Carnival of Cordite #27

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, gather 'round for Ye Olde Carnivale of Cordite!

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First, two exciting things:

As those of you able to count can tell, this is Carnival of Cordite #27.  That means there have been 26 before now.  26 weeks is exactly (well, really darn close to) half a year.  That means we are now entering our second half-year of publication!  Whoo hoo!  Of course, all the thanks go to you, our readers and contributors.

Also:

One of the Deans of the law school, a former prosecuting attorney with a specialty in forensics, is writing a new textbook on the subject of forensic sciences and the law.  She has asked yours truly to be part of her research and writing team!  That means that, in a way, you could say that I will be writing the book on firearms ballistics!  So, if any of you readers have a certain level of expertise on the subject, feel free to drop me an e-mail on my blog address (see right-hand sidebar) and we'll chat.

And now, on with the show!

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Right off the bat, via Kit, I am happy to share a wonderful new resource, The Survival Blog, from noted author and survivalist James Wesley, Rawles.  This guy knows his stuff!  There is info not just on guns and ammo, but personal and global finance, food and shelter, politics, and faith.  Be sure to check it out.

By the way, Kit has some new photos... the new ones are mostly her shooting companions, but here's one of her:

Notice proper Glock safety technique... more on that later...

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Let's get right into an important, albeit unpleasant topic: gun bans.

New contributor (and excellently named!) ChuBlogga brings us Fear and Ignorance in Columbus, regarding yet another stupid "assault weapons" ban.  On a related note, Publicola likes the way the NRA is responding.  And while we're talking about putting your money where your mouth is, you may want to reconsider your account with AOL...

From The Countertop Chronicles, we have yet another bigoted gun banning Virginia politician... or do we?  Read the whole post, including the update.

Speaking of Virginia, here's more from Kit.

What happens when your guns are banned?  How far would you travel to shoot?  Publicola has an answer.

For more on the international front, we turn to No Quarters.

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It's not all grim, though...

David Hardy from Of Arms and the Law reports that there is a call for more gun freedom in Russia, of all places!

More:

Guns in school. Guns and terrorism. Guns in the hands of children. No doubt we'll be hearing a lot about these topics throughout the fall and school year as those who seek to destroy the Second Amendment roll-out their new public-relations campaigns.

Of course, there won't be anything truly unique to the substance of their arguments – just new twists to the same old efforts to deny constitutional rights to freedom-loving Americans.

As usual, their information will be more akin to disinformation. The next time a school-related shooting occurs, all of America will be forced to endure, once again, the endless mantra about the "evil of guns," and how "guns kill children." We'll be treated to a barrage of demands for more restrictions on the sale and ownership of guns. And in all of the interviews and free air-time the mainstream media will give the anti-Second Amendment activists, I'm betting that not once will you see a reporter or journalist question their "facts."

Want to guess where this excerpt comes from?  Would you have guessed PRAVDA?  Who woulda thunk it?

Meanwhile, here in the good ol' U.S. of A., well, at least some of the red tape may be clearing up as the gummint gets into the digital age.

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Recruiting problems?

Hot chicks, camo, high explosives, what more could you want?

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If you enjoy photos like that, then help a poor starving law student out!  If you are going to shop on-line, shop Amazon.com via the search box on the left-hand sidebar.  And if you see anything interesting in my ads, don't hesitate to give it a click.  OK, enough shameless blegging...

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Also on the military front, here's an odd little tidbit...

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Hey readers!  If you are anywhere near the Portland, OR area and are reading this before August 20, be sure to consider a trip to the Blogger Blastorama!

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Personal defense:

As always, the Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog keeps us informed of lawful uses of firearms for self-defense in the news.  This week, Memphis seniors fight back in a home invasion.  Let's hear it for the good old guys!

What do you do when you are part of a small minority group that finds itself oppressed and even endangered by bigotry?  Long-time readers remember Condi Rice talking about it.  What about other minority groups?

TFS Magnum brings us a report on the Pink Pistols, a group that believes in both Gay Rights and Gun Rights.  As Magnum calls it, it's an answer to gay bashing.

