Whew!

Have survived another premiere week! As of this morning, both Tim Cremin and I are extremely pleased with the response to both GUN STORIES and the new season of TBD/SURVIVAL, and at least for the time being, no one wants my head on a block. Before I head off to shoot the 2-day Hell on Wheels cowboy action shooting regional up in Cheyenne, I wanted to touch on a couple of subjects.

First (and speaking of wanting my head on a block), years back — good grief, can it be almost a decade? — I stepped up to the podium at the largest hunting conclave ever to say that taxation without representation was still tyranny. I was speaking of the Pittman-Robertson funds, of course, derived from tax monies on guns, ammunition, components, etc. Those monies, in the hundreds of millions of dollars each year, have gone to wildlife restoration, wetland purchases, hunter education and funding state fish and game departments and programs. A tiny tiny trickle of the money also went into shooting ranges.

The problem that we saw, based on research from me and Paul Erhardt, was that the there had been a profound change in the market from hunting to shooting, and that change had not been reflected in the allocation of P-R funds. The steady decline of hunting, combined with the meteoric rise of competition shooting and training, coupled with CCW-driven birth and rise to prominence of Gun Culture Ver. 2.0 meant that we represented a majority of the taxes being paid. But 99.99% of the funds were going to hunting/conservation.

I'm not knocking hunting/conservation at all, but come on! We're dying for shooting ranges and awash in ducks! I made the decision to step up to the plate and declare the emperor had no clothes. I will say it got a bit (a big bit) hot in the kitchen......axe...block...neck, etc.

But we won.

The industry has come around to the view that the shooting/training/CCW Ver. 2.0 gun culture is the future. By industry numbers, hunting now ranks 4th as a driver. And now the next steps...refining Pittman-Robertson. This from Senator Mark Udall's (D-CO) office, about Senate Bill S-1249 — Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act:

Today, Mark Udall re-introduced legislation to help states construct and maintain safe public shooting ranges. The bill, the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, would help ensure that there are enough accessible ranges where hunters and marksmen can safely practice recreational shooting.

Under current law – the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act – an excise tax is collected on sporting equipment and ammunition, which states can use for activities such as wildlife restoration and hunter education programs. However, it has limited effectiveness in establishing and maintaining shooting ranges, which are declining in number. Udall’s Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, co-sponsored by Senators Jim Risch, Michael Bennet and Jon Tester, would amend the law to give states more flexibility to use existing funds to create and maintain shooting ranges.

“The number of places in our communities and on public lands where Colorado sportsmen and women can safely shoot and target practice has steadily dwindled,” Udall said. “This bill would give states more flexibility to use federal dollars – that have already been allocated to them – to create safe, new public places to shoot. It would be a triple win for sporting and conservation communities: states can create higher quality and safer shooting ranges, more Coloradans can take up the sport, and it would generate more money for future conservation and hunter education efforts.”

Udall’s bill would:

• Increase the amount of money states can contribute from their allotted Pittman-Robertson funds to 90 percent of the cost to improve or construct a public target range from the current limit of 75 percent. This would reduce local and state matching requirements from 25 percent to 10 percent.

• Allow the Pittman-Robertson funds allotted to a state to remain available and accrue for five fiscal years for use in acquiring land for, expanding, or constructing a public target range on federal or non-federal land. Under current law, states must use these funds within one year.

• Limit the legal liability exposure to the federal land management agencies regarding the management and use of federal land for target practice or marksmanship training.

• Encourage the federal land management agencies to cooperate with state and local authorities to maintain target ranges on federal land so as to encourage their continued use.

The bill is fully supported by NSSF, which has taken the lead in allocating P-R funds to shooting ranges through their innovative grant system.

NSSF Applauds Introduction of the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Act in Senate

June 27, 2011 By Larry Keane

NEWTOWN, Conn. – The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry, applauded the introduction of the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Act by Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO). This bi-partisan legislation will give states greater flexibility to use more of their designated federal wildlife resources (i.e. Pittman-Robertson funds) to establish safe recreational shooting areas. More specifically, the legislation will help facilitate the construction and expansion of public target ranges, including ranges on federal land managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

“We appreciate Sen. Udall’s leadership in fighting for safe, accessible shooting facilities,” said Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president and general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. “This legislation clears the way for new shooting ranges and allows for the proper management of existing ones. Access to these facilities is paramount to continuing to pass on our hunting and shooting sports heritage to younger generations.”

