gnatshooter

Interesting that soldiers are reticent about wartime experiences, but WWII refugees in the European theater, themselves often under fire and and targeted by merchants of 'long pig', group rape, etc. will talk about it, though with tears. The Russians have much to answer for.

Steel-case ammo is attractively cheap and generally considered to be not nice. But how is it 'under-gassed'? Is it the casing, or do they use different propellant for steel?

Here's the current state of play: the top answer for when kids should have access is: ++>Yes, but Only After Receiving Proper Training 86.71% (1,800 votes) The trouble with the vast majority voting this way is that laws across the nation lay down hard criteria for age, access to firearms, and penalties. It's likely that a lot of proper training is done illegally, and that a lot of shooters "of age" -- at least, those 'in the 'hood' -- have had no training at all. Not to move too far off-topic -- but your average Chicago weekend shooting mortality figures is 10% fatality. Gotta wonder how 10% compares to fatalities involving trained shooters.

I carry OWB because I'm built in a way that makes that work. One carry does not fit all. Regardless of your preferred carry, I found it very valuable to get a leather punch and put a few extra holes in my belt. Most waistbelts in the US have one hole per inch. I have a hole every half inch -- and that extra smidgen of adjustment helps make things a lot more comfortable.

Open carry has taken some heat here, but open carry just got some credibility: Kansas becomes nation’s 15th ‘Gold Star’ open carry state - Examiner - July 21, 2014 http://www.examiner.com/article/kansas-becomes-nation-s-15th-gold-star-open-carry-state Kansans now enjoy a more simplified set of gun laws, thanks to new legislation effective July 1st of this year. The new gun law, HB 2578 generally bars localities from banning the carry of unconcealed firearms on foot and in vehicles; local government can still limit gun carry inside governmental facilities if it provides adequate security measures to protect the citizens it has disarmed.

...and a better price than the JP, too.

Things way up high over there get strange, like starting a fire, or boiling water. It's one thing to read about these issues, but totally something else when you're trying to do 'em.

Walmart, so far, indicates it won't join Target in refusing gun toters - Arkansas Times - July 17, 2014 http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2014/07/17/walmart-so-far-indicates-it-wont-join-target-in-refusing-gun-toters A loaded gun left in a Walmart restroom in South Carolina raises the question of whether a drive to encourage national chains to declare their premises off-limits to open carry of guns could prompt a change in policy at Walmart. [The 'journalist' involved in this story seems to have been over-eager to do something with this headline.]

Putin’s Biggest Arms Firm Gets Slide on Sanctions - Military.com - July 18, 2014 http://www.military.com/daily-news/2014/07/18/putins-biggest-arms-firm-gets-slide-on-sanctions.html The U.S. Treasury Department targeted the maker of AK-47 assault rifles and seven other Russian defense firms for sanctions, but gave a pass to a Russian arms exporter that owns a controversial $554 million contract with the U.S. to supply helicopters to the Afghan military. The author/editor seems to be unaware of the US buying 900 million rounds of ammo (7.62 x 39 mm & 9×19 mm) from Russia. Well, maybe that deal hit the dust, or maybe not.

Compare and contrast, as they say.... and this is not looking good. Open Carry Texas Schedules New Date For Armed March Through Black Neighborhood - PoliticUSA - July 15th 2014 http://www.politicususa.com/2014/07/15/open-carry-texas-schedules-date-armed-march-black-neighborhood.html Open Carry Texas, a gun rights advocacy group, announced that they have scheduled their march through the Fifth Ward in Houston. The march, which was initially scheduled for Juneteenth [anniversary of the end of slavery] but postponed at the last minute, will feature open-carry enthusiasts marching through the streets of the predominantly black Houston neighborhood carrying long assault rifles. But maybe a demographic group has a 'militia'. Consider: New Jersey Cops On High Alert As 'Bloods' Gang Threaten To Kill More Officers - FoxLatino - July 16, 2014 http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/07/16/new-jersey-cops-on-high-alert-as-bloods-threaten-to-kill-more-officers/ Authorities in Jersey City, N.J. already on edge following the ambush-killing of a rookie police officer over the weekend, are on high alert after the street gang The Bloods purportedly vowed to kill even more Jersey City cops after last week’s slaying of Officer Melvin Santiago. A senior law enforcement official told the New York Post that the infamous gang has threatened to “kill a Jersey City cop and not stop until the National Guard is called out.”