Confused about ammo for self-defense?  When in doubt, ask Chris, The AnarchAngel.

Sulfuric Attitudes has some questions of his own about ammo... And while he's asking questions, what rifle should he choose for emergency use?

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Gun safety is always one of our biggest concerns...

What follows is a series of four interrelated posts on Glocks and Cops:

From Les Jones, we have Glock Leg.  Ouch.

More from Hell in a Handbasket.

Counterpoint from Say Uncle.

And Mr. Completely brings us a nice visual aid to put it all into perspective.

And now, my two cents: Glocks are excellent guns, but, perhaps more so than others, truly belong only in the hands of trained professionals who will practice, practice, and practice some more.  I would happily issue Glocks to S.W.A.T., H.R.T., and military special forces.  But I wouldn't put one in the hands of a beat cop, unless my department had a lot of mandatory training.

That's no attack on beat cops, mind you.  It's just recognition of the fact that too many police departments place little value on marksmanship and firearms safety training, and without a healthy department budget for ammunition and paid range time, it's hard for most beat cops to put in a whole lot of practice.  That needs to change!

But, as demonstrated in Kit's photo up above, the most important rule of Glock safety (actually of all gun safety) is KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO SHOOT!

Mr. Completely also has words of caution about Numrich Gun Parts.  Let me tell you: there are times when you can afford knock-offs, and times when you can't.  Whenever lives may be on the line, do not try to save money with knock-offs!  I would no sooner buy parts from Numrich than go to a factory-seconds store for a parachute or a fire-extinguisher!  Thank you, Mr. Completely, for bringing this to light.

And here's one more visual aid from Blog Idaho.  Caution: you will see rank stupidity in its purest form!  Seriously, we need to find people like this and stop them before they give gun owners more bad press.

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What better way to hone your gun safety skills than through practical experience at the range?

Publicola gives you the scoop on high power matches.  This one has lots of information, and lots of great links... well worth a full read!

Blog Idaho would like to introduce some of his shooting friends:

And both these young ladies are winning medals in shooting tournaments!  I'm glad to see a new generation getting off to a good start.  By the way, I hear this is an OREGON family!  Maybe we can hook up some time?

From the Coyote Killer, I learned that it was recently take your daughter shooting day:

Now before you readers get uppity about eye and ear protection like some of Kenneth Anderson's commenters did, read this reply:

To the Anon person who mentions the "professional" isn't wearing eye/ear protection, from the picture I cannot be sure if he is wearing eye protection or not, his head is turned away from the camera while wearing a ball cap, so he could be wearing shooting glasses. They don't have to be the bulky safety goggles a lot of people see. Also, as to the ear protection, he could be wearing ear plugs, which you couldn't tell from the picture as well.  I happen to wear eye glasses when I go shooting and it's accepted as eye protection from the indoor range I go to.  Also I tend to use ear plugs because those headphones get in my way if I'm shooting a sub-rifle.

It always pays to read all the comments before sounding off...

Here's some video of full-auto shooting at the range.

And let's not forget those postal matches!

Mr. Completely takes part.  And he has a new target as well.

Here's a target of a different sort:

Can you say "Robin Hood"?

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Tech stuff:

Fire electric stunning rounds out of a 12 ga!

Anyone know of a good laser grip for the Springfield XD40?

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OK, I've been saving the guns themselves for last...

Cowboy Blob loves his Sig...

But then he loves his Glock, too...

Read about these beauties and more!

Toys in the Attic does some compare and contrast of his .22 revolvers.

And in a follow up to a post from last week, here's the range report on the CZ-52.

This is probably illegal in California:

Finally, Shakey Pete has a new toy:

Read the whole saga, from genesis to range report, in three parts, here, here, and here.

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Blog of the week, for sheer number of submissions, as well as the Browning-on-a-quad concept, is Mr. Completely! 

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Discussion:

We are rapidly approaching big game season in most states.  How important is hunting to you when you contemplate the nature of guns and gun ownership?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

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That wraps up this week's Carnival of Cordite!  Thanks for helping me to kick start the second-half of our first year!  We'll be back here at Resistance is futile! again next week.  Send in your submissions to our carnival address:

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, you can use the handy Carnival Submit Form, courtesy of Conservative Cat.