A recent survey by the Responsive Management Company has show that the biggest obstacle to participation in hunting and the shooting sports is access. In addressing this concern, the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Act will not only help sportsmen and target shooters, but wildlife and conservation efforts as well. Active participation in hunting and the shooting sports means increased production of firearms and ammunition. Manufacturers of firearms and ammunition pay a federal excise tax — 11 percent on long guns and ammunition and 10 percent on handguns — which is used to fund wildlife and conservation efforts. By giving gun owners better access to ranges, the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Act will help to encourage participation in these pro-conservation pastimes.

By allowing the states more latitude in determining how excise tax dollars are used to enhance and develop public shooting facilities, wildlife conservation funding will increase. This benefits all sportsmen and is a strong return on investment.

This is HUGE! One of the baseline strategies of our enemies — perhaps the only one that has been working, BTW — has been to deprive us of places to shoot. A significant amount of revenue flowing into range development, coupled with pushing federal land management agencies to allow land for ranges (a big issue here in Colorado), is a very important start.

Personally, I will not be happy until we have parity, that is, until the P-R funds are allocated by percentage based on industry-derived numbers. If shooting/training/CCW represents 60% of the purchasing activity in an given year, then 60% of the P-R funds should be allocated for programs that benefit that segment of the industry.

Taxation without representation is always tyranny, no matter how well-intentioned the goals for that taxation are!

Thank you, Senator Udall, and thank you, NSSF!

First episode of Gun Stories

This week on MidwayUSA's Gun Stories, we're taking a look back at the rich history of John Browning's model 1911. Air Times: 06-29 at 2:00PM | 06-29 at 7:30PM | 06-29 at 10:30PM | 06-30 at 1:30AM | 07-03 at 6:00AM.

Tomorrow!

A Functional Definition of "Racism"

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially 
a nation of cowards"

-- U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder

February 18, 2009

CBS is reporting another death directly attributed to "Fast & Furious" guns, this one the brother of a Mexican state Attorney General, who was tortured and killed by cartel terrorists.

The majority view of ATF's "Fast & Furious" is now that it was a purely political operation, part of President Barack Obama's "under the radar" gun control effort. As I have said from the beginning of this fiasco, "Fast & Furious" makes no sense any other way. It was not a law enforcement operation, as made clear in testimony before Congress, because the ostensible law enforcement goals, "rolling up" the entire cartel gun smuggling operation or getting warrants against the mass murderers who head the Mexican cartels, was nonsensical even to the brave agents who have stepped forward to testify.

Those hero agents who stepped forward told their bosses the same thing they told Congress -- that people were going to die as a direct result of "Fast & Furious."

Apparently, the brass at the ATF and their handlers at the Department of Justice, including Attorney General Eric Holder, were okay with that, as long as it was Mexican nationals doing the dying. Let's be clear about this...all the people involved in "Fast & Furious" knew people were going to die. Their own experienced agents told them so. The cartels have routinely slaughtered family members of people opposed to them, and the concept of "innocent bystander" simply doesn't exist in the free-fire zone south of the U.S. border. Providing the cartel with a new, easy source of guns was guaranteed to have lethal results.

But wouldn't that just play into the meme? ATF leaders were happy, even described as "giddy," when "Fast & Furious" guns began turning up at Mexican crime scenes.

Can you imagine any circumstances, any mindset, that would allow ATF brass and its handlers to not think the guns they were flooding into Mexico would result in the killing of civilians? Any mindset at all?

So what is "racism?" What is this thing that we as Americans, in Attorney General Holder's words, are too cowardly to face? How about the Wiki definition:

Racism is the belief that there are inherent differences in people's traits and capacities that are entirely due to their race, however defined, and that, as a consequence, justify the different treatment of those people, both socially and legally.

The key words here, for me, are, "...justify the different treatment of those people, both socially and legally." Sure, the cartels are killers, but — nudge nudge wink wink say no more — Americans aren't going to get killed. Mexicans are going to get killed, and, well, they're Mexicans, right? They can't vote in American elections; they're a long way away and, hey, we won't even have to look at the bodies!

Ladies and gentlemen, if that isn't the essence of racism, tell me what is.

Their lives counted for less than a political point; counted for so little that dead Mexicans weren't even a minor consideration.

Some commentators say this upcoming Presidential election will be won by the Hispanic vote, and the party in power is reaching out to those voters who have their origins in Mexico and Central and South America with a powerful cry of, "Here's what we have done for you!" Here is what they really did — they armed your blood enemies and by doing so sanctioned the killing of your brothers, your sisters, your uncles, your aunts. Remember.