One basic notion behind the "well-regulated militia" portion of the Second Amendment is the meaning of "well-regulated". When the Amendment was written, the phrase 'well-regulated' was in common use, and it means, for us modern people, the same as 'functional' or 'practical'. The notion behind a 'functional' civilian militia is that civilians would be able to bring their own battle-ready weapons when the need for a militia arose. They can't bring 'em if they don't have 'em. This of course suggests that civilians should have access to select-fire rifles. With respect to suppressors, the question becomes whether suppressors are used on the modern battlefield. If they are used in that way, the Second Amendment would indicate that citizens should have access to suppressors as well. The same would of course be true for magazine capacity, etc.

Ed, I've heard here and there that 'clocking' the muzzle brake to something other than 'high noon' can fix that problem, or at least, part of it. Unfortunately, none of those sources offered anything better than guesstimates and rationales, and nothing about comparative results. Likely there's an expert here who knows what brake angle is ideal and how to get that right.

You mean, when people were desperately trying to pretend it's still the '60's and it's all mass market wall-to-wall flower decals, love beads, bell-bottom pants, tie-dyed t-shirts, the two-finger 'peace sign', the 'broken-cross'/wiccan 'peace symbol, and aging hippies repeating the word 'groovy'? What happened is that the '70's fortunately faded away. Historians will study this strange decade when it becomes old enough to be interesting.

Alabama Ruling Hobbles Ban on Guns in the Open at Polls - New York Times - July 12, 2014 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/13/us/alabama-ruling-hobbles-ban-on-guns-in-the-open-at-polls.html?_r=0 It's the NY Times -- which is joined at the hip with the Democrats/'progressives' Mr. Allen votes regularly, and no one had given his gun so much as a second glance before. But on this day, a polling official — his Aunt Rita, actually — took issue. “She threw her hands in the air and said, ‘No guns allowed!’ ” Mr. Allen recalled last week. “I laughed, because I thought she was being funny.” Aunt Rita was not. A sign outside the station entrance warned voters to leave their guns outside. “She’s my aunt, and I respect my elders,” Mr. Allen said. He put his pistol in his car, cast his vote and left. But he did not go meekly. And because he did not, Alabamians who vote in Tuesday’s runoff election will be able to carry guns openly and with confidence in many of the state’s polling places. Why anyone would want to take a gun into a voting booth is the wrong question. “I don’t wear my seatbelt only when I’m going to have an accident,” Mr. Allen said. For comparison and contrast, consider: Black Panthers allowed back to Philadelphia polling place (in official capacity) - Examiner - November 6, 2012 http://www.examiner.com/article/black-panthers-allowed-back-to-philadelphia-polling-place-official-capacity On Tuesday, morning, New Black Panther Party member, Jerry Jackson, was seen standing outside of a North Philadelphia polling place, dressed in the hate group's paramilitary uniform, complete with trademark black beret. Jackson was one of three Black Panthers charged with voter intimidation in the 2008 presidential election, in a case which was ultimately dropped by the Obama administration. [black Panther] Shabazz held a nightstick, pointing it at people, and prosecutors said he "supports racially motivated violence against non-blacks and Jews." While charges were brought against the Black Panthers by the Bush administration, the Obama administration dropped them in May 2009, settling instead, for an agreement with Shabazz to not carry a "deadly weapon" into or near a polling place until 2012.

Yeah, that's right. State law is very inconsistent about liabilities for 'collateral damage' when you are defending yourself or others. State law in Iowa is pretty murky on this point. What's worse, there is no effort made to have CCW persons understand the rules of engagement -- whatever they might be -- and no requirement for any CCW person to be able to shoot straight. Iowa even made the national news by granting a blind man a CCW permit.

edgecrusher, you have perfectly said what I tried to say. Yes, carrying makes it necessary to make choices the unarmed cannot make. To shoot or not cannot be an easy decision. But the armed have the burden of making that choice.

It may be ridiculous, but I was heavily criticized for wondering whether the armed might have a reason for protecting the unarmed. Look, I'm totally cool with the notion that people who bear arms can only be motivated by personal safety.

