To contact us Click HERE
Tip of the hat to wirecutter, who got it from his friend Sammy.
I am republishing my three-part series about the LA Riots of 1992 in which Karen and I and the children were trapped for several frightening hours. We were unarmed, helpless save for our wits. The police were conspicuously absent and the bad guys, frequently armed with heavy weapons, owned the streets. It was a defining moment in my life.
I’m reposting this series as a cautionary tale because the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre has sharpened the claws of the statist utopians, whose ultimate aim is to disarm law-abiding American citizens.
Just as Obamacare has nothing to do with health, and cap and trade has nothing to do with so-called global warming, anti-gun laws have nothing to do with saving children’s lives.
It’s just another opportunity for the left to centralize power.
Go here to read the rest.
It's excellent!
I remember the 1992 LA riots. I was living in Redondo Beach at the time, and we could see the smoke rising in LA quite clearly. Since we were under a sunset-to-sunup curfew, we made sure we went to the store during the day and laid in a decent supply of water and other food.
My roommate, my best buddy from college, had his Remington 1100 that he used to shoot skeet with, and we spent part of the day cleaning it, and swapping out the choke tube for the "Improved Cylinder" one he had.
And we went to Turner's and grabbed several boxes of 00 Buck, and a couple of boxes of slugs........
.
.
3 Ocak 2013 Perşembe
New Shoes for the Jeep
To contact us Click HERE
I knew I needed tires, as the Goodyear Wrangler SR-A 245/65R17's that it came with were just about down to the tread wear indicators.
Then last Sunday, during the Great Battery Expedition, I was rounding a familiar turn in the rain, and the front end washed out and started to slide.
Yes, my Jeep has full-time AWD, but when the tires are turning, and applying power, and worn, they'll skid in the rain.
So, since I'd been researching tires for a few weeks, I decide on what brand and size to buy.
The OEM tires were 9.8" in section width, 65 in aspect ratio, and 29.5" tall. The rolling radius gave them 702 revolutions per mile.
I wanted a wider tire, with close to the same revs/mile, so I started looking at the tire manufacturer's websites to get the specs I needed.
A 275/60R17 would give me a tire about 10.8" wide, with close to the same revs/mile (697, a few less), and I settled on Bridgestone Dueller H/L Alenza tires.
The local tire place didn't have them, but they were in the warehouse, and they had them the next day bynoon.
I went in at 1pm, and was out by 1:45 with 4 new tires, mounted, spun balanced, with free rotation and balancing for the life of the tire.
I also spent an extra $23 per tire for a "certificate" that will replace the tire, for free, if it gets damaged in the shoulder or sidewall where it can't be repaired.
So far they seem to be pretty good tires. The ride is better, and they're a bit quieter than the Goodyears.
And they look great on the Jeep! Just enough extra width to make it look a bit more "serious", and with the 60 aspect ratio they're just as tall, filling up the wheel well nicely.
I do NOT cotton to those running around in SUV's with the 22" rims and the super low profile "rubber band" tires! The first curb they clobber will chew up the rim, and probably wipe out the sidewall.
And I always take it easy the first few hundred miles on new tires, checking the pressure, and retorquing the rims after a 100 miles or so.
Then last Sunday, during the Great Battery Expedition, I was rounding a familiar turn in the rain, and the front end washed out and started to slide.
Yes, my Jeep has full-time AWD, but when the tires are turning, and applying power, and worn, they'll skid in the rain.
So, since I'd been researching tires for a few weeks, I decide on what brand and size to buy.
The OEM tires were 9.8" in section width, 65 in aspect ratio, and 29.5" tall. The rolling radius gave them 702 revolutions per mile.
I wanted a wider tire, with close to the same revs/mile, so I started looking at the tire manufacturer's websites to get the specs I needed.
A 275/60R17 would give me a tire about 10.8" wide, with close to the same revs/mile (697, a few less), and I settled on Bridgestone Dueller H/L Alenza tires.
The local tire place didn't have them, but they were in the warehouse, and they had them the next day bynoon.
I went in at 1pm, and was out by 1:45 with 4 new tires, mounted, spun balanced, with free rotation and balancing for the life of the tire.
I also spent an extra $23 per tire for a "certificate" that will replace the tire, for free, if it gets damaged in the shoulder or sidewall where it can't be repaired.
So far they seem to be pretty good tires. The ride is better, and they're a bit quieter than the Goodyears.
And they look great on the Jeep! Just enough extra width to make it look a bit more "serious", and with the 60 aspect ratio they're just as tall, filling up the wheel well nicely.
I do NOT cotton to those running around in SUV's with the 22" rims and the super low profile "rubber band" tires! The first curb they clobber will chew up the rim, and probably wipe out the sidewall.
And I always take it easy the first few hundred miles on new tires, checking the pressure, and retorquing the rims after a 100 miles or so.
Christmas Project
To contact us Click HERE
For my brother-in-law.
He and his wife have a stack of VHS tapes that they've wanted to get archived to DVD for quite some time now. I loaned them one of my "spare" VCR's so they could sort through their tapes after the VCR they had died, and I couldn't fix it.
They went through ALL of the tapes they had, and found the ones with their kids growing up, and brought them over before I went out on the last launch.
Since I have professional ("Studio Quality" as of 2005) video capture equipment, and a couple of studio-type editing decks with S-VHS outputs, I got started on the project Thursday afternoon.
I hadn't fired up the PC that runs my audio and video capturing software since last January when I digitized a whole stack of LP's I have, so I spent most of Friday just updating all the software. The PC is running Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit, and after I hooked everything up and powered up the PC, Windows informed me I did NOT have a "Genuine" copy.
WTF???
Then I realized I had no network connection, having plugged the cable into an "Uplink" port on the router.
OOPS!
Once I got an Internet connection, it called home to the mothership, and the "NOT GENUINE WINDOW$" warning was replaced by a "Validation Period Has Expired. Would You Like To Validate This Copy Of Windows?", which is a whole lot better than "contact us to buy a new serial number"!
Turns out the PC hadn't been online in so long, and was missing so many OS updates, that Micro$oft didn't know what to do with it.
SO.....after spending most of yesterday updating the OS and most of my utilities, I had things running smoothly again.
Then I realized I *really* need two monitors to do video capture and editing with, so off to Best Buy. I lucked out on the monitor, and was able to get a 27" LG that they had just put on the shelf for $100 off! It had been a return from somebody who bought it, didn't have the right hardware to use it with, and dragged it back to the store for an exchange.
It "only" does 1920 x 1080 (they made the pixels bigger), but it's beautiful, and has an LED backlight, so it's very light, thin, and puts out practically no heat.
And while I was there I picked up a newer video card, an ATI Radeon HD7700.
I usually get NVidia-based cards, but ATI/AMD has a very slight edge in displaying video, as opposed to NVidia, who rocks the gaming world, and has FAR better Linux support.
So I've now captured about half the tapes, and have a rough idea how I'm going to organize them on the DVD's I'll author using all the Adobe software I have.
I might even get creative, and add some period-correct music for the opening titles, as each tape has the date on it.
I won't be done by Christmas, but I should have a nice stack of DVD's for them for the new year.
And yes, they both realize that just because it's on a DVD doesn't mean it will be "DVD Quality", although I'll clean up the color balance and fix as much as I can.
I've done video capture and conversion for people before, and some of them simply didn't understand that you're strictly limited by the quality of the source material. Somehow they thought that putting their old tapes on a DVD would magically make them "DVD Quality".
The old adage of "Garbage IN => Garbage OUT" definitely applies!
Back to work......
He and his wife have a stack of VHS tapes that they've wanted to get archived to DVD for quite some time now. I loaned them one of my "spare" VCR's so they could sort through their tapes after the VCR they had died, and I couldn't fix it.
They went through ALL of the tapes they had, and found the ones with their kids growing up, and brought them over before I went out on the last launch.
Since I have professional ("Studio Quality" as of 2005) video capture equipment, and a couple of studio-type editing decks with S-VHS outputs, I got started on the project Thursday afternoon.
I hadn't fired up the PC that runs my audio and video capturing software since last January when I digitized a whole stack of LP's I have, so I spent most of Friday just updating all the software. The PC is running Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit, and after I hooked everything up and powered up the PC, Windows informed me I did NOT have a "Genuine" copy.
WTF???
Then I realized I had no network connection, having plugged the cable into an "Uplink" port on the router.
OOPS!
Once I got an Internet connection, it called home to the mothership, and the "NOT GENUINE WINDOW$" warning was replaced by a "Validation Period Has Expired. Would You Like To Validate This Copy Of Windows?", which is a whole lot better than "contact us to buy a new serial number"!
Turns out the PC hadn't been online in so long, and was missing so many OS updates, that Micro$oft didn't know what to do with it.
SO.....after spending most of yesterday updating the OS and most of my utilities, I had things running smoothly again.
Then I realized I *really* need two monitors to do video capture and editing with, so off to Best Buy. I lucked out on the monitor, and was able to get a 27" LG that they had just put on the shelf for $100 off! It had been a return from somebody who bought it, didn't have the right hardware to use it with, and dragged it back to the store for an exchange.
It "only" does 1920 x 1080 (they made the pixels bigger), but it's beautiful, and has an LED backlight, so it's very light, thin, and puts out practically no heat.
And while I was there I picked up a newer video card, an ATI Radeon HD7700.
I usually get NVidia-based cards, but ATI/AMD has a very slight edge in displaying video, as opposed to NVidia, who rocks the gaming world, and has FAR better Linux support.
So I've now captured about half the tapes, and have a rough idea how I'm going to organize them on the DVD's I'll author using all the Adobe software I have.
I might even get creative, and add some period-correct music for the opening titles, as each tape has the date on it.
I won't be done by Christmas, but I should have a nice stack of DVD's for them for the new year.
And yes, they both realize that just because it's on a DVD doesn't mean it will be "DVD Quality", although I'll clean up the color balance and fix as much as I can.
I've done video capture and conversion for people before, and some of them simply didn't understand that you're strictly limited by the quality of the source material. Somehow they thought that putting their old tapes on a DVD would magically make them "DVD Quality".
The old adage of "Garbage IN => Garbage OUT" definitely applies!
Back to work......
Merry Christmas, Everybody
To contact us Click HERE
One of my "other" favorite Christmas songs is Gregg Lake's "I Belive In Father Christmas".
When he first released this song he caught a lot of flack for being anti-religious, anti-Christmas, and a whole lot of other things.
I caught him by surprise, as he intended the song to be about how Christmas has changed, and had become too commercialized.
The lyricist, Peter Sinfield, said that he considered it to be about the loss of innocence, and childhood beliefs.
Lake said later in an interview:
"I find it appalling when people say it's politically incorrect to talk about Christmas, you've got to talk about 'The Holiday Season.'
Christmas was a time of family warmth and love. There was a feeling of forgiveness, acceptance.
And I do believe in Father Christmas."
Doesn't sound "anti-anything" to me.
May you and yours have a very joyous Christmas, and a very Happy New Year!