"Swollen men, blind with power

Break the rules, one by one

With their lies raising the danger

Of their games under the gun."

—Kris Kristofferson

"Under the Gun"

A Thought for Thursday

“

You can ignore reality,but you can’t ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.”

-Ayn Rand

Rumbling to a start...

...this AM, focusing on writing for THE NEW SURVIVAL GUNS, then heading for the range. I wanted to throw out some thoughts on Ruger's new 77/357 bolt-action rifle. Heaven knows in a house with two competitive cowboy action shooters in it there's no shortage of .357 rifles (2 1873 clones; 1 1892 clone, 1 Marlin). I also have a BSA Martini Cadet in .357...beautiful little gun!

Ruger 77/357

I like the idea of a reasonably priced bolt .357 as a fiercely accurate little pest rifle that could go up to deer-sized game in a pinch (and with the right ammo). I'm not a bolt-action junky like GUN STORIES and TBD Producer/Director Tim Cremin, but one of the coolest rifles I've ever shot was a Ruger 77/44, the same rifle in .44 Magnum/.44 Special with an integral suppressor (from John's Guns, I believe).

Shooting .44 Specials, the gun made virtually zero noise! No recoil either, like shooting a .22 LR.

With .44 Magnum 240-gr JHPs you got a little noise and a little recoil, but nothing significant. One thing that surprised me was that the big market for these little blasters are grounds-keepers at big golf courses...coyote and other pest removal with no sound signature to frighten (or piss off) the neighbors. With .44 Special you're not going to have the bullet go supersonic, so you're not going to get the crack you'll get with a rifle bullet from a suppressed barrel. And the 200-250 grain at less than 1000 fps .44 Special is a proven performer.

77/44 Suppressed from John's Guns

I could see the .357 77/357 with a suppressed barrel and .38 Special velocities.

BTW, I thought the 77/44 was slated for oblivion, but it's still in the catalog.

There's a good piece over at the Walls of the City blog on open carry issues in Georgia, where OC is legal as long as the gun is in a holster. It highlights something we were hammering last season on TBD -- the necessity for both civilians and law enforcement to know the laws. Open carry is a regular topic when I talk to law enforcement, and I believe there are the beginnings of a movement in LE training to address open (and concealed) carry issues. I imagine the major urban departments will fight OC down to the bitter end, the came way they obsessively opposed concealed carry.

I agree with this conclusion from Walls:

"Just like racial integration, getting people to accept law-abiding citizens openly bearing arms is going to be a long, drawn-out process, but it is an important one nonetheless, and it will invariably lead to a more free society and a country where people can make choices about how they want to keep them and theirs safe. However, until then, we will have to deal with both fellow "average" citizens and law-enforcement "professionals" who are, willfully or accidentally, ignorant of the laws of the land, and it is incumbent upon us to remain calm, cool, and collected in those situations, secure in the knowledge that we are right for lawfully exercising our Constitutionally-protected rights."

Caught Up, More or Less

Sorry for the light blogging...it has been a hectic few weeks. I won't go as far as saying I'm 100% caught up,, but I can at least catch my breath.

I note that Wisconsin is getting ready for CCW, leaving only the Dutchy of Illinois as the only state in the union willing to disenfranchise their citizens. The spread of concealed carry is, to me, an absolutely fascinating social phenomenon...as noted in THE RISE OF THE ANTI-MEDIA, a book I've written extensively about, CCW is as close to unstoppable as you can get. If not this year, the the next, or the next. Forty states now have shall issue or Constitutional carry. All the others, with the sole exception of the Daley-Obama Workers' Paradise, have some kind of discretionary issuance of permits. As noted on a couple of other blogs, every loosening of concealed carry laws is followed by a now-ridiculous MSM meme about, "Blood in the streets....shootings over parking places...etc." You want blood in the street, random shootings, etc., try gun-free CHICAGO, which has categorically proven the cliche that, "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws (and the Chicago PD) will have guns."

Say Uncle had a great comment on "Fast & Furious" that he found posted on FaceBook, and I think it sums things up pretty well:

Imagine the DEA telling pharmacists to illegally sell oxycontin to known drug dealers or they would be shut down. Then imagine the DEA using the fact that more oxycontin was on the street (and hundreds of overdose deaths) as a pretext for making it harder for patients to get prescribed narcotics. This is essentially what happened with the ATF and Project Gunwalker...

