How many 223?

Its the bigger boy version of guess how many jelly beans are in the jar:

http://www.bulkammo.com/rifle/bulk-.223-ammo#contest

I guessed 1452.  No particular reason, no logic involved at all, just a guess...

Gun Show or Parking Lot?

According to Fox News

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Authorities say a U.S. man is recovering after accidentally shooting himself in the leg at a gun show.

Police say 26-year-old Charles Lake was leaving the Georgia gun show Sunday when he discharged a round into his leg while reloading his pistol.

Savannah-Chatham police spokesman Julian Miller says Lake bought the pistol at the gun show Saturday and had returned Sunday to buy another.

Police say he was reloading the pistol in the parking lot because loaded guns weren't allowed inside the gun show.

The Savannah Morning News reports Lake's injury was not considered life-threatening.

Would I have clicked on the link to their story if the headline had been

"Police: Man accidentally shoots self in parking lot"?

Probably not....

But then most folks probably wouldn't. As a general rule the only news I listen to on TV is Fox News. But occasionally something like this pops up and reminds me that even though they may not be as biased in their reporting as all the other news agencies, they are still a main stream media outlet, and you have to keep that in mind with everything they publish.

Police + Guns + Kids = Bunched Panties in Santa Rosa

Members of the Santa Rosa Police Department at a recent community event allowed several children to examine and handle some of their SWAT weapons.

And the posie sniffing, tree hugging, guns are evil whack jobs that infest that area are having conniption fits over it.

Attila Nagy, a Community organizer was quoted

"My main concern is for kids who handle these things. They're fascinated by
them, and it makes them familiar with guns,"

So how is that a bad thing? Multiple Department of Justice Reports indicate that kids who grow up around guns, with guns, or with a knowledge of guns are less likely to commit violent crimes than those that grow up "gun free".

Oh, and by the way - ATTILA NAGY? What in the world did you do to piss off your mother when she named you? What? Was Mongolian Whiner already taken?

Bystander Elaine Holtz, confronted the officers and later told Foxnews.com:

"I would not want my child to be involved with something like that... Those guns, they should have been behind glass -- to teach the kids that you don't want to deal with this gun, because it kills."

"I am coming from the heart of a woman, a mother, a grandmother,"

To quote that great philosopher Bugs Bunny "What a Maroon!" How does someone live long enough to have offspring who have offspring and not yet learn that guns don't jump up off the table and run around killing people. May be someone should have let her handle a gun when she was little and teach her a little bit about them. Maybe then she would not be such an ignorant twit.

Good job Santa Rosa Police Department! Stick to your guns, keep sharing them with the kids in the area. Even if you do get hammered by a the looney tunes.

The Cheyenne Police Department will present a seminar specifically addressing the changes to state law regarding carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. The program will specifically highlight the changes to Wyoming Statute 6-8-104 that becomes effective on July 1, 2011.

Additional discussion will address how the new law will affect those who already have a concealed weapon permit and important information to citizens who will now choose to carry a concealed weapon. Cheyenne Police firearms experts will be on hand to answer questions during and after the presentation.

This public seminar will be presented at the Cheyenne - Kiwanis Community House (Lions Park) on June 28th, 2011, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. This seminar is free to the public. NO FIREARMS WILL BE PERMITTED ON THE PROPERTY DURING THIS SEMINAR.

So the Cheyenne Police Department is holding a seminar on Wyoming's new Constitutional carry law and you are not allowed to carry at the seminar?

Happy Birthday 1911

100 years ago, March 29th, 1911 - the United States Army officially adopted the John Moses Browning self loading pistol design of 1910.

Manufactured by Colt's firearms this new military sidearm became the Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, model of 1911.

For a 100 year old design this old warhorse has stood up pretty well.

Granted mine is not a Colt. But it is a mil-spec model 1911A1. Its not very fancy, not very spectacular to look at. But I love it. I probably enjoy shooting it more than any other handgun I own.

I shot what?

This Ain't Plinking...