.
.
They said there'll be snow at Christmas
They said there'll be peace on earth
But instead it just kept on raining
A veil of tears for the Virgin birth
I remember one Christmas morning
A winter's light and a distant choir
And the peal of a bell and that Christmas tree smell
And their eyes full of tinsel and fire
They sold me a dream of Christmas
They sold me a silent night
And they told me a fairy story
'till I believed in the Israelite
And I believed in Father Christmas
And I looked to the sky with excited eyes
'till I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn
And I saw him and through his disguise
I wish you a hopeful Christmas
I wish you a brave New Year
All anguish pain and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear
They said there'd be snow at Christmas
They said there'd be peace on earth
Hallelujah, Noel, be it Heaven or Hell
The Christmas we get we deserve
When he first released this song he caught a lot of flack for being anti-religious, anti-Christmas, and a whole lot of other things.
I caught him by surprise, as he intended the song to be about how Christmas has changed, and had become too commercialized.
The lyricist, Peter Sinfield, said that he considered it to be about the loss of innocence, and childhood beliefs.
Lake said later in an interview:
"I find it appalling when people say it's politically incorrect to talk about Christmas, you've got to talk about 'The Holiday Season.'
Christmas was a time of family warmth and love. There was a feeling of forgiveness, acceptance.
And I do believe in Father Christmas."
Doesn't sound "anti-anything" to me.
May you and yours have a very joyous Christmas, and a very Happy New Year!
.
.
They said there'll be snow at Christmas
They said there'll be peace on earth
But instead it just kept on raining
A veil of tears for the Virgin birth
I remember one Christmas morning
A winter's light and a distant choir
And the peal of a bell and that Christmas tree smell
And their eyes full of tinsel and fire
They sold me a dream of Christmas
They sold me a silent night
And they told me a fairy story
'till I believed in the Israelite
And I believed in Father Christmas
And I looked to the sky with excited eyes
'till I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn
And I saw him and through his disguise
I wish you a hopeful Christmas
I wish you a brave New Year
All anguish pain and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear
They said there'd be snow at Christmas
They said there'd be peace on earth
Hallelujah, Noel, be it Heaven or Hell
The Christmas we get we deserve
Video Project In The Home Stretch....
To contact us Click HERE
And yow...I learned more than I really wanted to, but what I needed.
After fighting for a day with trying to get the project exported to Adobe Encore, I just gave up, and figured I'd just burn the compled file, already in MPEG-2 (DVD) format to a disk.
That worked, and it's playable, BUT.....
It didn't have any menus, and required me to do some things with my Oppo BDP-83 Blu-Ray/DVD player that *might* not be possible to do with other players in order to get the disk to play.
Since I'm not sure how many copies of these my brother-in-law will make, I figured I'd better do my best to make these a "universal" disk that will play in any player.
Off to the Adobe Encore forums!
Adobe has some very nicely done on-line tutorials, so for most of today I've been reading, experimenting, and most importantly, LEARNING how to use all the software I have.
It's NOT real intuitive, and the Dynamic Linkage between the two programs has to be done correctly, or *nothing* happens.
Well, I finally figured that part out, and how to make those nice menus with "Play", "Set Up", "Chapters", "Extras", and all that stuff you see when you pop in a store-bought DVD and play it.
Fortunately, Encore has a "Check Build" function you can invoke that checks all the various things required to get a functional DVD built, and boy, did it come in handy.
After reading all the warnings I got the first time I ran it, and spending several mores hours reading the forums, I was able to understand and fix all the warnings and errors it generated when it checked my project.
The first disk id rendering now, and I should be able to burn it and test before the end of the year......!
After that, assuming it plays OK, I "just" have to assemble the various sequences for each disk I want to author, export them from Premiere Pro to Encore, and build them.
And I'll probably forget all this stuff in two weeks, and go through the hair-pulling routine again the next time I use the software.
After fighting for a day with trying to get the project exported to Adobe Encore, I just gave up, and figured I'd just burn the compled file, already in MPEG-2 (DVD) format to a disk.
That worked, and it's playable, BUT.....
It didn't have any menus, and required me to do some things with my Oppo BDP-83 Blu-Ray/DVD player that *might* not be possible to do with other players in order to get the disk to play.
Since I'm not sure how many copies of these my brother-in-law will make, I figured I'd better do my best to make these a "universal" disk that will play in any player.
Off to the Adobe Encore forums!
Adobe has some very nicely done on-line tutorials, so for most of today I've been reading, experimenting, and most importantly, LEARNING how to use all the software I have.
It's NOT real intuitive, and the Dynamic Linkage between the two programs has to be done correctly, or *nothing* happens.
Well, I finally figured that part out, and how to make those nice menus with "Play", "Set Up", "Chapters", "Extras", and all that stuff you see when you pop in a store-bought DVD and play it.
Fortunately, Encore has a "Check Build" function you can invoke that checks all the various things required to get a functional DVD built, and boy, did it come in handy.
After reading all the warnings I got the first time I ran it, and spending several mores hours reading the forums, I was able to understand and fix all the warnings and errors it generated when it checked my project.
The first disk id rendering now, and I should be able to burn it and test before the end of the year......!
After that, assuming it plays OK, I "just" have to assemble the various sequences for each disk I want to author, export them from Premiere Pro to Encore, and build them.
And I'll probably forget all this stuff in two weeks, and go through the hair-pulling routine again the next time I use the software.
2 Ocak 2013 Çarşamba
New Year's Eve
To contact us Click HERE
I've often wondered why we make a big deal of New Year's. It's simply the calendar spinning over, and honestly there are other more auspicious days on the calendar that make more sense to re-start the year. Like the vernal or autumnal equinox, or the summer or winter solstice. Yet, today is December 31st and tomorrow will be January 1st, bringing with it the New Year. Yippee.
Milady and I were married on the summer solstice, more out of an accident of our schedules than anything else. At that time I was a cop on shift work and she was an RN on shift work. After we'd become engaged, we sat down with her work schedule and mine. The first convenient weekend that we were both off work was June 21st, and that happened to fall on a Saturday. We never considered the whole "solstice" thing at all. It was simply a convenient Saturday. A good time for a party. However, that accidental date makes it easy for me to remember my anniversary.
But, here we are at this non-auspicious New Year's Eve, and it is customary to celebrate that event by making a resolution. Here is mine.
I resolve to make no resolutions.
Tonite, Milady and I will slip off for a little entertainment. I'll put on slacks, a nice shirt, and a sport coat. Milady will, of course, dress better than I. She always does. We'll go to a place that has a champagne toast at the rolling of the clock, and we'll come home to sleep the sleep of the just.
Tomorrow, though, we'll host another couple, two dear friends with whom we've spend every New Years since I've known Milady. The menu is always the same. Baked chicken and pork chops over rice, blackeyed peas, cabbage, and cornbread. It is a traditional menu, reminding us to be frugal and humble during the New Year.
I don't have much problem with frugal, but humble is a problem.
Update: A commenter reminded me that the summer solstice is in June. HA! And that's my anniversary, I really should remember that. It's fixed above, and thanks for the reminder.
Milady and I were married on the summer solstice, more out of an accident of our schedules than anything else. At that time I was a cop on shift work and she was an RN on shift work. After we'd become engaged, we sat down with her work schedule and mine. The first convenient weekend that we were both off work was June 21st, and that happened to fall on a Saturday. We never considered the whole "solstice" thing at all. It was simply a convenient Saturday. A good time for a party. However, that accidental date makes it easy for me to remember my anniversary.
But, here we are at this non-auspicious New Year's Eve, and it is customary to celebrate that event by making a resolution. Here is mine.
I resolve to make no resolutions.
Tonite, Milady and I will slip off for a little entertainment. I'll put on slacks, a nice shirt, and a sport coat. Milady will, of course, dress better than I. She always does. We'll go to a place that has a champagne toast at the rolling of the clock, and we'll come home to sleep the sleep of the just.
Tomorrow, though, we'll host another couple, two dear friends with whom we've spend every New Years since I've known Milady. The menu is always the same. Baked chicken and pork chops over rice, blackeyed peas, cabbage, and cornbread. It is a traditional menu, reminding us to be frugal and humble during the New Year.
I don't have much problem with frugal, but humble is a problem.
Update: A commenter reminded me that the summer solstice is in June. HA! And that's my anniversary, I really should remember that. It's fixed above, and thanks for the reminder.
Remington Barrel Codes
To contact us Click HERE
We were talking about Remington Model 700 rifles at this forum, and I happened to remember that Remington used to stamp their rifles with date stamps. Wisner's Inc has thoughtfully put together a page that let's us use those cryptic stamps in an attempt to understand when our Remington rifles were manufactured. This information is trivial at best, but some folks like to follow trivia. If you read the Wisner's page, you'll notice that Remington quit stamping rifles in 1999, which will also give you information on the date your rifle was made, eg, no date stamp, it was made after 1999.
The date stamp is found on the top left of the barrel near the receiver ring. It looks something like this.
See that WD? That's the date stamp. The first letter (W) is the month, the second letter (D) is the year. If we go to the Wisner's page, we learn that the rifle was manufactured in August (W), and either in 1935, 1957, or 1983. According to Wikipedia, Remington didn't begin making the Model 700 until 1962, so this must be a 1983 version.
With that knowledge, I can surmise that my particular rifle was probably manufactured in August 1983. That knowledge isn't particularly useful, but it is something that gun enthusiasts like to talk about.
You're welcome.
The date stamp is found on the top left of the barrel near the receiver ring. It looks something like this.
See that WD? That's the date stamp. The first letter (W) is the month, the second letter (D) is the year. If we go to the Wisner's page, we learn that the rifle was manufactured in August (W), and either in 1935, 1957, or 1983. According to Wikipedia, Remington didn't begin making the Model 700 until 1962, so this must be a 1983 version.
With that knowledge, I can surmise that my particular rifle was probably manufactured in August 1983. That knowledge isn't particularly useful, but it is something that gun enthusiasts like to talk about.
You're welcome.
Two Systems of Justice
To contact us Click HERE
Courtesy of Instapundit, we come to this charming tale of two people breaking the same law, yet being treated differently. The Washington Times explains:
Gregory has political juice. Meckler doesn't. That's the difference. Common folks go to jail. Folks like Mr. Gregory don't. There will be those who argue that it's always been that way, that the rich and famous get away with things that the common person can't. That argument doesn't mean that we have to accept it. It's wrong and Mr. Gregory should face the same prosecutorial system that Mr. Meckler faced.
It’s been more than a week since police in Washington, D.C., opened an investigation into NBC’s David Gregory’s possession of a “high-capacity magazine” that’s prohibited in the District on on national TV. Metropolitan Police’s spokesman refused Monday to respond to whether Mr. Gregory had even been interviewed yet. This is a rather curious departure for a city that has been ruthless in enforcing this particular firearms statute against law-abiding citizens who made an honest mistake.