Gotta go assemble my Sweetie's 10/22!

No Snow!

Cold and wet, but the thermometer stalled just above freezing. Snowed like crazy a few miles from here, but no shoveling for me! One of the big Colorado bike rides ground through a lot of snow yesterday.

Today was a business business day, financial stuff. I also had a doctor's appointment this AM with a neurologist, and it appears my head is not about to explode. Tough luck for some of you...good for me. Tomorrow is a television work day, with some time to work on my Sweetie's 10/22 for the Ruger Rimfire Worlds in August in New Mexico. Here's something I'll never understand...why do gun companies, even smart gun companies, put these big dohickies on the rear sight -- in the case of the 10/22, a big old fat white diamond -- when you're supposed to pay attention to the front sight? I can't think of how many big fat white dohickies on the rear sight I've lacked out with Sharpies.

I'm going to try and get my video from Daniel Defense put together this week, but no promises.

I was kinda disappointed in FALLING SKIES, the alien invasion series that premiered last night. OTOH, the season closer for GAME OF THRONES on HBO was magnificent! Not a word in the series that wasn't written by the book series's author, George R.R. Martin, who is of course God. FALLING SKIES had so much hackneyed crap attached to it that the show was hard to watch. I like the idea that the Resistance uses, duh, guns! Shoot the aliens until they stop wiggling. Maybe later there'll be recipes.

Here In Winterfell...

So we're walking the Wonder Beagle after our 2 hour mountain bike ride. My Sweetie is waxing poetic about how beautiful things are around the Secret Hidden Bunker in the springtime...all the green shoots, the pale green of the new aspen leaves, etc. Me, the Ever Abundant Optimist, replied: Winter is coming....

"Shut up," says she.

Forecast for tomorrow is for up to 3 inches of snow...

Winter is coming...

Movie Dummy Barrett...

...from the last "Rambo" movie, autographed by Sly Stallone. The inscription reads, "It's been a penetrating experience!"



-- Post From The Road

The Best Looking Rifle on Earth

Pre-64 Winchester blah blah...'03 custom blah blah...FBI FNH blah blah...

This is the bomb, the Barrett MRAD in .338 Lapua..best shooting big caliber rifle I've ever shot! This is the Porche of rifles...I'd take an MRAD over an AI any day. I'd also take a nice chalet in Switzerland and the aforementioned Porsche, too.



-- Post From The Road

Current M107A1

In all it's glory...



-- Post From The Road

A Simple Optic Set-Up...

...for about the price you'd pay for an older used car -- a LEUPOLD Mk-IV, BORS system & Aimpoint Micro for up close...



-- Post From The Road

Ideal Father's Day Gift!!!

M107A1, good to go!



-- Post From The Road

Cutaway Barrett Semi

-- Post From The Road

Prototype Barrett #1

-- Post From The Road

Gun Lust

-- Post From The Road

Angela Barrett...

...gets serious!



-- Post From The Road

"Shoot Me First" Vests

Miguel over at the Gun Free Zone has an excellent post on the myth of a "shoot me first" vest. I've always though that particular canard was wildly overplayed. I'm sitting here at Denver International waiting for yet another connection (today is Travel Casualty Day) and looking around right now I see 3 people in vests -- they don't look like photographers,, fly fishermen or contractors. Instead, they just look like poor pathetic travelers who need the extra pockets.

Since I tend to wear t-shirts and shorts for the 3 days I'm at home in the summer, I like vests. And, yeah, you do look like a dork!

Ruger Single 10?

From Ruger today:

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) is proud to announce the Ruger Single-Ten™, a ten-shot single-action revolver chambered in .22 Long Rifle.
The Single-Ten features a ten-shot cylinder and is constructed from durable and handsome satin-finished stainless steel. With a 5.5" barrel and smooth, walnut "Gunfighter" grips, the Single-Ten is well balanced and points easily.

The sight picture of the Single-Ten is enhanced by Williams™ fiber optic sights, which are click-adjustable for both windage and elevation.
"The Single-Six has always been a fun gun to shoot," remarked Mike Fifer, Ruger's CEO. "The additional cylinder capacity, along with the trim Gunfighter grips and fiber optic sights, make shooting the Single-Ten even more enjoyable," he continued.
Well, cool...the single action traditionalist in me is going to have to think about this, but it will make shooting the RRC Cowboy Class quantums easier! Hit the link to see the gun...have limited ability to post pictures off the iPad...