated out...especially if a Democrat is elected President in 2008.

Black rifles and their "kin" — .50 BMG guns, long-range precision rifles (aka "sniper" gun), "assault pistols," etc. — will be the RKBA battleground for the forseable future. It is also the primary area of growth, where the new shooters (and, honestly, the new hunters) will come from.

I believe — or maybe I hope — that the industry is now ready to step up to the facts and accord us both the respect and the equal funding our side of the market deserves. That's what I'm hearing.

That's the happy talk part; here's the ugly part. The reason hook and bullet writers have been able to get away with saying such things is through the tacit approval of the people who drive that side of the industry. That has to stop. Remington and Cabela's have taken a huge step in the right direction by disavowing the Jim Zumbo comments; the big boys, Mossy Oak, Realtree and the like, now need to step up and add their voices for unity. The hunting lobbying groups need to make it clear that an attack on one is an attack on all...that there is no difference between an AR-15 and a fine Perazzi shotgun when it comes to the firearms community; that the community will no longer tolerate a discussion on which baby should be thrown off the lifeboat.

I think we're at a watershed moment, and it's up to us to make that moment count. I am profoundly sorry that it was Jim Zumbo who fell under the bus, but every one of us who writes for a living understand that we live and die by those words we write. I was told that by my very first editor when I wrote my first newspaper article for publication in 1968; nothing has changed now except the speed at which we're all judged — and the absence of that "editor" who might caution moderation on our part.

It's scary to reach a tipping point and see how quickly things change. I believe we are now in the driver's seat...where are we going?

Remington Stands Tall!

This from the Remington website:

NOTICE: Remington is in the process of severing our sponsorships with Mr. Zumbo. Remington in no way shares or advocates any of the comments made by Mr. Zumbo on his blog site. A formal announcement will be released by noon today.

Remington Breaks With Zumbo

This from the COMMENTS on the first Zumbo post; I haven't verified that this if REALLY from Mr.Milner, with whom I have always had a cordial and vedry friendly relationship:

"I proudly own AR's and support everyones right to do so!

What makes me sick is how quickly people on the internet have called to boycott Remington. All Jim said was he was hunting with our people! This is normal course in our industry. How else do people think we field test? with writers.

Remington has spent tens of millions of dollars to defend your rights and how quickly the thanks is threat and boycott! Please feel Free to post that Remington does not agree with Zumbo in any way shape or form and we will assess our relationship with him accordingly.

Tommy Millner
CEO and President"

I hope it is from Tommy, becuase I believe Remington is and has always been 100% with us. They have put their money where their market is, and I would hate to see them suffer for Jim's, "Slip of the tongue." If you contact Remington, make sure you clearly state that you DO NOT blame them for the comments...

Brady's Happy Happy Happy!

This is from Brady's MySpace blog this afternoon:

Even Remington's top gun writer agrees on Assault Weapons

With important writers such as this on our side, it is clear that we have a cultural imperative to remove dangerous terrorist rifles from our streets, and our woods.

This is what happens when we give aid and comfort to the enemy! I'll bet Remington's PR people will be just happy as clams to see the great placement they got.

Zumbo Caves Quick...

,,,now that the damage is done and our enemies have one more stick to beat us with! This from Jim Zumbo's blog a few minutes ago:

Believe it or not, I'm your best friend if you're a hunter or shooter, though it might not seem that way. I simply screwed up. And, to show that I'm sincere about this, I just talked to Ted Nugent, who everyone knows, and is a Board member of the NRA. Ted is extremely active with charities concerning our wounded military, and though he's known as a bowhunter, Ted has no problem with AR 15's and similar firearms. My sincerity stems from the fact that Ted and I are planning a hunt using AR 15's. I intend to learn all I can about them, and again, I'm sorry for inserting my foot in my mouth.

Let this serve notice...you attack black rifles, you attack .50 BMGs, you attack "Saturday Night Specials"...an attack on one is an attack on all. It doesn't matter where that attack comes from!

It's time to choose sides, boys and girls.

Jim, I accept your apology...and you got a DAMN LONG WAY TO GO before you get anyone in this culture's trust back!