For those of you who are not familiar with the term, Plinking is the shooting for fun. More often than not shooting with a .22 at soda cans. I grew up going plinking at the landfill near our cabin in the black hills. This open pit garbage dump was full of can, bottles, glass jars and mice. All just waiting for a kid with a .22 and a box of ammo to wander by. Best targets of all - old aerosol cans, like hair spray, etc.

This guy is British so he probably didn't grow up plinking. But then he wasn't plinking on the day when he made 2, that's right TWO back to back 8,120ft (1.54 mile) long kill shots in Afghanistan.

A BRITISH Army sniper has set a new sharpshooting distance record by killing two Taliban machinegunners in Afghanistan from more than a mile away. Craig Harrison, a member of the Household Cavalry, killed the insurgents with consecutive shots — even though they were 3,000ft beyond the most effective range of his rifle.

“The first round hit a machinegunner in the stomach and killed him outright,” said Harrison, a Corporal of Horse. “He went straight down and didn’t move.

“The second insurgent grabbed the weapon and turned as my second shot hit him in the side. He went down, too. They were both dead.” The shooting — which took place while Harrison’s colleagues came under attack — was at such extreme range that the 8.59mm bullets took almost three seconds to reach their target after leaving the barrel of the rifle at almost three times the speed of sound.

The distance to Harrison’s two targets was measured by a GPS system at 8,120ft, or 1.54 miles. The previous record for a sniper kill is 7,972ft, set by a Canadian soldier who shot dead an Al-Qaeda gunman in March 2002.

Read the whole article here.

Then to top matters off Corporal of Horse Craig Harrison a couple weeks later was shot in the head by a sniper, then a after that broke both arms when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. When they sent Corporal Harrison home to convalese he insisted on returning to the front.

In the article linked above Tom Irwin, the director of Accuracy International, the British manufacturer of the L115A3 rifle, said:

“It is still fairly accurate beyond 4,921ft, but at that distance luck plays as much of a part as anything.”

Mr. Irwin, one shot from that distance may have a lot of luck involved. Two in a row - is possible because of training and skill. Not much luck there.

County Music

I grew up in South Dakota and Wyoming. I have been surrounded by country music my whole life. I have never like it. I really hated it as a kid, mostly because that was all that was on the radio. The last few years country music has changed, and in many cases is almost indistinguishable from pop music.

But I finally found a country song/video that I like:

KaBoom part 2

If anyone every asks you why you should wear eye protection while you are shooting

If you ever start thinking that you do not need eye protection while you are shooting.

Just remember this picture.



This is the safety glasses I was wearing when the two hot loads went off in my M1911A1. The smudge the arrow is pointing to is not a smudge. It is a chip in the polycarbonate lenses of the safety glasses I was wearing when small shards of brass came flying out of the chamber of my gun.

In addition to the chip in my safety glasses, I also had two very small holes in my cheek and chin. But they were actually smaller than most of my shaving accidents and healed up in about a day. The glasses won't heal. My left eye, the one I aim with by the way, would probably not have faired too well if I hadn't been wearing those sacrificial lenses.

My safety glasses now have a new task. Tomorrow they will go up B Mountain with my daughter. She is going to wear them while her senior class paints the B on B mountain. I can't wear them for shooting anymore. The chip is right in my line of sight when I shoot left handed only (I blade my body and tend to not get my head turned to be square to the target. It doesn't really interfere with my vision when I'm shooting two handed because I use an isosceles stance, except that I slide my right foot just a little back from square. But it is annoying. Besides, a standard set of safety glasses aren't so expensive that I can't afford to replace this pair

KaBOOM?

I have never had a gun go KaBOOM on me before. Before today that is.

I don't know if this qualifies as a full KaBOOM. First off it wasn't a Glock that I was shooting. Secondly, my gun still seems to be intact, more or less. But I figure anything that destroys a mag, damages the remaining bullets in that mag, splatters gun powder residue all over my hands, and face, draws blood from my cheek and chin and puts a gouge in the left lens of my shooting glasses and blows apart the right grip on the gun should qualify.

I headed out this afternoon to go watch my son shoot at his Boy Scout Troop Shoot Camp Out. Since I had to drive right past the range where I shoot to get to the range that my Son's Troop was camped out at I decided to take along a few tools of my own to get some practice in with on my way home.

