As the Phoenix rises from its ashes, so the Carnival of Cordite returns following the Hotmail meltdown!
You've been waiting, and there's a lot of it, so let's get right to it:
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New contributor Kit of Forever Vain wanted to say hello and show off a few pictures. Here is Kit with some of her favorite guns:
(click here for a link to this picture in glorious high resolution!)
Kit must have been inspired by previous Carnival of Cordite discussions about Zombies and Movies...
Now before you ask, sorry, she is not single, evidence to the contrary notwithstanding...
Click here and read the fine print... She already has her wonderful John, and her wonderful John likes guns, too:
Now if that isn't love, I don't know what is.
Many thanks to Oleg Volk for taking such wonderful photographs!
But don't think Kit is just a pretty face who likes to pose with guns. Read her blog, too. She takes her shooting seriously and often writes about her trips to the range and her thoughts on gun issues.
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While Kit is battling Zombies, James from Hell in a Handbasket looks at the guns of Battlestar Galactica. As he points out, some are completely non-functional props; others are real guns with futuristic parts stuck on. While we all know it has nothing to do with reality, it makes for fun reading. Here's a picture:
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Counter Top goes the other way this week, with a trip to a museum:
Be sure to see his other pictures of armor and swords and stuff!
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From museums to great gun stores, The Ten Ring reports in after a vacation that included a trip to Collector's Firearms in Houston in honor of Buy a Gun Day. The visit was a success:
That's a Mauser Broomhandle. As Denise reports, this model has been featured in countless movies, tying in nicely with the posts above. But more importantly, read the whole story for great information about this historic auto-pistol.
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Another Buy a Gun Day purchase:
That's a Ruger Vaquero, recently purchased by El Capitain of Baboon Pirates.
Once again, I am reminded just how little cash I have... sigh...
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Speaking of Ruger revolvers, but transitioning from single-action to double-action, Wadcutter offers a multi-post metplat of information. This is the introductory post, with links to the rest of the series.
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From Ruger to Smith & Wesson... North Georgia Dogma also offers up his Buy a Gun Day purchase:
That is a BEAUTIFUL S&W model 17. And lest you think it is just for show, here is the range report.
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Another gratuitous pic, of a gun and a knife:
That's Anthroblogogy's latest purchase, the 1944 Swiss Army rifle and tool.
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OK, OK, enough gratuitous gun pics for now. On to some policy issues.
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As you are probably now aware, Florida has just changed their self-defense laws. Some people swear this is a giant step back and will turn Florida into the Wild West. Of course, they said the same thing when Florida lead the nation in issuing the then-controversial concealed handgun permits... and crime went down by 50% since then. But what this law actually does isn't give a green-light to kill. Rather, it clarifies when you are legally allowed to use deadly force in self-defense (a right Floridians have always had).
For some analysis:
Of Arms and the Law discusses press coverage.
Florida's own Ronin, Frank J, gives his own 2 cents.
Puppy Blender Coyote Killer notes that other states have been doing this for years. While he's at it, he also writes about The New York Times and assault weapons. Heh. Indeed.
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Self-defense isn't just a Florida issue. Even comic strip characters must take responsibility for their own defense...
That's Day by Day, an on-line comic by Chris Muir. Thanks, Chris, for letting me paste these into this week's Carnival of Cordite!
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While it's true that papers don't give due respect to those who lawfully defend themselves, stories nonetheless break. This week, the Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog reports on 16 new cases of lawful self-defense reported in papers across the nation.
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What happens when you take away the citizen's right to self-defense? Let's see how things are in D.C. these days.
Counter Top has been busy; here's a fine piece on Australia. As he points out, why does Australia need to enact MORE gun legislation when they have already outlawed all these guns? Aren't these guns covered by the ban on ALL privately owned firearms? And why hasn't crime gone down since the ban?
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Who should be able to get hand guns in this country? You'd think it was pretty simple, since the application form asks you some simple yes-or-no questions like "have you ever had a felony conviction?" After all, people with felony convictions aren't supposed to get their hands on guns. Or are they?
Counter Top again writes in, this time on the latest U.S. Supreme Court case. The gist of this one: the Court decided that, absent specific language in the law to the contrary, felony convictions from foreign courts will not bar you from legally owning a hand gun in this country. More from Of Arms and the Law. Even more from Trigger Finger.
I am honestly uncertain about this ruling. On the one hand, any ruling that supports gun owners is great. On the other hand... OH MY FREAKING GOD, WE COULD HAVE FOREIGN TERRORISTS BUYING GUNS IN AMERICA. On a more practical note, an escaped murderer rapist from Canada would not be barred from buying a hand gun in the U.S. But then, how many people have escaped to America from foreign lands where innocent people are "convicted" of felonies without due process of law? Didn't we just liberate 50 million people from a few countries like that? As pointed out by Of Arms and the Law, members of the anti-Nazi resistances in WWII would have been burdened by the dissent in the case.
It's a tough call, and exactly the kind of call the Supreme Court should NOT be making! Policy comes from the Legislature, not the bench!
Oh well... since the Court avoided any Constitutional questions, this time, this becomes a simple matter for Congress to address. All they have to do is decide if they agree with the Court, and if not, add the phrase "in the United States or abroad" after the words "felony conviction."
Congress is also mulling a ban on frivolous lawsuits against gun manufacturers. Jerry the Geek offers his thoughts, along with correspondence with his (and my) Congressman.
Speaking of Congress, they say two things you never want to see made are sausages and the law. There is a whole boondoggle going on in the Tennessee legislature over a bill that would modify their state's concealed carry laws. We have commentary and follow up from Uncle. More from The Nashville Files. This looks like another example of politics-as-usual getting in the way of a good bill.