Serious Stuff — The Jim Zumbo "Defection"

Oh, and its a hollow feelin' when
It comes down to dealin' friends
It never ends
— The Eagles
"Tequila Sunrise"

So a couple of days after Carolyn McCarthy introduces the first of what we all fear will be many new Assault Weapons Bans (AWB) in the House of Representatives, one of our own sells us out.

This from Outdoor Life columnist and Outdoor Channel personality Jim Zumbo's HUNTING WITH JIM ZUMBO blog, dating 16 February 2007. I'm going to print his entire post for you to read:

Assault Rifles For Hunters?

As I write this, I'm hunting coyotes in southeastern Wyoming with Eddie Stevenson, PR Manager for Remington Arms, Greg Dennison, who is senior research engineer for Remington, and several writers. We're testing Remington's brand new .17 cal Spitfire bullet on coyotes.

I must be living in a vacuum. The guides on our hunt tell me that the use of AR and AK rifles have a rapidly growing following among hunters, especially prairie dog hunters. I had no clue. Only once in my life have I ever seen anyone using one of these firearms.

I call them "assault" rifles, which may upset some people. Excuse me, maybe I'm a traditionalist, but I see no place for these weapons among our hunting fraternity. I'll go so far as to call them "terrorist" rifles. They tell me that some companies are producing assault rifles that are "tackdrivers."

Sorry, folks, in my humble opinion, these things have no place in hunting. We don't need to be lumped into the group of people who terrorize the world with them, which is an obvious concern. I've always been comfortable with the statement that hunters don't use assault rifles. We've always been proud of our "sporting firearms."

This really has me concerned. As hunters, we don't need the image of walking around the woods carrying one of these weapons. To most of the public, an assault rifle is a terrifying thing. Let's divorce ourselves from them. I say game departments should ban them from the praries and woods.

Certainly Jim — a man who, up until this column, I considered my friend and colleague — is entitled to both have and speak his own opinion...that is the nature of the First Amendment. At least Jim seems to approve of that one!

But the fact is that Jim is arguably the most influential hunting writer in the world, and his column, coming on the heels of the introduction of a new AWB — however unlikely this one is to become law — throws down a gauntlet to state agencies and to hunters in general...join Jim in stepping across the line to side with the McCarthys, the Bradys, the Schumers, or stay with the defenders of the Second Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms.

By calling for the ban of "black rifles" in the hunting fields, where they are gaining huge popularity, my former friend and colleague has changed sides. He does so out of far-too-proud ignorance — "I must be living in a vacuum" — and a breathtaking arrogance — "As hunters, we don't need the image of walking around the woods carrying one of these weapons."

What image would you like to project, Jim? That of an out-of-touch, former sportsman wondering aloud why guns don't look like they used to...even though they use the same mechanisms? And how are you going to feel, Jim, when your words are read into the Congressional Record or used by Brady or the Violence Policy Center to continue to destroy our right to keep and bear arms? Is that what you want your "legacy" to be...Jim Zumbo — He Killed a Lot of Animals While Helping to Get Guns Banned!

You threw down your gauntlet, Jim, now let me throw down mine:

Apologize. Now, not later.

Or reap the whirlwind, brother!

Dying For Publicity

Well, I'm still reeling from Britney Spears' going all Sinead O'Connell on us and shaving her head. I'm thinking this is a sad attempt to trump the publicity coup pulled off by Anna Nichole Smith last week by her dying. I can't help but think ANS' net worth is going to soar now that she's no longer around to harpoon her publicity machines' best efforts. I mean, look at Kurt Cobain...his publicity and average earnings have steadily increased since he began his dirt nap. And that's to say nothing of Elvis, who really hammered out the secrets of post-death popularity! Steve McQueen, Humphry Bogart, even Frank Sinatra are working harder than ever, and thanks to enhanced video technology, they'll be getting even better talking roles.

And if you really think about it, don't we prefer our celebrities dead? You're never going to see Kurt Cobain or Humphry Bogart jumping up and down on Oprah's couch. Elvis is never going to the stopped by local cops and blurt out anti-Semitic remarks or rage rage in a drunken stupor or travel to a disaster area to cruise around in a rowboat with a shotgun to provide cheesey photo ops...whoops, how can you tell if Sean Penn is alive or dead?