I watched my son and the other scouts shoot for a while. My kids is getting pretty good with a shotgun, but still has some learning to do with a rifle. After a while I headed out and stopped by the Ridgecrest Gun Range in order to break in my new Henry 357 Magnum Big Boy Rifle. The rifle shoots like a dream. After 30-40 rounds I decided I needed a change so I hauled out my Rock Island Armory 1911A1. I had 100 rnds of Winchester white box I was going to shoot, but I decided to start with the last 20 rounds of hand loads from the last batch my Father had loaded for me. I had fired somewhere between 80 to 100 other rounds from this batch over the last few months and had no trouble with them.

Things started out smoothly until I fired off the fourth round in the mag. The report sounded normal but the gun kicked oddly in my hands and the mag shot out the bottom of the gun. I don't know if the plastic baseplate on this mag broke during misfire or when it hit the concrete floor. But simultaneously the gun got a lot lighter (missing a mag and 4 rounds), and I felt something sting my face in a couple spots. Out of habit I pushed the mag release to drop the mag out of the gun, that is when I discovered that it was already gone. Next I racked the slide to check for a round in the chamber - there wasn't one.

This is what the mag looked like after the insident.



I still wasn't sure what had happened. So I laid the gun down on the shooting bench and started looking around. I noticed the busted mag and the four remaining rounds on the ground almost immediately. Then out of habit I started gathering up my spent brass. My 45 is pretty consistent in where it throws the brass - about 6 feet over my right shoulder. But I could only find three pieces.

So I took a few minutes sitting in the car and collecting my self. I finally checked my cheek in the mirror. It had a small injury that was oozing a little blood. A spot on my chin was also bleeding. But stopped quickly once I used the last of my water bottle to wash off my face and hands.

I checked out my gun pretty carefully and as best I could determine it was not damaged.

So in a minor fit of careless judgment I decided that the mag was to blame and I loaded up a second (all metal) mag with more of the hand loaded 45s. The first shot I fired acted a lot like the previous shot. This time however the effect was much harder on me. I didn't get hit in the face this time. My right hand, the one squeezing the grip got thumped pretty hard right in the palm. My hand almost immediately went numb. If I had been shoot with only one hand I probably would have dropped the gun.

This time the mag didn't fully shoot out of the bottom of the gun, it stopped about half way out. I assume that is why the grip on the gun broke, the expanding gases inside the gun couldn't exhaust out of the bottom of the mag well so they went out the side. This is what my baby looked like after the second shot.




I don't know why the mag didn't full eject out of the bottom of the gun. When I took a hold of it, it easily slide right out of the gun.

After checking the chamber for a round (and not finding one) then safeing the gun I again stepped back to do a quick inventory and see if I was hurt some more. I wasn't, the numbness in the my hand dissipated very quickly and other than a new coating of owder residue all over my hands I had no new injuries. But as I was checking my hands I did notice something off to the right of me.

I was able to determine which of these rounds was the first and second fired because the second one was still warm.

I'm pretty sure that these were the culprits in my little escapade

Culprit 1:



Culprit 2:



After this I decided to put the 45 away for the day, and I headed over to the rifle range to shoot there for a while. I have cleaned up the 45 since getting home and I still don't see any visible damage to the gun. I think I'm going to take it to a gunsmith and have him give it a once over anyway. I also called Dad and told him what happpened. He is going to check his hand loads and see what he loaded that batch with. We'll check out the rest of the batch in a few weeks.

Ban Guns to help Mexico

Last month our glorious Attorney General stated that in order to reduce the escallating violance in Mexico we have to start banning the sale of guns here in the United States.

I have tried several times to put my thoughts about what a ridicuously foolish train of thought this is. But as I was trying to find the right words, one of my favorite bloggers did it for me. Mostly Cajun said it this way:

You’re a big Mexican drug cartel. You daily smuggle TONS of marijuana and cocaine across the border into the United States. You decide you need a few guns.

