Carnival of Cordite #9

Well folks, it's April 15. 

Do you have your taxes done?  For some of us, it's easy.  I had no income, therefore I paid no taxes.  The downside to this simplicity, of course, is that I had NO INCOME!  So for me, there is nothing "special" at all about April 15.  For many others, though, today is REFUND DAY!  And for people reading the Ninth Carnival of Cordite, that means BUY A GUN DAY!

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New contributor DirtCrashr of Anthroblogogy (gosh, I hope I spelled that right!) celebrates with a fine piece of history, a Swiss K-31:

I have to admit, I am not as familiar with some of these classic military arms as I'd like to be.  This one looks like a beauty, though!  I'm looking forward to more pictures from DirtCrashr.

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Les Jones is also celebrating with a classic, and one I know pretty well:

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That's a Lee-Enfield SMLE .303 British!  A great surplus rifle that is still widely available and highly affordable, the SMLE has probably seen as much action, both as a military battle rifle and as a sporterized hunter, as any other rifle on the planet.  It ranks up there with the Springfield and Mauser as one of the most important rifles of the modern era.  A competent gunsmith can convert one to .308 Winchester or just about any similar round for far less than the average "new in box" hunting rifle... but since the .303 is plenty powerful enough for deer and ammunition and reloading components are easy to come by, why bother?  But for those who love to modify, Les has links to some great resources on the SMLE.  Thanks, Les!

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Some people like long guns.  Others prefer handguns.  Looks like Kevin the Techno Gypsy falls into the latter category, at least for this Buy a Gun Day:

That's a new Taurus Tracker in .17 HMR!  You may remember that Kevin also has a rifle in this excellent new light varmint chambering.  Kevin displays good economic sense by buying a new handgun chambered for the same round.  Kevin, there's your argument for spending MORE money on another gun soon!

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Kevin isn't the only one celebrating with an excellent revolver.  Kim du Toit finally achieves one of his long-time dreams:

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That is one BEAUTIFUL Colt Python .357 Magnum!  This one is just too good for words.

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What can I say, I am jealous of these guys!  I'll have to make do with a Buy a Gun Day purchase I can afford:

Now, if you readers out there want to help me buy something better, there IS that Amazon box up near the top right of the page...

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OK, enough of this shameless blegging... on to the rest of the Carnival!

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Last week, I wrote about wildcatting the .50 BMG.  This produced more feedback than any other gun post I have done.  Kevin likes the idea of necking it all the way down to .30 for the ultimate high-velocity varmint rifle.  But then Boxing Alcibiades doubts this would be feasible.  What do the rest of you think?  My take: if the ultra-heavy .30 match bullets are solid enough to handle it, then it would be pretty killer.  I estimate that with modern powders, you could squeeze a 220 gr .30 bullet out around 5,000 fps.  That's the kind of velocity where bullets start to fragment before they exit the barrel.  So maybe if someone started turning out tungsten-core bullets with really heavy copper-alloy jackets, it would work.  But then I'm no metallurgist.  Would the bullet manufacturers please speak up?

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Speaking of the .50 BMG: if you are the purchaser for a California law enforcement organization, you probably won't be getting anything from Barrett for Buy a Gun Day.  First, Publicola wrote about a policy of Barrett's to end sales to CA agencies.  Then, Jerry the Geek followed up with some investigation of his own here and here.  What is the final lesson to be learned here?  You read, you decide.  Me, I'm just glad I left California.

But seriously: what would happen if ALL gun makers started to issue policies that they would not sell to law enforcement agencies in jurisdictions where their primary products were not available to civilians?  It makes for an interesting legal question: there could be issues with the Commerce Clause, anti-trust laws, Equal Protection... this could be a way to get the Second Amendment to the Supreme Court... not that we would trust them, at least not before the President gets to appoint some fresh meat to the bench...