There are issues I can already see will have to be addressed buy the newly Democratic government, to wit, can dead celebrities marry? Can you just see the amazing publicity potential of an Elvis/ANS nuptials at the Bellagio in Vegas, with Frank as the wedding singer? Whoa! Don't forget, I get 10% on that one!

Have I been offensive enough for Saturday morning?

How about some gun stuff, then. This from the Telegraph Across-the-Pond:

For James Andre Smartt-Ford, 16, Michael Dosunmu, 15, and Billy Cox, 15, the hand-wringing by police and politicians over the escalation of gun crime comes a little late: all three have been shot dead in south London over the past 10 days.

Public revulsion over such criminality is, shamingly, blunted by the fact that they appear to be victims of ethnic gang crime. Society at large sees it as "their" problem, not its own. Such a view is criminally complacent.

We have, post-Dunblane, what are said to be the toughest gun control laws in the world. They have actually proved strikingly ineffectual.

Gun crime has doubled since they were introduced. Young hoodlums are able to acquire handguns - either replica weapons that have been converted, or imports from eastern Europe - with ease. With no dedicated frontier police, our borders remain hopelessly porous. The only people currently incommoded by the firearms laws are legitimate holders of shotgun licences, who are subjected to the most onerous police checks.

What a shock...guns were outlawed and now only outlaws have guns! Now, where have I heard that before? BTW, since the post-Dunblane laws have proven to be failures, what does the Telegraph suggest? For a start, tougher mandatory sentences...apparently 5 years just doesn't do it! And get rid of those pesky protections against unreasonable search and seizure (much less than we have here). Police should be able to, you know, just stop and search people who look like...well, whatever criminal type people look like! Wow! I'll bet Nancy Pelosi is taking notes!

Year of the Pig

Well, at first I was distraught, because I thought the Chinese were honoring Rosie O'Donnell...of course I came to my senses! yes, the Year of the Pig begins next week...actually, it began just after the November elections, but the Chinese are just catching up.

The Chinese geomancers and soothsayers aren't optimistic, however; this from Drudge:

Feng shui expert Raymond Lo said that according to ancient Chinese belief, the Year of the Pig is symbolised by two elements -- fire sitting on top of water.

"Fire sitting on water is a symbol of conflict and skirmish, and this may bring a relatively less peaceful year with more international conflicts and struggles," he said.

Lo said the last time such an arrangement appeared was in 2002, the year that followed the September 11 terrorist attacks.

"It is anticipated that there will be more international conflicts and disharmony, which will even lead to regional warfare, uprising and unrest, or the overthrow of governments in certain countries," he said.


The elemental arrangement for 2007, with fire standing on top, could represent openness, optimism and warmth, but it can also bring fire disasters and huge explosions, Lo said.

Stock up on ammo! Watch Jericho and take notes! BTW, I agree with Bitter that this first AWB is likely to fizzle. HOWEVER, I also believe that the Kennedy-Schumer-Pelosi-Feinstein Axis of Evil is right now trying to figure out how AWB II needs to be drafted to get it through the muck that is Congress. Yes, the Dem's attention is momentarily diverted in harpooning the War on Terror and guaranteeing that we'll see an American city light up in the next few years...that was the platform they ran on, wasn't it? Bring the troops...and the war...home?

And McCarthy may indeed be a Dem-dingbat who couldn't get a bill passed even if it was a Resolution in Support of Bunnies and Puppies, but not cosponsoring a bill is hardly a ringing "Here I Stand" statement from fellow Democrats. Hey, why haven't the pro-gun Dems spoken up, even saying something along the lines of, "Didn't we all agree not to a big stick into this particular hornets' nest?"

And you can bet that the Axis of Evil is closely watching D.C. and Real World response to LaDingbat's "float." Are we supposed to pretend that McCarthy didn't consult with the Dem power brokers before she filed the bill? Good lord, the Dems don't take a crap without clearing it with Teddy and Nancy!

I stand by my comments right after the elections: BUY BUY BUY!

You want an AK, get one now. I assume you've already got an AR (Sorry Bitter! Escape from D.C. and I'll hook you up!).