Do you

1. Send Pedro and Paco to San Antonio to buy up the legal semi-automatic guns from a legitimate gun shop
2. Talk to corrupt military and government officials in your own country and arrange to get fully automatic guns from THEIR stocks.
3. Buy guns from munitions dealers on the international market that supplies arms to trouble spots all over the globe.

I won’t even go into the idea that an American gun shop would deal in fully automatic weapons. Yes, it IS done, but it requires a special and expensive license and is highly regulated and watched. For a private individual to get the license to OWN one of these weapons is a long, drawn-out process involving fingerprints and background checks. And in the end you end up with a weapon that might have cost !50 to make, but you paid $5000 (or much, much more) to own. The same goes for “destructive devices” such as grenades.

The same $5000 in the right places on the international market will get you a truckload of REAL AK-47’s.

As much as the gun-grabbers and lamestream media would like to have you think that you can walk into and gun shop, plunk down cash and walk out with a bucket full of hand grenades and a couple of light machine guns, it just ain’t so.

And while a knowledgeable individual with the proper machine tools and parts can convert many semi-auto rifles into full auto versions, why would they do that when a few pesos in the right pocket can get you one out of the back of Mexican Army truck? Or with a phone call to Venezuela?

And to further laugh at the furor over the supposed flow of guns to Mexico, really, we can’t seem to stop the flow of drugs coming this way, so what makes people think that we can stop the flow of arms the other way, anyhow? Seems to me that if we have this magic technology that can somehow stop stuff going into Mexico from here, we could, like, turn it around and stop stuff coming here from Mexico.

Oh, wait! I forgot. What they’re proposing is that we stop selling guns here. If they’re illegal here, then the Mexican drug cartels won’t buy them here. Right! A LAW is going to stop that. After all, it works so well making drugs illegal that you can’t buy THEM from Jamar on the street in any US city.

Unfortunately we are dealing with domestic jihadists who only want one thing - the complete disarmament of the American population. They don't care about logic. They don't care about common sense. All that matters to them is taking away our most basic freedom - the freedom to defend ourselves and our families.

As long as "We the People" are allowed to own guns our elected overlords will never be able to sleep well at night. As long as we have the ability to defend ourselves we may one day wake up and discover that we don't need their constant interference in our lives. The very thought of an armed society strikes fear in the hearts of our liberal leaders. So far they have done a great job of taking over our country using our schools, colleges, universities and polling places. But as long as the unwashed masses have the tools to stand up and say "NO MORE!" their reign can never be complete. So don't be surprised when this attack on our freedom fails. Just be ready for the next one, and the one after that, and so on. As long as the whacko libs are in charge they will continue to attack our ability to defend ourselves. They don't hide that any more. In fact they proudly proclaim that they are going to make taking away our guns a priority. Get ready folks, this is just round one of what will be a long, long assault.

The New Gun Ban

Attorney General eric holder announced today that the obama administration will attempt to re-enact the expired 1984 assault weapons ban.

Holder says that putting the ban back into place would help stem the flow of US weapons into Mexico where violence between the government and the drug cartels is escalating daily.

So, our esteamed attorney gnereal wants to help our neighbors to the south stop violence by denying American citizens their rights to own guns. First off, why is this our problem? The same Mexican governemnt that refuses to try and stem the illegal invasion of American by it's citizens now wants us to stop exporting guns to their country. Well tough! We have an extensive network of border defenses designed to stop illegal aliens from invading our country, why doesn't Mexico do the same thing on their side of the border to stop the gun runners? Oh wait, we really don't have such a system and I guess neither do they. But that does not change the arguement. If you want something to stop coming into your country then stop it at your border. It is not our problem!

Secondly the on Feb. 20, 2009 the State Department issued a travel warning:

"Some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels have resembled small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and grenades," the warning said. "Large firefights have taken place in many towns and cities across Mexico, but most recently in northern Mexico, including Tijuana, Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez."

Ok, two bonus points for anyone who can spot the big problem with this statement.

"cartels employing automatic weapons and grenades" I have news for the attorney general since he is apparently incapable of understanding US law. The average citizen cannot walk into a gun store in the country and buy "automatic weapons and grenades."