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Jerry was busy this week.  He also writes in with this article on democRat strategies.  While it isn't exactly as Second Amendment post, it's always good to know how the opposition is thinking in general.  Plus, it reminds me about Howard Dean's latest rant:

"Guns aren't an issue," he said. "If Philadelphia wants gun control, fine. If Alabama doesn't, also fine."

PAY ATTENTION TO THIS: what Dean is cleverly saying isn't "we aren't taking away your guns," but "expect more gun control in Blue states."  The democRats know they can't win nationally with gun-control.  But they are thinking now that if they concentrate their energies in certain predominantly Blue states, they can achieve locally what they can't nationally.  THIS IS CRITICAL.  We have already seen a new ban on the .50 BMG in California.  California has 40 million residents.  That means a HUGE chunk was just taken away from Barrett's market.  Now imagine more gun control hitting states like New York, Michigan, Massachusetts, and (as Dean is hinting) Pennsylvania.  Take enough of the market away, and smaller companies like Barrett will cease to exist.  And that means an end to the .50 BMG even in solid Red states.  We need to fight gun control in every jurisdiction, and if possible, win a national case supporting our Second Amendment rights once and for all.

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Just where did all this Second Amendment stuff start, anyways?  Well, the Amendment of course dates back to the period immediately after the Revolutionary War and the creation of our Constitution and Bill of Rights.  We had just won our independence by force, and we wanted to make damn sure that no government would ever again oppress the people the way King George III did.  That meant guaranteeing that the people could arm themselves.

Why do I bring this up?  Because I just learned about the Revolutionary War Veterans Association.  And they have a blog!  What's more, they would like to tell you about the Appleseed Program to teach a new generation both how to shoot and how our nation was founded.  As they say:

Shoot.  Recruit.  Educate.  Communicate.

I'm happy to help them communicate!  Welcome aboard!

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But the Second Amendment is about more than just keeping "gummint" at bay; in fact, we hope we never have to undergo another Revolution to remain free.  The Second Amendment is also about protecting oneself.  This week, Knowledge is Power links to some great posts about would-be rape victims, the true nature of gun control, and how gun control is a hate crime against women.  This picture sums it up:

(click photo for a surprise!)

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So what do you do when faced with a self-defense situation?  Ask Peter from Bad Example.  He cautions us not to think like soldiers or cops:

The next time you see a Police Officer, take a look at that belt he's wearing.  Count the items you won't have. You won't have that radio, nor a set of cuffs and it's real likely that you won't have two high capacity magazines in a convenient pouch.  You aren't going to have a big can of Mace or Pepper Spray, nor a baton or four cell Mag Light.  You aren't going to be wearing Kevlar, either.

As usual, great insights.

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But then there is Chris, the AnarchAngel.  This week he writes in with advice on the four-point draw.  Chris and Peter are both great sources of information, but from (sometimes conflicting) different points of view.  I guess the important lesson is know what type of self-defense roll you are going to play.  If you are a police officer, a security guard, or a member of the Armed Forces, you have different needs from Joe Civilian and should practice accordingly.

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Here's one woman who knew what to do...

The Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog writes in today with an April 15 story: a 64-year old mother of 10 defends herself from a would-be robber.

And he thought taxes would be the problem... well, you know what they say about Death and Taxes...

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On a side note: speaking of Chris and mothers, please stop by to offer a few words of encouragement, as Chris has been having the week from hell.

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The Second Amendment isn't just about defense.  Or hunting.  Or collecting.  Or... well, I'll just let Firehand explain it to you...

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Moving to range reports...

Speaking of Firehand, he has a report on his Benelli, which you may remember from a previous Carnival... while you are at it, read his little rant on knives.

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Posse Incitatus has a report on a pair of excellent revolvers.

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Next time you go to the range, consider entering the next-generation of postal matches!  New Contributor Neanderpundit explains.

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And now on to some technical matters:

Head's Bunker writes on with more on building an AK-74M.  Be sure to follow his links to the earlier parts of this series.