I think AKs and .50 BMGs are the most at risk, because I believe the industry and the culture will rally around the AR-15 platform...to much of the industry $$$ is now vested in in ARs — not the case when the first AWB sailed through. ARs are the best-selling rifle in America; more AR parts and accessories are sold than any other guns; ARs now own most rifle competitions; ARs have made the transition into the hunting fields, and not just varmints; the carbine is on the verge of becoming the primary home self-defense weapon...nobody is going to sell out the AR (he said hopefully).

I'd include the more exotic semis in the 'endangered" category...the FNH P90, the newly reintroduced AUG, the presently being born Masada, all the AK variants, the H-K and Uzi clones that have been trickling onto the market, etc.

Told You So...

...unfortunately!

Remember how during the election we were reassured numerous times that the new Congress had no gun agenda; they the Dems have learned their lesson? The new improved AWB was introduced in the House yesterday. It's from everyone's friend Carolyn McCarthy:

In Philadelphia, a gunman opened fire on his colleagues using an AK-47 assault rifle he legally purchased. These dangerous weapons, which are intended to hit multiple targets in a short period of time, were allowed back on our streets when the federal ban on assault weapons expired in 2004. The deaths in Philadelphia could have been prevented if Congress had done its job of protecting the homeland and renewed the assault weapons ban.

I have again introduced legislation to permanently ban assault weapons. These weapons have no practical use. They are not used by hunters for sport or by individuals for self-defense. They are intended to kill as many individuals as possible in a short amount of time and have no place on our streets. The unfortunate situation in Philadelphia could have been avoided if Congress stood up to the gun lobby in 2004.

I'm really interested in seeing where this goes...will the newly minted pro-gun Dems stand their ground, or will they get down on their knees in front of the Pelosis and Kennedys. I wonder what the line in Vegas is on that bet???

Hot Chicks With Guns...

Check it out on DOWN RANGE TELEVISION! Hurry, before my Sweetie finds out...

This is the Way the World Ends...

I liked this, from the LA Times:

So, yes, this column is about Anna Nicole Smith.

Friday morning, less than 24 hours after she died in a Florida hotel room, the Drudge Report — our media culture's digital arbiter of all things tacky and prurient — had 12 items posted on the onetime topless dancer. That would account for some of the media frenzy surrounding her death. It's a little-known fact, but certain sectors of the broadcast media have long believed that if a dozen items on Anna Nicole Smith ever were posted on Drudge simultaneously, it would herald the onset of the apocalypse.

Who knew? This is the way the world ends — neither with a bang nor a whimper but with cleavage.

I Got Stoned & I Missed It!

I woke up this morning with a song in my heart...unfortunately, it was "Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo" from South Park:

Sometimes he's nutty
Sometimes he's corny
He can be brown or greenish brown
(Mmmmhmmm!)
But if you eat fiber on Christmas eve
He might come to your town!

I'm humming "Mr. Hankey" while I'm waiting for the excavators to start digging up my road, driveway, etc. in a frenetic attempt to once again rejoin the 21st Century (or, rather, to leave the 19th) and get running water.

I figure for what it's costing me, I could fly to Namibia, buy a six-pack of Authentic Underprivileged Native Rug Rats, then sell them to Hollywood movie celebrities for a tindy profit. I would not keep any of the money, though. Instead, I would use every penny to create an appropriate — and emotionally powerful — tribute monument to to the late Anna Nichole Smith...I'm thinking maybe a vending machine, perhaps in designer colors, that dispenses illegal drugs. Oh Anna...we hardly knew ye! Unless, of course, you watched any entertainment shows, in which case you knew Ms. Smith was up for Best Interview From A Woman Stoned Out Of Her Gourd award, the coveted Britney Spears Cup.

Ah well, dig we must!

2008 Is Coming...God Help Us All!

Still light blogging as I continue to work on the DOWN RANGE TELEVISION site...not to mention the fact that my house's pipes are frozen, et cetera et cetera. Suxs to have no water...least we've got electricity! I'm faithfully answering queries on the DOWN RANGE Forums, however. So go there for your daily dosage of Michael Bane nonsense!