In July, The Washington Times highlighted the plight of former Army Spc. Adam Meckler, who was arrested and jailed for having a few long-forgotten rounds of ordinary ammunition — but no gun — in his backpack in Washington. Mr. Meckler, a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, says he had no idea it was illegal to possess unregistered ammunition in the city. He violated the same section of D.C. law as Mr. Gregoryallegedly did, and both offenses carry the same maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and a year in jail.Two guys both broke the same law. Specialist Adam Meckler went to jail, David Gregory remains free. Spec Meckler didn't realize that he was breaking a law, Mr. Gregory broke the law in public and spectacular fashion after having asked if he could break the law. Gregory was told no.
Gregory has political juice. Meckler doesn't. That's the difference. Common folks go to jail. Folks like Mr. Gregory don't. There will be those who argue that it's always been that way, that the rich and famous get away with things that the common person can't. That argument doesn't mean that we have to accept it. It's wrong and Mr. Gregory should face the same prosecutorial system that Mr. Meckler faced.
WOW! The GRPC is a real Who's Who of this civil rights movement!
To contact us Click HERE
(Dollars to donuts they find my chubby butt hiding in the back and kick me out.....)
************************************************************************************************************
27th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference
September 28-30, 2012
Hyatt Regency Orlando, Florida, Airport
FRIDAY, September 28, 2012—Regency Ballroom
7:00 p.m. Registration Table Opens
7:00–9:00 p.m. Reception with Cash Bar
Co-hosted by Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) and Second Amendment
Foundation (SAF)
Music by the patriot rock band Madison Rising
SATURDAY, September 29, 2012—Intercontinental Ballroom
7:30 a.m. Registration Table Opens
Beverages hosted by Women & Guns Magazine
8:00 a.m. CALL TO ORDER
Moderator—Julianne Versnel, publisher, Journal on Firearms & Public Policy, director of operations, SAF
Color Guard—University of Central Florida, Air Force ROTC
National Anthem performed by Madison Rising
Invocation—Rev. Anthony Winfield, chaplain, Elmhurst Hospital Center, New York City
8:10 a.m. State of the Gun Rights Battle
Welcoming Remarks
The Road Traveled—Joseph P. Tartaro, executive editor, TheGunMag.com, president, SAF
The Road Ahead—Alan M. Gottlieb, chairman, CCRKBA and founder, SAF
8:30 a.m. The Most Dangerous Election of Our Lifetime
Maria Heil, board member and spokesperson, National Rifle Association
8:45 a.m. Federal Affairs Briefing
Mark Barnes, president, Mark Barnes and Associates
Jeff Knox, managing director, Firearms Coalition, gun issues columnist
Larry Pratt, executive director, Gun Owners of America
Joe Waldron, legislative director, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
9:15 a.m. State Legislative Affairs Briefing I
Hon. Sam Slom, Minority Leader Hawaii Senate, trustee of the Second Amendment Foundation
Sandra Barreras, Puerto Rico, Damas de la Segunda Enmienda
Jim Irvine, president, Buckeye Firearms Association
Richard Nascak, co-executive director, Florida Carry.org.
Patrick Shomo, president, Maryland Shall Issue Inc.
9:45 a.m. Beverage break hosted IAPCAR
10:00 a.m. State Legislative Affairs Briefing II
Stephen Aldstadt, president, Shooters Committee on Political Education (SCOPE, Inc.) NY
Thomas Bolioli, secretary, Commonwealth Second Amendment, Inc.
Don Moran, president, Illinois State Rifle Association
Tony Montanarella, president, California Rifle & Pistol Association
Philip Van Cleave, president, Virginia Citizens Defense League
10:30 a.m. Global Gun Control: Down but Not Out
Gary Burris, founder, Lone Star Shooting Association
Sheldon Clare, president, National Firearms Association of Canada
Julianne Versnel, publisher, Women & Guns, director of operations, Second Amendment Foundation
Maj. Gen. Allen Youngman, USA (ret.), executive director, Defense Small Arms Advisory Council
11:00 a.m. “Stand Your Ground” Laws under Fire
Eric Friday, Esq., counsel for Florida Carry
Jon Gutmacher, Esq., firearms instructor, attorney and author of Florida Firearms -- Law, Use & Ownership
11:20 a.m. Protecting the Right to Protect
Mark O’Mara, Esq., defense attorney for George Zimmerman
11:45 a.m. Q & A on Morning Panels
12:00 Noon Recess and break to prepare for box luncheon
12:15 p.m. Awards Luncheon Hosted by CCRKBA and SAF
Speakers:
U.S. Representative. Joe Barton (R-Texas 6th Dist.)
Ambassador Donald A. Mahley
Otis McDonald, lead plaintiff, McDonald v. City of Chicago
Awards presentations
1:30 p.m. Recess Break
1:45 p.m. Fine-Tuning Arms Rights in the Courts
David Jensen, Esq., SAF counsel in Kwong vs. Bloomberg, Moore v. Madigan and Piszczatoski v. Maenza
Donald Kilmer, Esq., counsel to CalGuns Foundation and SAF
David Kopel, Esq., research director, Independence Institute, co-author, Firearms Law & the Second Amendment
Dan Schmutter, Esq., legal counsel, Association of NJ Rifle & Pistol Clubs
2:15 p.m. The Second Amendment and the Legal Community
Bobbie K. Ross, Esq., Chair, Second Amendment Civil Rights Litigation Subcommittee, American Bar Association
2:30 p.m. The Realities of Self-Defense in Washington, DC
Emily Miller, senior editorial page editor, The Washington Times and author of Emily Gets a Gun
2:45 p.m. The “Fast and Furious” Fiasco
David Workman, senior editor, TheGunMag.com, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
3:00 p.m. Beverage service hosted by KeepAndBearArms.com
3:15 p.m. Those Dangerous Gun-Free Zones
John Lott, PhD, commentator for FoxNews.com and Wall Street Journal
3:30 p.m. Breaking the Establishment Media’s Stranglehold
Robert Farago, publisher, TheTruthAboutGuns.com
Bob Harvey, host, Bullseye Radio Talk Show
Fredy Riehl, editor and press coordinator, Ammoland.com
Mark Vanderberg, Gun Rights Radio Network
4:00 p.m. How Gun Rights Are Really at Risk if They Steal the Election First
John Fund, senior editor The American Spectator and columnist for National Review Online
4:15 p.m. The 2012 Elections: A Nation at the Crossroads
Alan Gottlieb, chairman, AmeriPAC, chairman, CCRKBA
Stephani Scruggs, president, Unite in Action and national chair, The 912 Project
Kirby Wilbur, chairman, Republican Party of Washington, SAF trustee
4:45 p.m. Growing State Gun Rights Networks
Gene Hoffman, chairman, CalGuns Foundation
Brent Carlton, president, Commonwealth Second Amendment Inc.
Sean Caranna, co-executive director, Florida Carry.org
5:15 p.m. Which Case Will Be the Next RKBA Case to Go to SCOTUS?
Alan Gura, SAF chief counsel and lead attorney, D.C. v. Heller, McDonald v. Chicago and Ezell v. Chicago
5:30 p.m. Q & A on afternoon panels
6:00 p.m. Announcements and Adjournment
6:30-9:30 p.m. Reception with Cash Bar—Regency Ballroom
Hosted by Second Amendment Foundation and National Shooting Sports Foundation
Entertainment by patriotic rock band Madison Rising
SUNDAY, September 30, 2012—Intercontinental Ballroom
8:30 a.m. Registration Table Opens
Beverage service hosted by TheGunMag.com
8:50 a.m. CALL TO ORDER
Moderator: Peggy Tartaro, editor of Women & Guns, board member CCRKBA
9:00 a.m. Growing the Gunowner Base in the Popular Culture War
Alan Korwin, author, After You Shoot, Bloomfield Press
Richard Mgrdechian, president, Madison Rising
Neil Schulman, screenwriter, journalist, filmmaker
Peggy Tartaro, editor, Women & Guns magazine, board member, CCRKBA
9:35 a.m. The Supreme Court: A Majority of One
David Kopel, Esq., adjunct professor of Advanced Constitutional Law, Sturm College of Law, University of Denver
Joseph P. Tartaro, executive editor, TheGunMag.com, president, SAF
10:00 a.m. The Many Faces of the Second Amendment
Rev. Kenneth V. Blanchard, pastor, firearms instructor, blogger
Doug Ritter, founder and chairman, KnifeRights.org
Erik Royce, founder, TruckerGuns Foundation
Linda Walker, board member, National Rifle Association
10:30 a.m. Is Patient Privacy Dead after Florida Court Ruling?
Timothy Wheeler, MD, director, Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, a project of the SAF
10:45 a.m. The Academic Front in the Gun Rights Battle
David Burnett, Students for Concealed Carry
Brian Patrick, associate professor of communications, University of Toledo
11:05 a.m. The Anti-Gunners’ Homeland Security Gambit
Charles Heller, executive director, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
Benjamin Smith, director of Strategic Affairs, Unite in Action, and contributor to Breitbart and Fox News
11:25 a.m. Countering Media Bias
Don Irvine, president, Accuracy in Media
Malia Zimmerman, editor, Hawaii Reporter, director, Hawaii Rifle Association
11:45 a.m. Q & A on Morning Session
12:00 Noon Report of the Resolutions Committee
Genie Jennings, W&G columnist
Stephen Aldstadt, president, SCOPE, Inc.
Linda Farmer, Georgia gun rights activist
Jeff Knox, managing director, Firearms Coalition, gun issue columnist
Don Moran, president, Illinois State Rifle Association
Herb Stupp, Vice Chairman CCRKBA
Miko Tempski, director, CCRKBA
Linda Walker, board member, National Rifle Association
Robert Wiest, SAF board of trustees, Tennessee activist
1:00 p.m. Closing remarks and adjournment
Alan M. Gottlieb and Joseph P. Tartaro
************************************************************************************************************
27th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference
September 28-30, 2012
Hyatt Regency Orlando, Florida, Airport
FRIDAY, September 28, 2012—Regency Ballroom
7:00 p.m. Registration Table Opens
7:00–9:00 p.m. Reception with Cash Bar
Co-hosted by Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) and Second Amendment
Foundation (SAF)
Music by the patriot rock band Madison Rising
SATURDAY, September 29, 2012—Intercontinental Ballroom
7:30 a.m. Registration Table Opens
Beverages hosted by Women & Guns Magazine
8:00 a.m. CALL TO ORDER
Moderator—Julianne Versnel, publisher, Journal on Firearms & Public Policy, director of operations, SAF
Color Guard—University of Central Florida, Air Force ROTC
National Anthem performed by Madison Rising
Invocation—Rev. Anthony Winfield, chaplain, Elmhurst Hospital Center, New York City
8:10 a.m. State of the Gun Rights Battle
Welcoming Remarks
The Road Traveled—Joseph P. Tartaro, executive editor, TheGunMag.com, president, SAF
The Road Ahead—Alan M. Gottlieb, chairman, CCRKBA and founder, SAF
8:30 a.m. The Most Dangerous Election of Our Lifetime
Maria Heil, board member and spokesperson, National Rifle Association
8:45 a.m. Federal Affairs Briefing
Mark Barnes, president, Mark Barnes and Associates
Jeff Knox, managing director, Firearms Coalition, gun issues columnist
Larry Pratt, executive director, Gun Owners of America
Joe Waldron, legislative director, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
9:15 a.m. State Legislative Affairs Briefing I
Hon. Sam Slom, Minority Leader Hawaii Senate, trustee of the Second Amendment Foundation
Sandra Barreras, Puerto Rico, Damas de la Segunda Enmienda
Jim Irvine, president, Buckeye Firearms Association
Richard Nascak, co-executive director, Florida Carry.org.