Banning US citizens from buying assault weapons will NOT in any way curb the use of automatic weapons and handgrenades in Mexico. So lets forget all about poor Eric's arguement that we have to do it for the Mexicans. Since we know its really not about helping Mexico. Instead lets focus on what he wants to ban.

Assault weapons and high capacity magazines. These are evil devices forged in the depths of hell that just cannot be allowed in the hands of bitter, religious rednecks here in the United States. Do you know what an assault rifle is? An assault rifle is an automatic rifle that is usually issued to the military for the performance of their duties. If you went out right now and tried to buy an assault rifle in the United States you would not be able to do so. Do you know why not? BECAUSE THEY ARE ALREADY ILLEGAL!!!!!!

Oh, by he way - hand grenades? Same problem, they are already illegial to own in the US. You cannot buy them here.

What obama and holder really want to ban is semi-automatic weapons. So what is a semi-automatic rifle? According to Wayne LaPierre, president of the National Rifle Association:

"A semi-automatic is a quintessential self-defense firearm owned by American citizens in this country,"

So why if obama and holder really want to ban semi-automatic weapons why do they call them assault weapons? Because they are lying to you. Both these men are theoritically smart enough to know that a semi-automatic weapon is not an assault weapon. But a large portion of the voting public isn't informed enough to know the difference. Besides a lot of today's semi-automatic rifles look like assault weapons because they have a military syle stock that is made out of evil black plastic.

Califonia has already done this. See California has already outlawed many of obama's and holder's "assault weapons"

12276.1. (a) Notwithstanding Section 12276, "assault weapon" shall also mean any of the following:
(1) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and any one of the following:
(A) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon.
(B) A thumbhole stock.
(C) A folding or telescoping stock.
(D) A grenade launcher or flare launcher.
(E) A flash suppressor.
(F) A forward pistol grip.
(2) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
(3) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has an overall length of less than 30 inches.
(Source(s):http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/dwcl/

Our wonderful chicken-hearted politicians here in California have defined an assault weapon for you. The problem here is items A, B, C, D, E and F are just cosmetic features that do not increase or decrease the lethality of a semi-automatic rifle. They just make it look really really scary. Because everyone knows that a semi-automatic hunting rifle is a lot safer than a semi-automatic hunting rifle with pistol grip on it. Cause you know, once you put a pistol grip on a semi-automatic rifle they lose all control. When the owner isn't looking they have even been known to sneak across the border to Mexico and shoot at drug runners.

But enough sarcasm. obama and holder want to ban scary looking rifles and magazines that will hold more than 10 rounds.

Now I don't want to give them any more ammunition to work with here, especially since they want to do the same to us. But, do you know what the difference is between me shooting a semi-automatic pistol with a magazine that holds 17 rounds and a 10 round magazine and a spare is? About 2 seconds. That is how long it takes me to drop a mag, slap in a new one chamber a round and start firing again. 2 seconds. And I am slow, I don't practice that enough. I'm sure there are guys out there that can do that in half the time I can.

Limiting the size of the magazine a weapon can hold doesn't make the weapon any safer to let it run around loose in public. Again like any tool a cap mag or a 10 rnd mag is only as safe as the user makes it.

So here comes your hope and change folks - Clinton Mk II. Ban guns and mags that will not make America safer and will not make Mexico safer. Because the other lie of ommision they don't tell you is this: Banning guns and gun control is not about the guns. It is not about the ammo or the mags. It is all about control. If they can control your life, they control you. More importantly if they can weasal away a little more Constitutionally protected rights it will make it easier for them to take away even more of them later. What is next? free speech, freedom of religion, etc? And lastly in extreme thinking cases only, it is much easier to supress an unarmed population than it is an armed one.

Happy Birthday JMB

John Moses Browning was born January 23, 1855 in Ogden, Utah. He was a remarkably prolific weapons designer. From his first rifle, a single-shot falling-block design through his last, the Fabrique Nationale GP35 which is more popularly known as the Browning Hi-Power. JMB was awarded 128 patents in his career. He also developed at seven different cartridges for use in his weapons. JMB passed away on November 26, 1926 while working on his final design the fabrique Nationale G35.