Seems that rejecting customers who carry has been a bad business decision, for at least one guy... Barber shop owner feels heat from open carry ban choice - KCTV5 - July 10, 2014 http://www.kctv5.com/story/25992013/barber-shop-owner-says-hes-facing-backlash-for-not-allowing-open-carry-weapons And in an unusual twist, a journalist actually approaches the notion of open carry from more than the usual Marxist perspective: A solution to the open-carry protest problem: Jeff Knox calls on fellow 'old guys' to get out of their BarcaLoungers and be heard - WND - July 11, 2014 http://www.wnd.com/2014/07/a-solution-to-the-open-carry-protest-problem/ The complexity of the issue has led to a lack of unity among the rights movement. Keyboard critics around the country need to shift their focus away from what Texas protesters are doing wrong and focus on what they are, could and should be doing right. The critics should also be using whatever influence they wield to encourage responsible gun owners to participate and demonstrate tactics and approaches that will advance the cause. In any movement, there are always some socially challenged individuals who want to go too far, argue too loudly, or who have an aversion to bathing.

Exactly. Although it appears this rationale does not extend to the full reach of the right of defense. Edit: In law and ethics, it is permitted to exercise your personal right of self-defense to cover others who are threatened. The consensus apparently is that those in need of defense who do not bear weapons should be ignored. And hey, I'm cool with that. Just wanted to know how those who are armed prefer to roll.

Interesting. I had thought that some might at least see a net social benefit to the unarmed by allowing the armed to carry, and who might even translate that into a duty at some point in the rationale. This actually explains quite a bit.

It is very interesting that the consensus here is to walk away when a life might be saved. It's true that in both law and ethics, there is no duty to intervene on behalf of another person. Indeed, it is perfectly legal and ethical to watch a man drown even though you have a rope in your hands. This approach would seem to cut against at least part of what the Open Carry movement is about. If the man with the gun will only act to save himself, then the man with the gun is not a man who is making things safer in a more general sense. There would then be no general or public benefit to allowing people to carry. Indeed, this even calls into question the role nature of the civilian militia. They would not be expected to act on behalf of the public at large, but only for themselves. Under circumstances like that it of course makes perfect sense to leave it to government to protect us -- since we have no obligations to each other. Now it is true that the courts have decided that the police do not have a legal duty to keep us safe. There nonetheless is a widespread perception that the police will at least attempt to do what they are paid to do, which is public safety. And likely there is a personal sense of relief that goes with giving to government the responsibility for one's own safety, or public safety in general -- or at least, thinking that you have been relieved of that burden when in fact you have not. This also diminishes the meaning of what Wayne LaPierre says, about the need for a good man with a gun, when there is a bad man with a gun. It is nonetheless true that in a difficult situation, the man with a gun will have more choices, more options, than those who are unarmed. And if the man with a gun decides not to save a life when it is in his power to do otherwise, the man with a gun will have to live forever after knowing that he could have saved a life and did not. By carrying a weapon, you bear that burden of that sort of choice. If you can comfortably live with the knowledge that you did not save a life when you could have, you certainly have the law, and ethics, on your side. So there are consequences to believing one way or another about what social obligations might go with carrying a gun, and it is good to be aware of them.

Just a personal experience... when you don't carry, gun-free zones are kinda like 'normal'. Basically, you're just at the mercy of any lunatic that shows up with a gun and you're accustomed to that uneasy feeling. When you carry, you automatically become someone who can make a difference. People who don't carry have decided to duck personal responsibility for responding to violence that occurs nearby. Likely, people who don't carry feel an unease at the notion of being responsible. After all, the unarmed -- or at least many of them -- have dodged the notion of responsibility by handing all the responsibility to the government. If these are credible notions, then the Open Carry movement needs to figure out how to communicate this to citizens, and especially, to people who want to be responsible citizens.

Two Robberies at Target Since Chain Asked Law-Abiding Citizens to Shop Unarmed - Breitbart - July 9, 2014 http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/07/09/Two-Robberies-At-Target-Since-Chain-Asked-Law-Abiding-Citizens-To-Shop-Unarmed On July 2 Breitbart News reported that interim Target CEO John Mulligan "respectfully" asked law-abiding citizens not to bring their guns in Target stores. Since then, Gainesville, Georgia, police have arrested three over a Target parking lot robbery and are looking for another man who punched a woman and stole her Mercedes at a Decatur, Georgia, Target as well.

^^^ Totally agree, without hesitation. It is really very few years ago that our ancestors developed truly ingenious technology for 'living on the land'. This technology could easily have been forgotten, as farm folk became city-dwellers -- but the Foxfire series describes that tech in detail. After SHTF, this forgotten technology will very quickly become the very best tech available, and having the Foxfire series could help save you, and the rest of your team. A link to the series of Foxfire books -- and they take a few feet of shelf space -- is here.

That is so completely stanky brilliant that you better get a patent on that like, well, immediately or sooner than that.