Patrick Shomo, president, Maryland Shall Issue Inc.
9:45 a.m. Beverage break hosted IAPCAR
10:00 a.m. State Legislative Affairs Briefing II
Stephen Aldstadt, president, Shooters Committee on Political Education (SCOPE, Inc.) NY
Thomas Bolioli, secretary, Commonwealth Second Amendment, Inc.
Don Moran, president, Illinois State Rifle Association
Tony Montanarella, president, California Rifle & Pistol Association
Philip Van Cleave, president, Virginia Citizens Defense League
10:30 a.m. Global Gun Control: Down but Not Out
Gary Burris, founder, Lone Star Shooting Association
Sheldon Clare, president, National Firearms Association of Canada
Julianne Versnel, publisher, Women & Guns, director of operations, Second Amendment Foundation
Maj. Gen. Allen Youngman, USA (ret.), executive director, Defense Small Arms Advisory Council
11:00 a.m. “Stand Your Ground” Laws under Fire
Eric Friday, Esq., counsel for Florida Carry
Jon Gutmacher, Esq., firearms instructor, attorney and author of Florida Firearms -- Law, Use & Ownership
11:20 a.m. Protecting the Right to Protect
Mark O’Mara, Esq., defense attorney for George Zimmerman
11:45 a.m. Q & A on Morning Panels
12:00 Noon Recess and break to prepare for box luncheon
12:15 p.m. Awards Luncheon Hosted by CCRKBA and SAF
Speakers:
U.S. Representative. Joe Barton (R-Texas 6th Dist.)
Ambassador Donald A. Mahley
Otis McDonald, lead plaintiff, McDonald v. City of Chicago
Awards presentations
1:30 p.m. Recess Break
1:45 p.m. Fine-Tuning Arms Rights in the Courts
David Jensen, Esq., SAF counsel in Kwong vs. Bloomberg, Moore v. Madigan and Piszczatoski v. Maenza
Donald Kilmer, Esq., counsel to CalGuns Foundation and SAF
David Kopel, Esq., research director, Independence Institute, co-author, Firearms Law & the Second Amendment
Dan Schmutter, Esq., legal counsel, Association of NJ Rifle & Pistol Clubs
2:15 p.m. The Second Amendment and the Legal Community
Bobbie K. Ross, Esq., Chair, Second Amendment Civil Rights Litigation Subcommittee, American Bar Association
2:30 p.m. The Realities of Self-Defense in Washington, DC
Emily Miller, senior editorial page editor, The Washington Times and author of Emily Gets a Gun
2:45 p.m. The “Fast and Furious” Fiasco
David Workman, senior editor, TheGunMag.com, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
3:00 p.m. Beverage service hosted by KeepAndBearArms.com
3:15 p.m. Those Dangerous Gun-Free Zones
John Lott, PhD, commentator for FoxNews.com and Wall Street Journal
3:30 p.m. Breaking the Establishment Media’s Stranglehold
Robert Farago, publisher, TheTruthAboutGuns.com
Bob Harvey, host, Bullseye Radio Talk Show
Fredy Riehl, editor and press coordinator, Ammoland.com
Mark Vanderberg, Gun Rights Radio Network
4:00 p.m. How Gun Rights Are Really at Risk if They Steal the Election First
John Fund, senior editor The American Spectator and columnist for National Review Online
4:15 p.m. The 2012 Elections: A Nation at the Crossroads
Alan Gottlieb, chairman, AmeriPAC, chairman, CCRKBA
Stephani Scruggs, president, Unite in Action and national chair, The 912 Project
Kirby Wilbur, chairman, Republican Party of Washington, SAF trustee
4:45 p.m. Growing State Gun Rights Networks
Gene Hoffman, chairman, CalGuns Foundation
Brent Carlton, president, Commonwealth Second Amendment Inc.
Sean Caranna, co-executive director, Florida Carry.org
5:15 p.m. Which Case Will Be the Next RKBA Case to Go to SCOTUS?
Alan Gura, SAF chief counsel and lead attorney, D.C. v. Heller, McDonald v. Chicago and Ezell v. Chicago
5:30 p.m. Q & A on afternoon panels
6:00 p.m. Announcements and Adjournment
6:30-9:30 p.m. Reception with Cash Bar—Regency Ballroom
Hosted by Second Amendment Foundation and National Shooting Sports Foundation
Entertainment by patriotic rock band Madison Rising
SUNDAY, September 30, 2012—Intercontinental Ballroom
8:30 a.m. Registration Table Opens
Beverage service hosted by TheGunMag.com
8:50 a.m. CALL TO ORDER
Moderator: Peggy Tartaro, editor of Women & Guns, board member CCRKBA
9:00 a.m. Growing the Gunowner Base in the Popular Culture War
Alan Korwin, author, After You Shoot, Bloomfield Press
Richard Mgrdechian, president, Madison Rising
Neil Schulman, screenwriter, journalist, filmmaker
Peggy Tartaro, editor, Women & Guns magazine, board member, CCRKBA
9:35 a.m. The Supreme Court: A Majority of One
David Kopel, Esq., adjunct professor of Advanced Constitutional Law, Sturm College of Law, University of Denver
Joseph P. Tartaro, executive editor, TheGunMag.com, president, SAF
10:00 a.m. The Many Faces of the Second Amendment
Rev. Kenneth V. Blanchard, pastor, firearms instructor, blogger
Doug Ritter, founder and chairman, KnifeRights.org
Erik Royce, founder, TruckerGuns Foundation
Linda Walker, board member, National Rifle Association
10:30 a.m. Is Patient Privacy Dead after Florida Court Ruling?
Timothy Wheeler, MD, director, Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, a project of the SAF
10:45 a.m. The Academic Front in the Gun Rights Battle
David Burnett, Students for Concealed Carry
Brian Patrick, associate professor of communications, University of Toledo
11:05 a.m. The Anti-Gunners’ Homeland Security Gambit
Charles Heller, executive director, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
Benjamin Smith, director of Strategic Affairs, Unite in Action, and contributor to Breitbart and Fox News
11:25 a.m. Countering Media Bias
Don Irvine, president, Accuracy in Media
Malia Zimmerman, editor, Hawaii Reporter, director, Hawaii Rifle Association
11:45 a.m. Q & A on Morning Session
12:00 Noon Report of the Resolutions Committee
Genie Jennings, W&G columnist
Stephen Aldstadt, president, SCOPE, Inc.
Linda Farmer, Georgia gun rights activist
Jeff Knox, managing director, Firearms Coalition, gun issue columnist
Don Moran, president, Illinois State Rifle Association
Herb Stupp, Vice Chairman CCRKBA
Miko Tempski, director, CCRKBA
Linda Walker, board member, National Rifle Association
Robert Wiest, SAF board of trustees, Tennessee activist
1:00 p.m. Closing remarks and adjournment
Alan M. Gottlieb and Joseph P. Tartaro
THINK... are your 'home defense' weapons really there for you?
To contact us Click HERE
.
"I have a question" was the text I got one evening a short time ago.
Princess knew I was in an important meeting, so the text would not have come lightly. As we had just finished the goodbyes, I hit speed dial on the way back to my vehicle. "What's up?"
"I don't want you to worry, but I have a question. Is the gun in the XXXXXXX the same as the one in the XXXXXXX?"
"Huh?" I answered intelligently...
"Does it work the same?"
At this point, with a bit of anxious questioning on my part, I was informed she had heard a noise outside and, intelligent girl that she is, immediately armed herself. Not to go outside and play commando, but just as insurance while she went about her business in the home. I assured her the pistol she had next to her worked exactly the same as the one she had learned to shoot with, and was in exactly the condition she knew the others to be.
In this case.... ready to fire by one simple action. Pulling the trigger.
The conversation revealed a flaw in our home defense planning, and an inexcusable one on my part. You see, Princess is not a shooter.... but she's a bright lady and has learned to handle pistols well enough to use them for their intended purpose... self defense. Not as CCW, but most certainly around the home. She's more than demonstrated the capacity and willingness to handle (and use) weapons in her own self defense. She's a lot like the main character in 'Quigley Down Under' in that way, just after he used a Colt pistol to dispatch the evil bad guy. "Said I had no use for a pistol... didn't say I don't know how to use one".
So, it falls upon me, as the house expert, to see to home defense weapons (as well as plumbing repairs, dealing with the woodstove, and most of the dishes. In return, I never have to touch laundry... and I see that as a fair bargain).
Her question pointed out a problem. While *I* had plans, procedures, and safety checks... I hadn't made her aware of them in enough detail. With her not being a shooter, I had covered a few basics, assured her ability and judgement where safety is concerned, and left it at that.
My mistake, and one rectified as quickly as I arrived home. The noise? Some critter in the night perhaps, but never a threat or bother. She was just being careful. You can be assured... I announced myself before I walked in (g).
What I hadn't explained well enough to her was this; In my 'home defense weapon' plans, every pistol available (without unlocking something complicated) is in the same condition. In our case, having no children in the home nor adult visitors of questionable competence, we have weapons hidden well but still readily available. Each is in the same condition... round chambered, no external safety engaged, and ready to fire on pulling the trigger.
Each pistol is either a Glock pattern with a 'Safe Action', or has a long double action pull. They are highly unlikely to go off by accident, and are stored in such a way that their triggers are protected.
The idea is simple. If we need them, they are there right now, ready right now, and are safe until then. Nothing to manipulate under pressure, nothing to remember before use, no intricate puzzles to solve. Two of the pistols have laser sighting devices, but this matters little. They don't need to be switched on to have the weapons function perfectly.
The fact that Princess is a component of the plan, and is not a shooting enthusiast, has a great deal to do with the thinking behind it. Any defensive weapon in the home needs to be simple enough that she can use them well under extreme pressure. She's not going to remember to sweep the safety on a 1911 pattern, nor cycle the action on a pistol with an empty chamber. Her judgement can be trusted, and she's more than intelligent enough to keep her finger off the trigger till she needs to fire.... but she's not going to practice with any frequency nor build up instinctive muscle memory (In that... she's not much different from most of the police officers in this nation, who's shooting experience revolves around occasional mandated qualifications).
Long guns are different, and not part of any plans involving Princess. For the record, they too are stored in a specific condition. Chamber empty, safety off, ready to fire upon working the action. Guns locked in the safe? Totally different situation, totally different condition.