Both of my favorite weapons to shoot, rifle and pistol, are John Browning designs. More importantly, while they are not old weapons, they are essentially unchanged in design since the day Browning created them. My Winchester 94 30-30 is only 34 years old but it is exactly the same weapon that Browning invented in 1894. It is also the longest run production rifle and has sold over 7.5 million copies. It is the first hunting rifle chambered for the first smokeless powder cartridges.

My favorite pistol is a 1911A1 45ACP. I only just got mine last year. But I used to love shooting my Dad's 'colt'. That is what he called it - 'the colt'. I never had to ask I always knew exactly which weapon he was talking about, even though he owned four other colt pistols. His 1911 was the only one he ever named. I haven't named mine - I probably won't either. I don't usually assign names to inanimate objects. Besides mines not a colt its a Rock Island Armory. No, I'm not going to call it Rocky.

Thank you John Moses Browning your designs gave my Grandfather, my Dad, myself, and now my children hours of enjoyment. Food for our table and the ability to defend ourselves.

Thank you.

Students Robbed in Classroom

A wigged gunman walked into a class room at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis TN and ordered the 18 students and 1 professor in the room to turn over their wallets and purses. No one was hurt, but the campus was locked down and classes were canceled for the afternoon.

All I have to say is HOW DARE HE? Doesn't that evil gunman know that college campuses are gun free zone. Boy he better hope the authorities don't catch him or he'll be in real trouble for having a gun on campus. This just isn't right. We need a law. What would be so hard about passing a law mandating that you aren't allowed to steal from people in gun free zones.

In case you missed it, the previous paragraph was written with the sarcasm switch on my keyboard turned up to high.

Now the really disturbing part of the whole thing:

President Johnny B. Watson says the "incident is over" and that faculty followed set protocol in an emergency situation like this. Watson said those who feel the need to go home should do so.

The guy was not caught, but since no one was hurt the President decides that the incident is over because they followed the rules. What the hell? What is the mascot at LeMoyne-Owen College? A sheep? Maybe its a victim?

What kind of administrator deals with a situation like this by just telling the victims if you feel the need to go home you should do so? Today there should be 18 sets of really pissed off parents in that clown's office demanding his head on a pike.

If the politicians and bureaucrats in this world want to take the responsibility for defending ourselves away from us, then they had better be ready to step up and do the job for us. Maybe we should get the lawyers involved - every time a person is victimized in a gun free zone they should sue every administrator of that area and every politician that is in charge of that gun free zone. Start with the mayor and work your way up through the governor, congressmen and senators. After all they are the ones who made those 19 victims such easy pickings. If they want to disarm the population they should have to pay the price when those disarmed people are victimized.

Now, I'm not sure I like the idea of unlimited guns on campuses. I remember how stupid most of the kids were when I was in college. I'm not sure I want kids that drunk carrying firearms. But I have a daughter going off to school in less than two years and I would like to know that she is able to defend herself if need be. Because depending on university bureaucrats and politicians to protect her isn't going to cut it. Do you think the criminal in this story would have been so bold if he thought that the professor and maybe one or two of those students were carrying concealed.

New Shooter Report

I took my son and oldest daughter to the range this afternoon. The main reason for this trip was to try out my Christmas Present - a RIA 1911-A1 45 auto. I had a chance to try one of these several weeks ago at the range thanks to a generous stranger who let me shoot off a mag of his ammo. So I was anxious to see if I liked my own as much as I liked his. I did. It needs a little work though. The hammer bite on the web between my thumb and forefinger will need to be addressed. But overall I liked it. It shot quite well right out of the box.

Today was also my oldest daughters first chance to go shooting. It was a day of firsts for her. She is walking without her case/boot thing that she was worn for the last four weeks recovering from a bad ankle sprain. She passed her written test this afternoon and got her drivers permit. She got to go shooting for the first time.

OK, its not completely her first time. She has shot her brother's BB gun and his soft pellet pistol. But this was her first time with something that was gun powder propelled.