In the meanwhile, read Alphecca's excellent piece on 2008 politics:

I'd written about Richardson a couple weeks ago. Frankly, I tend to be a one-issue voter: Gun rights. How a candidate and his voting record score on that issue probably counts for 50% of my considering voting for him/her, with all other issues filling in the remaining 50% of the equation. There are a lot of voters out there like me. On gun rights, or on abortion, or on a host of other issues.

In the last couple decades, I have voted for republican presidential candidates almost solely based on the fact that their democratic opponents supported gun control. I suspect that trend will continue unless the Democrats wake up. Hillary and Obama and Gore and Edwards will never get my vote. [Bill] Richardson might.

So far, I agree with Jeff...Democrat Bill Richardson of New Mexico — who carries a Glock, BTW — is looking like the only Presidential candidate I can support. Guliani is a Dem-N-Disguise and viruently antigun; McCain hates both the First and Second Amendment, and he's not sure about the Fourth and probably a few others; the other Dems are all FROM HELL. Looks like the election will be just a laff riot, doesn't it?

The US Forest Service issue is heating up again locally, with the Greenies staging another batch of public meetings to try and find three or four people who agree with Christine "GUNS SUCK" Walsh. The last series of public meetings ending in a huge embarassment to the USFS Greenies and Walsh in particular when it turned out that the only people who had problems with target shooting on public lands were Walsh and her direct hires. The huge turnout was virtually 100% pro-gun and shooting, so the USFS Children's Crusade is gearing up to try again.

Where do you suppose these fine public servants get the money to keep holding public meetings trying to find some brain-damaged individuals to agree with them? Of course...out of our pockets! I've said before and I'll say again...other than fire mitigation, the USFS is a HUGE waste of taxpayer money. Keep the firefighters...fire the rest!

Prince = Da Man!

Forget the SuperBowl...Prince rules!

The best rock guitarist alive...

WE ARE LIVE!

DOWN RANGE TELEVISION is up!

You can check it out at downrange.tv!

First up is an expanded and re-edited version of my SIGARMS 556 report from SHOT. Over the next week we'llbe posting all the SHOT Show video into the Archives. I'm working on two Internet-exclusive video projects...Secrets of Carrying Pocket Pistols and Butt-Ugly Guns. Coming up behind those two is an evaluation of AR-platform electronic sights.

Obviously, this is a "beta" site, essentially a work in process. There are so many functions and features we have planned for the site that I figure it's a 6-month to a year build-out.

The most important element, though — a stable, flexible platform — is in place, thanks in large part to the efforts of my webmaster, Marshal Holloway (aka Kjell Heilevang..."Marshal" is his cowboy alias) and his Significant Other, Teresa, the Marshal'lette.

If you read the computer magazines, or WIRED, or spend a lot of time on Slash/Dot, you get the feeling that the Internet is a giant set of building blocks which, when easily assembled in the right way, will do anything. The reality is that the Internet is a huge "invent to order" frontier, where everything "sorta" works and "sorta" doesn't. Believe me, it has been a battle to get to the starting line!

Coming up over the next few months:
• User-supplied videos, a la YouTube
• Multiple "channels" for different interests and shooting sports
• Articles and columns from some of the top people in the business
• An incredible tool for clubs and matches ("invented" yesterday by Tequila, Richard Young!)
• Live Internet events, like the first one one coming iup in mid-March, the first Steel Challenge National Championships in Florida, sponsored by SIGARMS
• More and better videos...and you will see developments in the firearms industry here first (in fact, I'm in negotiations on two significant introductions that you'll see first only on DOWN RANGE!)

The GIVEAWAYS begin next week with the Bruce Gray custom SIGARMS GSR 1911...we're working this weekend on the "small print," like where you sign over your rights to your first borns and and Hollywood starlets you know to us.

I'd also like to give a thanks to the irrepressible Don Worsham for being the first person to sign up for the new DOWN RANGE Forums! Thanks, Bro!

Tell me what you want in a firearms site, and we'll do our best to give it to you...please keep in mind that my Sweetie will kill me if I post pictures of hotties (male or female) with guns...and she knows the compnation to the safe!

Thanks, guys!