Should our home have children visiting, or if by chance we ever had adults staying with us who were not proven safe shooters, all would be locked safely away.
It's an important topic, and one worth considering thoughtfully. Each situation is different, and the people who occupy the home will cause any plan to be modified as required. Where a single person living in a secure area might simply leave a weapon in a nightstand drawer, another person might need something more secure, such as a coded safe. Once that's decided, further thought must be given to weapon condition. Round in the chamber, or not? Safety on, or not? Magazine in the pistol, or not?
Each situation is different, and each persons ability and training must be taken into account. Also, the possibility of split second decisions being necessary under immense life threatening pressure.... and how different people can react to that.
Are there children in the home? Is a break in while the homeowner is away a reasonable threat? Is a home invasion of an occupied house a reasonable threat? All these and more must be thought of ahead of time, and decisions made on dealing with them.
Most of all... most importantly... careful plans must be made in advance of trouble... and as I learned, everyone concerned needs to know what they are.
These are not idle thoughts... especially in a world turning more dangerous by the minute. When things go bad in a hard way, there is seldom a lot of warning. Do your planning now, and work your plan.
Thank for stopping in and spending time with 'Ol Carteach. If you are of a mind to, don't hesitate to click on some of the ads posted here and there on the site. You don't need to buy a thing, or even read them, but each click does throw a few pennies into the ammo fund.... and these days that's a lot!
.
"I have a question" was the text I got one evening a short time ago.
Princess knew I was in an important meeting, so the text would not have come lightly. As we had just finished the goodbyes, I hit speed dial on the way back to my vehicle. "What's up?"
"I don't want you to worry, but I have a question. Is the gun in the XXXXXXX the same as the one in the XXXXXXX?"
"Huh?" I answered intelligently...
"Does it work the same?"
At this point, with a bit of anxious questioning on my part, I was informed she had heard a noise outside and, intelligent girl that she is, immediately armed herself. Not to go outside and play commando, but just as insurance while she went about her business in the home. I assured her the pistol she had next to her worked exactly the same as the one she had learned to shoot with, and was in exactly the condition she knew the others to be.
In this case.... ready to fire by one simple action. Pulling the trigger.
The conversation revealed a flaw in our home defense planning, and an inexcusable one on my part. You see, Princess is not a shooter.... but she's a bright lady and has learned to handle pistols well enough to use them for their intended purpose... self defense. Not as CCW, but most certainly around the home. She's more than demonstrated the capacity and willingness to handle (and use) weapons in her own self defense. She's a lot like the main character in 'Quigley Down Under' in that way, just after he used a Colt pistol to dispatch the evil bad guy. "Said I had no use for a pistol... didn't say I don't know how to use one".
So, it falls upon me, as the house expert, to see to home defense weapons (as well as plumbing repairs, dealing with the woodstove, and most of the dishes. In return, I never have to touch laundry... and I see that as a fair bargain).
Her question pointed out a problem. While *I* had plans, procedures, and safety checks... I hadn't made her aware of them in enough detail. With her not being a shooter, I had covered a few basics, assured her ability and judgement where safety is concerned, and left it at that.
My mistake, and one rectified as quickly as I arrived home. The noise? Some critter in the night perhaps, but never a threat or bother. She was just being careful. You can be assured... I announced myself before I walked in (g).
What I hadn't explained well enough to her was this; In my 'home defense weapon' plans, every pistol available (without unlocking something complicated) is in the same condition. In our case, having no children in the home nor adult visitors of questionable competence, we have weapons hidden well but still readily available. Each is in the same condition... round chambered, no external safety engaged, and ready to fire on pulling the trigger.
Each pistol is either a Glock pattern with a 'Safe Action', or has a long double action pull. They are highly unlikely to go off by accident, and are stored in such a way that their triggers are protected.
The idea is simple. If we need them, they are there right now, ready right now, and are safe until then. Nothing to manipulate under pressure, nothing to remember before use, no intricate puzzles to solve. Two of the pistols have laser sighting devices, but this matters little. They don't need to be switched on to have the weapons function perfectly.
The fact that Princess is a component of the plan, and is not a shooting enthusiast, has a great deal to do with the thinking behind it. Any defensive weapon in the home needs to be simple enough that she can use them well under extreme pressure. She's not going to remember to sweep the safety on a 1911 pattern, nor cycle the action on a pistol with an empty chamber. Her judgement can be trusted, and she's more than intelligent enough to keep her finger off the trigger till she needs to fire.... but she's not going to practice with any frequency nor build up instinctive muscle memory (In that... she's not much different from most of the police officers in this nation, who's shooting experience revolves around occasional mandated qualifications).
Long guns are different, and not part of any plans involving Princess. For the record, they too are stored in a specific condition. Chamber empty, safety off, ready to fire upon working the action. Guns locked in the safe? Totally different situation, totally different condition.
Should our home have children visiting, or if by chance we ever had adults staying with us who were not proven safe shooters, all would be locked safely away.
It's an important topic, and one worth considering thoughtfully. Each situation is different, and the people who occupy the home will cause any plan to be modified as required. Where a single person living in a secure area might simply leave a weapon in a nightstand drawer, another person might need something more secure, such as a coded safe. Once that's decided, further thought must be given to weapon condition. Round in the chamber, or not? Safety on, or not? Magazine in the pistol, or not?
Each situation is different, and each persons ability and training must be taken into account. Also, the possibility of split second decisions being necessary under immense life threatening pressure.... and how different people can react to that.
Are there children in the home? Is a break in while the homeowner is away a reasonable threat? Is a home invasion of an occupied house a reasonable threat? All these and more must be thought of ahead of time, and decisions made on dealing with them.
Most of all... most importantly... careful plans must be made in advance of trouble... and as I learned, everyone concerned needs to know what they are.
These are not idle thoughts... especially in a world turning more dangerous by the minute. When things go bad in a hard way, there is seldom a lot of warning. Do your planning now, and work your plan.
Thank for stopping in and spending time with 'Ol Carteach. If you are of a mind to, don't hesitate to click on some of the ads posted here and there on the site. You don't need to buy a thing, or even read them, but each click does throw a few pennies into the ammo fund.... and these days that's a lot!
.
1 Ocak 2013 Salı
New Year's Eve
To contact us Click HERE
I've often wondered why we make a big deal of New Year's. It's simply the calendar spinning over, and honestly there are other more auspicious days on the calendar that make more sense to re-start the year. Like the vernal or autumnal equinox, or the summer or winter solstice. Yet, today is December 31st and tomorrow will be January 1st, bringing with it the New Year. Yippee.
Milady and I were married on the summer solstice, more out of an accident of our schedules than anything else. At that time I was a cop on shift work and she was an RN on shift work. After we'd become engaged, we sat down with her work schedule and mine. The first convenient weekend that we were both off work was June 21st, and that happened to fall on a Saturday. We never considered the whole "solstice" thing at all. It was simply a convenient Saturday. A good time for a party. However, that accidental date makes it easy for me to remember my anniversary.
But, here we are at this non-auspicious New Year's Eve, and it is customary to celebrate that event by making a resolution. Here is mine.
I resolve to make no resolutions.
Tonite, Milady and I will slip off for a little entertainment. I'll put on slacks, a nice shirt, and a sport coat. Milady will, of course, dress better than I. She always does. We'll go to a place that has a champagne toast at the rolling of the clock, and we'll come home to sleep the sleep of the just.
Tomorrow, though, we'll host another couple, two dear friends with whom we've spend every New Years since I've known Milady. The menu is always the same. Baked chicken and pork chops over rice, blackeyed peas, cabbage, and cornbread. It is a traditional menu, reminding us to be frugal and humble during the New Year.
I don't have much problem with frugal, but humble is a problem.
Update: A commenter reminded me that the summer solstice is in June. HA! And that's my anniversary, I really should remember that. It's fixed above, and thanks for the reminder.
Milady and I were married on the summer solstice, more out of an accident of our schedules than anything else. At that time I was a cop on shift work and she was an RN on shift work. After we'd become engaged, we sat down with her work schedule and mine. The first convenient weekend that we were both off work was June 21st, and that happened to fall on a Saturday. We never considered the whole "solstice" thing at all. It was simply a convenient Saturday. A good time for a party. However, that accidental date makes it easy for me to remember my anniversary.
But, here we are at this non-auspicious New Year's Eve, and it is customary to celebrate that event by making a resolution. Here is mine.
I resolve to make no resolutions.
Tonite, Milady and I will slip off for a little entertainment. I'll put on slacks, a nice shirt, and a sport coat. Milady will, of course, dress better than I. She always does. We'll go to a place that has a champagne toast at the rolling of the clock, and we'll come home to sleep the sleep of the just.
Tomorrow, though, we'll host another couple, two dear friends with whom we've spend every New Years since I've known Milady. The menu is always the same. Baked chicken and pork chops over rice, blackeyed peas, cabbage, and cornbread. It is a traditional menu, reminding us to be frugal and humble during the New Year.
I don't have much problem with frugal, but humble is a problem.
Update: A commenter reminded me that the summer solstice is in June. HA! And that's my anniversary, I really should remember that. It's fixed above, and thanks for the reminder.
WOW! The GRPC is a real Who's Who of this civil rights movement!
To contact us Click HERE
(Dollars to donuts they find my chubby butt hiding in the back and kick me out.....)
************************************************************************************************************
27th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference
September 28-30, 2012
Hyatt Regency Orlando, Florida, Airport
FRIDAY, September 28, 2012—Regency Ballroom
7:00 p.m. Registration Table Opens
7:00–9:00 p.m. Reception with Cash Bar
Co-hosted by Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) and Second Amendment
Foundation (SAF)
Music by the patriot rock band Madison Rising
SATURDAY, September 29, 2012—Intercontinental Ballroom
7:30 a.m. Registration Table Opens
Beverages hosted by Women & Guns Magazine
8:00 a.m. CALL TO ORDER
Moderator—Julianne Versnel, publisher, Journal on Firearms & Public Policy, director of operations, SAF
Color Guard—University of Central Florida, Air Force ROTC
National Anthem performed by Madison Rising
Invocation—Rev. Anthony Winfield, chaplain, Elmhurst Hospital Center, New York City
8:10 a.m. State of the Gun Rights Battle
Welcoming Remarks
The Road Traveled—Joseph P. Tartaro, executive editor, TheGunMag.com, president, SAF
The Road Ahead—Alan M. Gottlieb, chairman, CCRKBA and founder, SAF
8:30 a.m. The Most Dangerous Election of Our Lifetime
Maria Heil, board member and spokesperson, National Rifle Association
8:45 a.m. Federal Affairs Briefing
Mark Barnes, president, Mark Barnes and Associates
Jeff Knox, managing director, Firearms Coalition, gun issues columnist
Larry Pratt, executive director, Gun Owners of America
Joe Waldron, legislative director, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
9:15 a.m. State Legislative Affairs Briefing I
Hon. Sam Slom, Minority Leader Hawaii Senate, trustee of the Second Amendment Foundation
Sandra Barreras, Puerto Rico, Damas de la Segunda Enmienda
Jim Irvine, president, Buckeye Firearms Association
Richard Nascak, co-executive director, Florida Carry.org.