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Head also has a great post about the CETME, complete with many photos, like this one:

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I have to admit, this is another great military rifle that has stayed below my radar.  After reading, I'm adding this one to my wish list.

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Getting back to Chris the AnarchAngel, as usual he has great tech stuff up.  This week, he treats us to hammer bite, slide stops, and more.

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Are you a handloader?  If not, are you planning on starting someday?  Maybe Owen can steer you away from a product you might not enjoy.  Owen has serious beefs with his Lee Load All II.  Often times, all you ever hear about any product are the glowing reviews.  It's refreshing to hear an honest assessment of a product's flaws.  Hopefully, Owen will find a better setup for his handloading soon.

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Speaking of peeves, Denise from The Ten Ring hasn't been able to post recently, but wanted to share this from her archives: Gun Things We Don't Like.  My personal "favorite" is first on her list: safety warnings all over the guns.  What kind of society do we live in when gun manufacturers have to protect themselves from liability by stamping things like "this is a gun and guns are dangerous" on their products?

DUH!

It's a GUN for crying out loud!  People buy guns to shoot bullets!  Bullets tend to kill, wound, or damage their targets, which is the whole idea!  As she points out, Ruger is notorious for their warnings.  Kim du Toit noticed this as well.   I like his idea:

I wonder how much Richard will charge me to grind off this crap and re-polish the barrel?

The worst part is, look at how beautiful the rest of the Ruger in question is:

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Look at that fancy engraving and beautiful finish, forever marred by the words "Before using gun - read warnings in instruction manual available free from Sturm Ruger & Co Inc."

Would you find it acceptable to pay good money for a brand new car with a shiny paint job that had the words "Before driving car - read warnings in instruction manual available free from Ford Motor Company" scratched into the hood?

(please refrain from "found on road dead" and similar jokes)

Of course not!  You should already know that a car is a dangerous thing.  You should know the same about guns before buying and using them.  It's common sense!

I used to really want a Ruger .22 handgun.  But I won't buy one until they get that crap off the barrel.

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Finally, Bruce from mASS BACKWARDS asks if if we can spot the irony:

I just love our President!  I hear he usually throws strikes, too!

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That wraps up this week's special Tax Day episode of the Carnival of Cordite.  If you are new here, please check out the rest of Resistance is futile! for news, opinion, humor, food, and more.

If you have a gun-related post of your own, submit it to the Carnival of Cordite via e-mail:

c a r n i v a l o f c o r d i t e A T h o t m a i l D O T c o m

Or, use the carnival submit form from Conservative Cat.

Next week, we'll be here again one more time before some excellent guest hosts fill in while I take some not-so-excellent law school final exams.  You can keep up with our hosting schedule by visiting our Carnival of Cordite information page.  Want to volunteer to host a future Carnival?  Just e-mail us!  Hosting is a great way to get new readers to your site.  More readers = more support for guns and gun owners here and abroad.  And that's what the Carnival of Cordite is all about.

And if you haven't already, GET YOUR TAXES DONE!  The two things you can't escape are Death and Taxes...

See you next week, and in the meantime, keep your powder dry!

Comments

[Chris Byrne]

Hey dude, for some reason the link to my post on gun setup got screwed up.

It's supposed to be:

http://anarchangel.blogspot.com/2005/04/hard-parts.html

Cheers,

Chris Byrne - The AnarchAngel

[Gullyborg]

Chris: sorry 'bout that; it should be correct now.

[Peter]

Gullyborg, the main problem with necking the .50 BMG to .30 caliber is that there isn't really a powder slow burning enough to use all that case capacity. The right burning rate would be somewhere between small lumps of coal and smoldering matress ticking.
I suspect that barrel life would be measured in the dozens of rounds.
Bullets wouldn't be a problem, the Barnes X Bullet, being made of a solid copper alloy wouldn't come apart because there is no part.