We started her out with the Browning Buckmark. She handled it OK. After a few mags of 22LR we moved her up to the 9 mm. She had a little difficulty maintaining a solid enough platform for the weapon and it kept jamming on her. When she was able to maintain a good solid base she did OK. She was able to bang the metal targets out around 60 feet about half the time with both weapons. She wasn't too amuzed when the 9mm ejected one piece of brass and it popped her in the nose. She did fire one mag through my new 45. But didn't really enjoy that. Then I created a monster.

Next I hauled out my old Winchester 250 22LR lever action rifle. She took to that like a duck to water. Her only problem was the first time I let her load it. She didn't lock down the inner tube when she was finished. So the first time she shot it, the tube shot out the front of the weapon and lay there on the ground.

After learning how to lock down the magazine tube, she did great. She started sitting down shortly after we got there because her ankle was hurting her. But once she discovered how much more stable she was that way, she turned into a plinking monster. After beating up all the knock down targets on the pistol range she moved over to the rifle range to shoot at the 100 yard target there. When I checked up on her after a while she was shooting at some metal silhouette targets at 200 yds and hitting them about a third of the time.



I see now that I should have never waited this long to take her shooting. She had a blast. Next time she wants me to take the 30-30 and the .45-70 so she can give those a try. And of course the 250 again. I can see it coming already. I think I may have lost my 250 today. But I suppose that is OK. It was the first gun my parents bought for me when I turned twelve. I suppose it would be fitting to pass it down to my first born. Besides that would give me a good excuse to go get myself a new 22. Hey! I'm liking this idea more and more. I especially like that my daughter decided that her favorite weapon to shoot is the most affordable to shoot gun we own.

Oh, my son loved my new 45. The first time he shot it it really startled him. He was getting pretty comfortable with the 9mm so he wasn't ready for the recoil from the 45. But he adjusted quickly. I think I have created a recoil monster. He just doesn't get a thrill from plinking any more. He needs the big bang and the thump to get himself charged up. But unfortunately for him he is going to have to do a lot of plinking. I love shooting the larger calibers also, but the 22s are a lot cheaper to shoot.

First 45-70

When I was 10 or 11 years old my father let me shoot his Springfield Model 73 trapdoor 45-70. He sat me down, showed my how to load the weapon then stood back with my Uncle and laughed his ass off when the recoil rolled me over onto my back.

My son has heard that story for years. Yet that has not deterred him from wanting to shoot that 45-70 also. Yesterday I gave him his shot, so to speak. We had worked him up from the 22LR to my Winchester Model 94 30-30. He wasn't too impressed with the 30-30. It kicked a lot more than he was comfortable with. But even when I told him that the 45-70 was going to kick a lot harder he was undeterred.

Here is his first two shots with the 45-70.



Don't be ragging on his shooting style. Those were the first two shots he ever tried sitting down. He still needs a lot of work on his leg positions. But me just showing him how to do it doesn't seem to work with him. He will have to try it some more and wear himself out before he will believe me that there is a better way.

In my son's defense, he did shoot the 45-70 five more times that day. He did them all standing up.

Today, his shoulder is sore and you can see the shape of the butt on is shoulder in a very faint bruise.

Also I have to be proud of him. There was a father, grandfather and three boys shooting next to us. The youngest boy (probably about 14 or 15) was fascinated by the 45-70. I offered to let him shoot it. Even with his grandfather and father urging him to try it he kept chickening out. My kid finally quit when the box of cartridges was empty.

Heller Decision

The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditional lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.

Just enough time for a happy dance, then off to work. More later.....

I want a gun...

I was sitting at lunch with several friends today and somehow we got onto the topic of boys wanting BB guns. I related my story where my parents would not let me have a BB gun but they bought me a 22 rifle for my 12th birthday. I still wanted a BB gun but the answer was always no. Then they bought me a Winchester 30-30 for my 16th birthday, but still would not let me have a BB gun. Years later when my Dad suddenly realized that they had never let me have a BB gun he got me one for my 35th birthday. No, I didn't shoot my eye out with it.

Suddenly one of my friends said "I want to buy a gun, so that when the government comes to take it away I can tell them NO!"