Patrick Shomo, president, Maryland Shall Issue Inc.
9:45 a.m. Beverage break hosted IAPCAR
10:00 a.m. State Legislative Affairs Briefing II
Stephen Aldstadt, president, Shooters Committee on Political Education (SCOPE, Inc.) NY
Thomas Bolioli, secretary, Commonwealth Second Amendment, Inc.
Don Moran, president, Illinois State Rifle Association
Tony Montanarella, president, California Rifle & Pistol Association
Philip Van Cleave, president, Virginia Citizens Defense League
10:30 a.m. Global Gun Control: Down but Not Out
Gary Burris, founder, Lone Star Shooting Association
Sheldon Clare, president, National Firearms Association of Canada
Julianne Versnel, publisher, Women & Guns, director of operations, Second Amendment Foundation
Maj. Gen. Allen Youngman, USA (ret.), executive director, Defense Small Arms Advisory Council
11:00 a.m. “Stand Your Ground” Laws under Fire
Eric Friday, Esq., counsel for Florida Carry
Jon Gutmacher, Esq., firearms instructor, attorney and author of Florida Firearms -- Law, Use & Ownership
11:20 a.m. Protecting the Right to Protect
Mark O’Mara, Esq., defense attorney for George Zimmerman
11:45 a.m. Q & A on Morning Panels
12:00 Noon Recess and break to prepare for box luncheon
12:15 p.m. Awards Luncheon Hosted by CCRKBA and SAF
Speakers:
U.S. Representative. Joe Barton (R-Texas 6th Dist.)
Ambassador Donald A. Mahley
Otis McDonald, lead plaintiff, McDonald v. City of Chicago
Awards presentations
1:30 p.m. Recess Break
1:45 p.m. Fine-Tuning Arms Rights in the Courts
David Jensen, Esq., SAF counsel in Kwong vs. Bloomberg, Moore v. Madigan and Piszczatoski v. Maenza
Donald Kilmer, Esq., counsel to CalGuns Foundation and SAF
David Kopel, Esq., research director, Independence Institute, co-author, Firearms Law & the Second Amendment
Dan Schmutter, Esq., legal counsel, Association of NJ Rifle & Pistol Clubs
2:15 p.m. The Second Amendment and the Legal Community
Bobbie K. Ross, Esq., Chair, Second Amendment Civil Rights Litigation Subcommittee, American Bar Association
2:30 p.m. The Realities of Self-Defense in Washington, DC
Emily Miller, senior editorial page editor, The Washington Times and author of Emily Gets a Gun
2:45 p.m. The “Fast and Furious” Fiasco
David Workman, senior editor, TheGunMag.com, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
3:00 p.m. Beverage service hosted by KeepAndBearArms.com
3:15 p.m. Those Dangerous Gun-Free Zones
John Lott, PhD, commentator for FoxNews.com and Wall Street Journal
3:30 p.m. Breaking the Establishment Media’s Stranglehold
Robert Farago, publisher, TheTruthAboutGuns.com
Bob Harvey, host, Bullseye Radio Talk Show
Fredy Riehl, editor and press coordinator, Ammoland.com
Mark Vanderberg, Gun Rights Radio Network
4:00 p.m. How Gun Rights Are Really at Risk if They Steal the Election First
John Fund, senior editor The American Spectator and columnist for National Review Online
4:15 p.m. The 2012 Elections: A Nation at the Crossroads
Alan Gottlieb, chairman, AmeriPAC, chairman, CCRKBA
Stephani Scruggs, president, Unite in Action and national chair, The 912 Project
Kirby Wilbur, chairman, Republican Party of Washington, SAF trustee
4:45 p.m. Growing State Gun Rights Networks
Gene Hoffman, chairman, CalGuns Foundation
Brent Carlton, president, Commonwealth Second Amendment Inc.
Sean Caranna, co-executive director, Florida Carry.org
5:15 p.m. Which Case Will Be the Next RKBA Case to Go to SCOTUS?
Alan Gura, SAF chief counsel and lead attorney, D.C. v. Heller, McDonald v. Chicago and Ezell v. Chicago
5:30 p.m. Q & A on afternoon panels
6:00 p.m. Announcements and Adjournment
6:30-9:30 p.m. Reception with Cash Bar—Regency Ballroom
Hosted by Second Amendment Foundation and National Shooting Sports Foundation
Entertainment by patriotic rock band Madison Rising
SUNDAY, September 30, 2012—Intercontinental Ballroom
8:30 a.m. Registration Table Opens
Beverage service hosted by TheGunMag.com
8:50 a.m. CALL TO ORDER
Moderator: Peggy Tartaro, editor of Women & Guns, board member CCRKBA
9:00 a.m. Growing the Gunowner Base in the Popular Culture War
Alan Korwin, author, After You Shoot, Bloomfield Press
Richard Mgrdechian, president, Madison Rising
Neil Schulman, screenwriter, journalist, filmmaker
Peggy Tartaro, editor, Women & Guns magazine, board member, CCRKBA
9:35 a.m. The Supreme Court: A Majority of One
David Kopel, Esq., adjunct professor of Advanced Constitutional Law, Sturm College of Law, University of Denver
Joseph P. Tartaro, executive editor, TheGunMag.com, president, SAF
10:00 a.m. The Many Faces of the Second Amendment
Rev. Kenneth V. Blanchard, pastor, firearms instructor, blogger
Doug Ritter, founder and chairman, KnifeRights.org
Erik Royce, founder, TruckerGuns Foundation
Linda Walker, board member, National Rifle Association
10:30 a.m. Is Patient Privacy Dead after Florida Court Ruling?
Timothy Wheeler, MD, director, Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, a project of the SAF
10:45 a.m. The Academic Front in the Gun Rights Battle
David Burnett, Students for Concealed Carry
Brian Patrick, associate professor of communications, University of Toledo
11:05 a.m. The Anti-Gunners’ Homeland Security Gambit
Charles Heller, executive director, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
Benjamin Smith, director of Strategic Affairs, Unite in Action, and contributor to Breitbart and Fox News
11:25 a.m. Countering Media Bias
Don Irvine, president, Accuracy in Media
Malia Zimmerman, editor, Hawaii Reporter, director, Hawaii Rifle Association
11:45 a.m. Q & A on Morning Session
12:00 Noon Report of the Resolutions Committee
Genie Jennings, W&G columnist
Stephen Aldstadt, president, SCOPE, Inc.
Linda Farmer, Georgia gun rights activist
Jeff Knox, managing director, Firearms Coalition, gun issue columnist
Don Moran, president, Illinois State Rifle Association
Herb Stupp, Vice Chairman CCRKBA
Miko Tempski, director, CCRKBA
Linda Walker, board member, National Rifle Association
Robert Wiest, SAF board of trustees, Tennessee activist
1:00 p.m. Closing remarks and adjournment
Alan M. Gottlieb and Joseph P. Tartaro
************************************************************************************************************
27th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference
September 28-30, 2012
Hyatt Regency Orlando, Florida, Airport
FRIDAY, September 28, 2012—Regency Ballroom
7:00 p.m. Registration Table Opens
7:00–9:00 p.m. Reception with Cash Bar
Co-hosted by Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) and Second Amendment
Foundation (SAF)
Music by the patriot rock band Madison Rising
SATURDAY, September 29, 2012—Intercontinental Ballroom
7:30 a.m. Registration Table Opens
Beverages hosted by Women & Guns Magazine
8:00 a.m. CALL TO ORDER
Moderator—Julianne Versnel, publisher, Journal on Firearms & Public Policy, director of operations, SAF
Color Guard—University of Central Florida, Air Force ROTC
National Anthem performed by Madison Rising
Invocation—Rev. Anthony Winfield, chaplain, Elmhurst Hospital Center, New York City
8:10 a.m. State of the Gun Rights Battle
Welcoming Remarks
The Road Traveled—Joseph P. Tartaro, executive editor, TheGunMag.com, president, SAF
The Road Ahead—Alan M. Gottlieb, chairman, CCRKBA and founder, SAF
8:30 a.m. The Most Dangerous Election of Our Lifetime
Maria Heil, board member and spokesperson, National Rifle Association
8:45 a.m. Federal Affairs Briefing
Mark Barnes, president, Mark Barnes and Associates
Jeff Knox, managing director, Firearms Coalition, gun issues columnist
Larry Pratt, executive director, Gun Owners of America
Joe Waldron, legislative director, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
9:15 a.m. State Legislative Affairs Briefing I
Hon. Sam Slom, Minority Leader Hawaii Senate, trustee of the Second Amendment Foundation
Sandra Barreras, Puerto Rico, Damas de la Segunda Enmienda
Jim Irvine, president, Buckeye Firearms Association
Richard Nascak, co-executive director, Florida Carry.org.
Patrick Shomo, president, Maryland Shall Issue Inc.
9:45 a.m. Beverage break hosted IAPCAR
10:00 a.m. State Legislative Affairs Briefing II
Stephen Aldstadt, president, Shooters Committee on Political Education (SCOPE, Inc.) NY
Thomas Bolioli, secretary, Commonwealth Second Amendment, Inc.
Don Moran, president, Illinois State Rifle Association
Tony Montanarella, president, California Rifle & Pistol Association
Philip Van Cleave, president, Virginia Citizens Defense League
10:30 a.m. Global Gun Control: Down but Not Out
Gary Burris, founder, Lone Star Shooting Association
Sheldon Clare, president, National Firearms Association of Canada
Julianne Versnel, publisher, Women & Guns, director of operations, Second Amendment Foundation
Maj. Gen. Allen Youngman, USA (ret.), executive director, Defense Small Arms Advisory Council
11:00 a.m. “Stand Your Ground” Laws under Fire
Eric Friday, Esq., counsel for Florida Carry
Jon Gutmacher, Esq., firearms instructor, attorney and author of Florida Firearms -- Law, Use & Ownership
11:20 a.m. Protecting the Right to Protect
Mark O’Mara, Esq., defense attorney for George Zimmerman
11:45 a.m. Q & A on Morning Panels
12:00 Noon Recess and break to prepare for box luncheon
12:15 p.m. Awards Luncheon Hosted by CCRKBA and SAF
Speakers:
U.S. Representative. Joe Barton (R-Texas 6th Dist.)