Be sure to check out the official Carnival of Cordite information page for links to previous carnivals.  See you next week, and in the meantime...

Keep your powder dry!

Comments

[Kevin]

Hunting and gun ownership - well a bit. I love to hunt and its easier with a gun, especially in west Texas. BUT I could hunt with a bow and plan to this year. Gun ownership is more than that. The right to self defense is fundemental to a free man and my bow ain't gonna work for that.

[Kit]

Your Les Jones link on the Glock safety issue talks about the NY trigger versus factory tiggers in Glocks. I have a NY trigger in my Glock 26 (because it originated in NYPD and I've been too lazy to replace it) and a factory trigger in my 19. I dispute that you can barely tell a difference between the two. I can *definitely* tell the difference. Maybe it's because I spend so much time shooting my Glocks, but one thing people say about Glocks is that you have to love the trigger to be any good with them. The pull on the 26 certainly affects my shooting, although I wouldn't say significantly. But it can also be wearing over the course of a couple hundred rounds. Just something to think about it anyone is thinking of swapping out to heavier triggers.

Frankly I don't see it as a Glock/firearms issue so much as it is a training iss (as you mention). All you have to do is follow the four rules and you won't have any more trouble with a Glock than you would with a 1911. IMNSHO. :)

[al]

Hunting and gun ownership? Gun owners shouldn't fall into that trap. While the two share some appreciation for the 2nd too many hunters are willing to give up handguns and 'assault rifles' if the goverment would leave them alone.

As for the Glock, my G17 was my first centerfire gun. It's all in the mind. If you can keep your trigger finger where it belongs at all times you'll have no problems. If you're not a gun person and not willing to learn - something with a manual safety is probably a better idea.

As for me - the Glock is great. Favorite gun I've ever shot. BHP is a close second.

[Peter]

Hunting was very important to my development as a shooter. There simply is no better training than to be in the field, after specific animals under rigid rules about what can and can't be shot. Hunting taught me shooting discipline. I learned young that I could not just blaze away the moment I saw brown fur, I had to make sure that it was a legal critter. Then I had to wait until I was sure of a killing shot. On top of that, once I was sure, I had to take the shot before the opportunity was gone. Then I had to learn to deal with what happened after the shot. All of this, plus the woodcraft I learned as a boy hunter was invaluable in my later life when I wore Uncle's Suit in the Southeast Asian War Games. To this day I am sure I would have come home in one of those shiney aluminum boxes if not for what I leared as a boy.

I am fully aware that the Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting. Nor am I saying one cannot become a complete shot without hunting. I will say that if I were charged with picking a squad of new recruits, right out of basic training to go to war with, I'd pick the boys that grew up hunting.

[Retired Geezer]

I went "hunting" when I was a teenager. (actually just hiking around with a gun, inadvertantly scaring the game away).
The first time I went on a *real* hunt was when I was 60. I was fortunate to go with some real hunters and they educated my wife and I.
BTW, I got my deer, dropped it instantly with one shot.
Normally we spend our shootin' time doing Cowboy Action Shooting.

[Les Jones]

Kit, in Farnam's defense, what he said was "In practical use, most shooters barely notice the difference. I've timed myself and many students drawing and firing with and without the NY Trigger, and I've consistently discovered the difference in time to be statistically unmeasurable."

[Kit]

Les, I suppose what I'm getting at is that being able to fire it quickly enough won't be an issue, but the accuracy might suffer unless you work only or primarily with that trigger weight in practice. And to me, it would be a bandaid to the safety problem. But then, I'm probably an amateur compared to most folks. :)

[Mr. Completely]

I grew up shooting rats on saturday nights a the dump when in high school. Way more fun that drinking yourself stupid and killing yourself in car accidents!

I think the second amendment ALSO applies to hunting, since hunting is one way to defend yourself and family against starvation, if things get really bad.......

[Mr. Completely]

(Where's my manners?)

Thanks for the honor of being selected as the gunblogger of the week in the Carnival of Cordite. Makes me want to go do some shooting, by golly!!