Ambassador Donald A. Mahley
Otis McDonald, lead plaintiff, McDonald v. City of Chicago
Awards presentations
1:30 p.m. Recess Break
1:45 p.m. Fine-Tuning Arms Rights in the Courts
David Jensen, Esq., SAF counsel in Kwong vs. Bloomberg, Moore v. Madigan and Piszczatoski v. Maenza
Donald Kilmer, Esq., counsel to CalGuns Foundation and SAF
David Kopel, Esq., research director, Independence Institute, co-author, Firearms Law & the Second Amendment
Dan Schmutter, Esq., legal counsel, Association of NJ Rifle & Pistol Clubs
2:15 p.m. The Second Amendment and the Legal Community
Bobbie K. Ross, Esq., Chair, Second Amendment Civil Rights Litigation Subcommittee, American Bar Association
2:30 p.m. The Realities of Self-Defense in Washington, DC
Emily Miller, senior editorial page editor, The Washington Times and author of Emily Gets a Gun
2:45 p.m. The “Fast and Furious” Fiasco
David Workman, senior editor, TheGunMag.com, Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
3:00 p.m. Beverage service hosted by KeepAndBearArms.com
3:15 p.m. Those Dangerous Gun-Free Zones
John Lott, PhD, commentator for FoxNews.com and Wall Street Journal
3:30 p.m. Breaking the Establishment Media’s Stranglehold
Robert Farago, publisher, TheTruthAboutGuns.com
Bob Harvey, host, Bullseye Radio Talk Show
Fredy Riehl, editor and press coordinator, Ammoland.com
Mark Vanderberg, Gun Rights Radio Network
4:00 p.m. How Gun Rights Are Really at Risk if They Steal the Election First
John Fund, senior editor The American Spectator and columnist for National Review Online
4:15 p.m. The 2012 Elections: A Nation at the Crossroads
Alan Gottlieb, chairman, AmeriPAC, chairman, CCRKBA
Stephani Scruggs, president, Unite in Action and national chair, The 912 Project
Kirby Wilbur, chairman, Republican Party of Washington, SAF trustee
4:45 p.m. Growing State Gun Rights Networks
Gene Hoffman, chairman, CalGuns Foundation
Brent Carlton, president, Commonwealth Second Amendment Inc.
Sean Caranna, co-executive director, Florida Carry.org
5:15 p.m. Which Case Will Be the Next RKBA Case to Go to SCOTUS?
Alan Gura, SAF chief counsel and lead attorney, D.C. v. Heller, McDonald v. Chicago and Ezell v. Chicago
5:30 p.m. Q & A on afternoon panels
6:00 p.m. Announcements and Adjournment
6:30-9:30 p.m. Reception with Cash Bar—Regency Ballroom
Hosted by Second Amendment Foundation and National Shooting Sports Foundation
Entertainment by patriotic rock band Madison Rising
SUNDAY, September 30, 2012—Intercontinental Ballroom
8:30 a.m. Registration Table Opens
Beverage service hosted by TheGunMag.com
8:50 a.m. CALL TO ORDER
Moderator: Peggy Tartaro, editor of Women & Guns, board member CCRKBA
9:00 a.m. Growing the Gunowner Base in the Popular Culture War
Alan Korwin, author, After You Shoot, Bloomfield Press
Richard Mgrdechian, president, Madison Rising
Neil Schulman, screenwriter, journalist, filmmaker
Peggy Tartaro, editor, Women & Guns magazine, board member, CCRKBA
9:35 a.m. The Supreme Court: A Majority of One
David Kopel, Esq., adjunct professor of Advanced Constitutional Law, Sturm College of Law, University of Denver
Joseph P. Tartaro, executive editor, TheGunMag.com, president, SAF
10:00 a.m. The Many Faces of the Second Amendment
Rev. Kenneth V. Blanchard, pastor, firearms instructor, blogger
Doug Ritter, founder and chairman, KnifeRights.org
Erik Royce, founder, TruckerGuns Foundation
Linda Walker, board member, National Rifle Association
10:30 a.m. Is Patient Privacy Dead after Florida Court Ruling?
Timothy Wheeler, MD, director, Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, a project of the SAF
10:45 a.m. The Academic Front in the Gun Rights Battle
David Burnett, Students for Concealed Carry
Brian Patrick, associate professor of communications, University of Toledo
11:05 a.m. The Anti-Gunners’ Homeland Security Gambit
Charles Heller, executive director, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
Benjamin Smith, director of Strategic Affairs, Unite in Action, and contributor to Breitbart and Fox News
11:25 a.m. Countering Media Bias
Don Irvine, president, Accuracy in Media
Malia Zimmerman, editor, Hawaii Reporter, director, Hawaii Rifle Association
11:45 a.m. Q & A on Morning Session
12:00 Noon Report of the Resolutions Committee
Genie Jennings, W&G columnist
Stephen Aldstadt, president, SCOPE, Inc.
Linda Farmer, Georgia gun rights activist
Jeff Knox, managing director, Firearms Coalition, gun issue columnist
Don Moran, president, Illinois State Rifle Association
Herb Stupp, Vice Chairman CCRKBA
Miko Tempski, director, CCRKBA
Linda Walker, board member, National Rifle Association
Robert Wiest, SAF board of trustees, Tennessee activist
1:00 p.m. Closing remarks and adjournment
Alan M. Gottlieb and Joseph P. Tartaro
THINK... are your 'home defense' weapons really there for you?
To contact us Click HERE
.
"I have a question" was the text I got one evening a short time ago.
Princess knew I was in an important meeting, so the text would not have come lightly. As we had just finished the goodbyes, I hit speed dial on the way back to my vehicle. "What's up?"
"I don't want you to worry, but I have a question. Is the gun in the XXXXXXX the same as the one in the XXXXXXX?"
"Huh?" I answered intelligently...
"Does it work the same?"
At this point, with a bit of anxious questioning on my part, I was informed she had heard a noise outside and, intelligent girl that she is, immediately armed herself. Not to go outside and play commando, but just as insurance while she went about her business in the home. I assured her the pistol she had next to her worked exactly the same as the one she had learned to shoot with, and was in exactly the condition she knew the others to be.
In this case.... ready to fire by one simple action. Pulling the trigger.
The conversation revealed a flaw in our home defense planning, and an inexcusable one on my part. You see, Princess is not a shooter.... but she's a bright lady and has learned to handle pistols well enough to use them for their intended purpose... self defense. Not as CCW, but most certainly around the home. She's more than demonstrated the capacity and willingness to handle (and use) weapons in her own self defense. She's a lot like the main character in 'Quigley Down Under' in that way, just after he used a Colt pistol to dispatch the evil bad guy. "Said I had no use for a pistol... didn't say I don't know how to use one".
So, it falls upon me, as the house expert, to see to home defense weapons (as well as plumbing repairs, dealing with the woodstove, and most of the dishes. In return, I never have to touch laundry... and I see that as a fair bargain).
Her question pointed out a problem. While *I* had plans, procedures, and safety checks... I hadn't made her aware of them in enough detail. With her not being a shooter, I had covered a few basics, assured her ability and judgement where safety is concerned, and left it at that.
My mistake, and one rectified as quickly as I arrived home. The noise? Some critter in the night perhaps, but never a threat or bother. She was just being careful. You can be assured... I announced myself before I walked in (g).
What I hadn't explained well enough to her was this; In my 'home defense weapon' plans, every pistol available (without unlocking something complicated) is in the same condition. In our case, having no children in the home nor adult visitors of questionable competence, we have weapons hidden well but still readily available. Each is in the same condition... round chambered, no external safety engaged, and ready to fire on pulling the trigger.
Each pistol is either a Glock pattern with a 'Safe Action', or has a long double action pull. They are highly unlikely to go off by accident, and are stored in such a way that their triggers are protected.
The idea is simple. If we need them, they are there right now, ready right now, and are safe until then. Nothing to manipulate under pressure, nothing to remember before use, no intricate puzzles to solve. Two of the pistols have laser sighting devices, but this matters little. They don't need to be switched on to have the weapons function perfectly.
The fact that Princess is a component of the plan, and is not a shooting enthusiast, has a great deal to do with the thinking behind it. Any defensive weapon in the home needs to be simple enough that she can use them well under extreme pressure. She's not going to remember to sweep the safety on a 1911 pattern, nor cycle the action on a pistol with an empty chamber. Her judgement can be trusted, and she's more than intelligent enough to keep her finger off the trigger till she needs to fire.... but she's not going to practice with any frequency nor build up instinctive muscle memory (In that... she's not much different from most of the police officers in this nation, who's shooting experience revolves around occasional mandated qualifications).
Long guns are different, and not part of any plans involving Princess. For the record, they too are stored in a specific condition. Chamber empty, safety off, ready to fire upon working the action. Guns locked in the safe? Totally different situation, totally different condition.
Should our home have children visiting, or if by chance we ever had adults staying with us who were not proven safe shooters, all would be locked safely away.
It's an important topic, and one worth considering thoughtfully. Each situation is different, and the people who occupy the home will cause any plan to be modified as required. Where a single person living in a secure area might simply leave a weapon in a nightstand drawer, another person might need something more secure, such as a coded safe. Once that's decided, further thought must be given to weapon condition. Round in the chamber, or not? Safety on, or not? Magazine in the pistol, or not?
Each situation is different, and each persons ability and training must be taken into account. Also, the possibility of split second decisions being necessary under immense life threatening pressure.... and how different people can react to that.
Are there children in the home? Is a break in while the homeowner is away a reasonable threat? Is a home invasion of an occupied house a reasonable threat? All these and more must be thought of ahead of time, and decisions made on dealing with them.
Most of all... most importantly... careful plans must be made in advance of trouble... and as I learned, everyone concerned needs to know what they are.
These are not idle thoughts... especially in a world turning more dangerous by the minute. When things go bad in a hard way, there is seldom a lot of warning. Do your planning now, and work your plan.
Thank for stopping in and spending time with 'Ol Carteach. If you are of a mind to, don't hesitate to click on some of the ads posted here and there on the site. You don't need to buy a thing, or even read them, but each click does throw a few pennies into the ammo fund.... and these days that's a lot!
.
"I have a question" was the text I got one evening a short time ago.
Princess knew I was in an important meeting, so the text would not have come lightly. As we had just finished the goodbyes, I hit speed dial on the way back to my vehicle. "What's up?"
"I don't want you to worry, but I have a question. Is the gun in the XXXXXXX the same as the one in the XXXXXXX?"
"Huh?" I answered intelligently...
"Does it work the same?"
At this point, with a bit of anxious questioning on my part, I was informed she had heard a noise outside and, intelligent girl that she is, immediately armed herself. Not to go outside and play commando, but just as insurance while she went about her business in the home. I assured her the pistol she had next to her worked exactly the same as the one she had learned to shoot with, and was in exactly the condition she knew the others to be.
In this case.... ready to fire by one simple action. Pulling the trigger.
The conversation revealed a flaw in our home defense planning, and an inexcusable one on my part. You see, Princess is not a shooter.... but she's a bright lady and has learned to handle pistols well enough to use them for their intended purpose... self defense. Not as CCW, but most certainly around the home. She's more than demonstrated the capacity and willingness to handle (and use) weapons in her own self defense. She's a lot like the main character in 'Quigley Down Under' in that way, just after he used a Colt pistol to dispatch the evil bad guy. "Said I had no use for a pistol... didn't say I don't know how to use one".
So, it falls upon me, as the house expert, to see to home defense weapons (as well as plumbing repairs, dealing with the woodstove, and most of the dishes. In return, I never have to touch laundry... and I see that as a fair bargain).
Her question pointed out a problem. While *I* had plans, procedures, and safety checks... I hadn't made her aware of them in enough detail. With her not being a shooter, I had covered a few basics, assured her ability and judgement where safety is concerned, and left it at that.
My mistake, and one rectified as quickly as I arrived home. The noise? Some critter in the night perhaps, but never a threat or bother. She was just being careful. You can be assured... I announced myself before I walked in (g).
What I hadn't explained well enough to her was this; In my 'home defense weapon' plans, every pistol available (without unlocking something complicated) is in the same condition. In our case, having no children in the home nor adult visitors of questionable competence, we have weapons hidden well but still readily available. Each is in the same condition... round chambered, no external safety engaged, and ready to fire on pulling the trigger.
Each pistol is either a Glock pattern with a 'Safe Action', or has a long double action pull. They are highly unlikely to go off by accident, and are stored in such a way that their triggers are protected.
The idea is simple. If we need them, they are there right now, ready right now, and are safe until then. Nothing to manipulate under pressure, nothing to remember before use, no intricate puzzles to solve. Two of the pistols have laser sighting devices, but this matters little. They don't need to be switched on to have the weapons function perfectly.
The fact that Princess is a component of the plan, and is not a shooting enthusiast, has a great deal to do with the thinking behind it. Any defensive weapon in the home needs to be simple enough that she can use them well under extreme pressure. She's not going to remember to sweep the safety on a 1911 pattern, nor cycle the action on a pistol with an empty chamber. Her judgement can be trusted, and she's more than intelligent enough to keep her finger off the trigger till she needs to fire.... but she's not going to practice with any frequency nor build up instinctive muscle memory (In that... she's not much different from most of the police officers in this nation, who's shooting experience revolves around occasional mandated qualifications).
Long guns are different, and not part of any plans involving Princess. For the record, they too are stored in a specific condition. Chamber empty, safety off, ready to fire upon working the action. Guns locked in the safe? Totally different situation, totally different condition.
Should our home have children visiting, or if by chance we ever had adults staying with us who were not proven safe shooters, all would be locked safely away.
It's an important topic, and one worth considering thoughtfully. Each situation is different, and the people who occupy the home will cause any plan to be modified as required. Where a single person living in a secure area might simply leave a weapon in a nightstand drawer, another person might need something more secure, such as a coded safe. Once that's decided, further thought must be given to weapon condition. Round in the chamber, or not? Safety on, or not? Magazine in the pistol, or not?
Each situation is different, and each persons ability and training must be taken into account. Also, the possibility of split second decisions being necessary under immense life threatening pressure.... and how different people can react to that.
Are there children in the home? Is a break in while the homeowner is away a reasonable threat? Is a home invasion of an occupied house a reasonable threat? All these and more must be thought of ahead of time, and decisions made on dealing with them.
Most of all... most importantly... careful plans must be made in advance of trouble... and as I learned, everyone concerned needs to know what they are.
These are not idle thoughts... especially in a world turning more dangerous by the minute. When things go bad in a hard way, there is seldom a lot of warning. Do your planning now, and work your plan.
Thank for stopping in and spending time with 'Ol Carteach. If you are of a mind to, don't hesitate to click on some of the ads posted here and there on the site. You don't need to buy a thing, or even read them, but each click does throw a few pennies into the ammo fund.... and these days that's a lot!
.
after holiday update
To contact us Click HERE
Well, panic buying was and is in full swing, but deals are still out there to be had. I cam into 5 BHP NYS legal mags for 15 bucks a pop, and had to snap them up. Also got an 80% receiver for a heck of a price, though I'm not sure when / if that will ever happen. If it does, I'll be sure to document the process very closely. It might be a great platform for a 300 AAC blackout build. Who knows.
HiPoint 995 9mm Carbine
To contact us Click HERE
Ah farmers. I was raised adjacent to a dairy farm, and am very familiar with what we in CNY call 'a barn gun'. Barn guns are (in my experience) universally in horrible condition, and live rough lives of neglect and hard service. Our dear neighbor, whom we affectionately call The Farmer, brought me their current barn gun, and it is far and away in the best condition of any such gun I have ever seen.
This particular barn gun is his son's HiPoint 995 TS, a handy little 9mm carbine that works quite well. The gun pointed naturally, and had a tough but serviceable trigger.
My task was to take this little 995 and see if I could find some adequate replacements for the variety of missing screws, and see if I could tackle the seemingly growing rust problem. Missing were the rear sight screw, both front sight screws (we were able to find the front sight) and a few bits that the picatinny rail mounts to inside the dust cover.
The rust was superficial, but fairly prolific. I contemplated how best to tackle the refinish, and thought about hitting the receiver cover with a rattle can of high temperature BBQ paint, but instead thought I would try to preserve some of the existing finish, and set out to cold blue the cover to match.
This way, I wouldn't have to strip off the remaining blue, and could preserve at least some of the gun's original look.
The bluing on the 995 was quite thin, and despite the gun's robust design, the 'finishing work' left much to be desired. I will say the stock is surprisingly ergonomic though, and I see why people grow so fond of these little shooters.
My spare parts bin netted me a variety of functional screws, the thread pitch of which I have no idea. The carbine really isn't bad to disassemble, though there are a few versions of it floating around- and the pins on the receiver plate differ between vintages. I believe this is the newer style cover- but frankly I am not certain.
To prep the surface for cold blue, I sprayed it down with WD-40, and went at it fairly aggressively with 0000 steel wool. Once all the rust was removed, I polished with a paper towel and rinsed well. I then polished again with a paper towel, rinsed one more time, and dried the cover.
I applied a liberal amount of Birchwood Casey Cold blue, and polished between coats with steel wool, rinsing each time. I did 4 coats with 1 minute of bluing each, and got a fairly even coating when everything was all said and done. Frankly I was pretty pleased with how the gun came out.
I contemplated removing the front and rear sight and throwing on some spare magpul flip-up knock-offs I have, but I know they would survive in the harsh farming climate for all of a week before being re-appropriated as a hammer, wrench, or impromptu nail backer.
Instead, I did my best to replace all the missing screws, and lock-tite them in place to hopefully extend their life span from several months to several years. I urged The Farmer to order some spare magazines, as I am
willing to bet a dollar that too will go missing before the spring thaw.
Overall these little guns are very easy to work on, and very fun to shoot. Adjustments with the repaired sights showed respectable accuracy at 25 yards, and is both minute of coyote and minute of pigeon easily to 50 or so yards. Possible further, but we didn't have a chance to shoot it at distance.
I was impressed at how good the sight picture was with the stock sights, and actually liked having the charging handle on the left. As mentioned, the trigger was rough- but really was usable in a carbine. If it were a pistol, it would definitely need work- however you can be a little more forgiving in a rifle format.
Realistically, I'd give 2 c-notes for one of these guns in good condition. Gunbroker has a number of these for sale at impressively high price gouging prices, and Buds is sold out - but frankly I just don't see this as anything more than a 200 dollar gun at best.
If one were looking for a PCC for more money than that, I would take a hard look at MechTech carbines. If one had more money to spend than that, then I would just build a PCC rifle on an AR or similar platform; or maybe try to track down an older ruger or marlin carbine.
All in all, a good better gun that seems reliable and is fun to shoot, but not one I would really go out of my way to track down or own. The finish is just too rough, with too marginal a trigger pull. That being said, the 45acp HiPoint would definitely catch my attention more than the 9mm version. We can argue PCC ballistics, and the 9mm does benefit greatly from the 16in tube (more so than the 45) but I guess if the difference is between a 9 shot or 10 shot gun, I would just assume have a larger round and 1 less on tap than deal with a smaller (albeit flatter shooting) round.
This particular barn gun is his son's HiPoint 995 TS, a handy little 9mm carbine that works quite well. The gun pointed naturally, and had a tough but serviceable trigger.
My task was to take this little 995 and see if I could find some adequate replacements for the variety of missing screws, and see if I could tackle the seemingly growing rust problem. Missing were the rear sight screw, both front sight screws (we were able to find the front sight) and a few bits that the picatinny rail mounts to inside the dust cover.
 |
| before cold blue |
This way, I wouldn't have to strip off the remaining blue, and could preserve at least some of the gun's original look.
The bluing on the 995 was quite thin, and despite the gun's robust design, the 'finishing work' left much to be desired. I will say the stock is surprisingly ergonomic though, and I see why people grow so fond of these little shooters.
My spare parts bin netted me a variety of functional screws, the thread pitch of which I have no idea. The carbine really isn't bad to disassemble, though there are a few versions of it floating around- and the pins on the receiver plate differ between vintages. I believe this is the newer style cover- but frankly I am not certain.
To prep the surface for cold blue, I sprayed it down with WD-40, and went at it fairly aggressively with 0000 steel wool. Once all the rust was removed, I polished with a paper towel and rinsed well. I then polished again with a paper towel, rinsed one more time, and dried the cover.
 |
| after cold blue was applied |
I contemplated removing the front and rear sight and throwing on some spare magpul flip-up knock-offs I have, but I know they would survive in the harsh farming climate for all of a week before being re-appropriated as a hammer, wrench, or impromptu nail backer.
Instead, I did my best to replace all the missing screws, and lock-tite them in place to hopefully extend their life span from several months to several years. I urged The Farmer to order some spare magazines, as I am
 |
| after cold blue was applied |
Overall these little guns are very easy to work on, and very fun to shoot. Adjustments with the repaired sights showed respectable accuracy at 25 yards, and is both minute of coyote and minute of pigeon easily to 50 or so yards. Possible further, but we didn't have a chance to shoot it at distance.
I was impressed at how good the sight picture was with the stock sights, and actually liked having the charging handle on the left. As mentioned, the trigger was rough- but really was usable in a carbine. If it were a pistol, it would definitely need work- however you can be a little more forgiving in a rifle format.
Realistically, I'd give 2 c-notes for one of these guns in good condition. Gunbroker has a number of these for sale at impressively high price gouging prices, and Buds is sold out - but frankly I just don't see this as anything more than a 200 dollar gun at best.
If one were looking for a PCC for more money than that, I would take a hard look at MechTech carbines. If one had more money to spend than that, then I would just build a PCC rifle on an AR or similar platform; or maybe try to track down an older ruger or marlin carbine.
All in all, a good better gun that seems reliable and is fun to shoot, but not one I would really go out of my way to track down or own. The finish is just too rough, with too marginal a trigger pull. That being said, the 45acp HiPoint would definitely catch my attention more than the 9mm version. We can argue PCC ballistics, and the 9mm does benefit greatly from the 16in tube (more so than the 45) but I guess if the difference is between a 9 shot or 10 shot gun, I would just assume have a larger round and 1 less on tap than deal with a smaller (albeit flatter shooting) round.
Kaydol:
Kayıtlar (Atom)