Since this is a Tennessee issue, most of us from other states think it doesn't really matter. But it DOES. The legislatures of every state look to the laws of their sister states as a guide to public policy. If you are in Tennessee, write to your reps and demand that they get their acts together. If you are out of Tennessee, point your reps to this as an example of what not to do.
This is important for every state. The bulk of our laws concerning guns and personal defense come from the state level. If you want to keep your right to keep and bear arms for personal defense, start at the state level.
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So you've done your part to support the right the bear arms for self defense... Now, what should you carry for self-defense? That's one for endless discussion. Boxing Alcibiades weighs in on the merits of the old fashioned pepperbox.
I'll let all you readers chime in via comments on your ideas for a good defense gun... I can smell the flames now...
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From hand guns to long guns: in the category of "topic that will not die," Kevin the Techno Gypsy has more to say about the .50 BMG. As Kevin points out, one aspect of .50 BMG bans could be bans on all guns with .50 or greater bore... that means no more 12 ga.! Also, another potential ban is on "heavy" sniper rifles... that's broad language that could mean a ban on things like a .300 magnum hunting rifle. In the case of the ban by bore diameter, this renews my call to neck down and re-name the .50 BMG to the 10 mm Liberty or something similar. But the "heavy" sniper rifle ban... that's a scary thought, and any attempts to circumvent the .50 BMG ban via wildcatting would surely fall into this "heavy" sniper rifle category.
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Speaking of heavy sniper rifles, Chris the AnarchAngel writes in with his own take on big guns for long range shooting and bigger guns for loooooong range shooting.
I have my own thoughts on what would be my ideal long range rifle.
Oh, to have a steady paycheck. At least this one looks practical.
Speaking of practical, Kevin from The Smallest Minority wants you to know about tactical rifle slings you can make yourself on the cheap.
Let me just add in my own 2 cents. A sling is an essential element for just about any rifle. And a quality sling makes a difference. You need comfort when carrying a heavy piece of steel on your shoulder for hours. You need security when climbing over rough terrain and crossing streams in search of your elusive 6 point elk. And a well-made sling, used properly, can really improve your aim when shooting in the field. It astounds me that some people out there will drop $2,000 on a custom rifle, $1,000 on some German glass, and spend weeks developing a hand-load that groups in the microns from the bench, only to head out into the field with a cheap strap of nylon to hold that rig in place. So put some thought and some research into properly outfitting your rifle with a good sling.
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New contributor Parallax Adjustment offers a pair of posts on tactical training here and here. It's always good to find new blogs with such dynamic content.
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Some people have the resources to fire thousands of rounds of obscure cartridges while attending professional training centers on a regular basis. Then others of us feel like Peter over at Bad Example and want to stay cheap. This one is for the serious shooter, preferably an experienced hand-loader. It may be cheap, but it ain't necessarily easy! Nor is it a solution for expensive practice ammo with your auto-pistol. You do, however, get to shoot your revolvers safely at a target in your own home.
If you've been reading the Carnival of Cordite regularly, you'll know that Peter has been the blogless guest over at Bad Example. No more! Now Peter has his own blog home at Shakey Pete's Shootin' Shack! Here is his first post, on children and guns.
Be sure to stop by Shakey Pete's and congratulate him on his new site.
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In the category of Guns and God... some people say Jesus, the ultimate pacifist, would turn the other cheek rather than use force. Some think otherwise. It is certainly true that Jesus said:
If you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.
Luke 22:36
This one line comes up again and again in discussions on the morality of bearing arms. I'm no theologian. I'll leave this issue to the Christian scholars to dissect. Thanks, Error Theory, for writing in with your analysis.
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From religion, we turn to culture. Posse Incitatus writes about the culture of self defense in America and the UK. Also from Posse, the virtue of being armed.
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In the BS department, The Kallini Brothers report on a new "study" about workplace violence. Speaking of BS... I'm sure you hear on the news stories about the eeeeevil Tom DeLay and how badly we need to get rid of him. Well let me tell you this: it doesn't matter who the Republicans have in charge, the fifth-column left in this country will demonize him. That's their tactic. Put Mother Theresa in a leadership role within the GOP, and all of a sudden, there will be people coming out of the woodwork with stories that she molested them (Clarence Thomas), threatened them (John Bolton), did coke with them (GWB), etc. It's all a load of crap designed to get you, the unsuspecting public, to take power away from Republicans. This week it's Tom DeLay. If he resigned tonight, tomorrow it would be someone else. We must not give up our support of Tom DeLay. The Kallini Brothers agree.
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It wouldn't be a Carnival of Cordite without raiding the archives of Kim du Toit. Here he rants about gun lock policies.
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Just to make sure you are still paying attention, here is Kit again!
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Want to learn plenty of new things? The Blog of the Week goes to No Quarters. Click and scroll through for posts on numbered bullets, security stupidity, blowing things up, word for the day (violence), Minnesota carry laws, gun confiscation and more!
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Finally, a bit about chicken shooting. Yes, chicken shooting. From new contributor The Common Room, read Recycled Rooster, or, Don't Mess with Texas.
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That wraps up this week's Carnival of Cordite! I hope you enjoyed the show. Next week, the Carnival of Cordite will be hosted by Pajama Pundits. Send your submissions to the Carnival of Cordite 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 Carnival Submit Form from Conservative Cat.
And we offer our sincere apologies to But That's Just My Opinion, who was supposed to host this week, but fell victim to the Hotmail debacle. We look forward to rescheduling But That's Just My Opinion to host later this summer.
If you'd like to host the Carnival of Cordite, check for schedule openings at our official Carnival of Cordite blog, and send us an e-mail indicating your availability. Hosting is a great way to get new readers to your blog, and to draw in more readers to the Carnival of Cordite. It's a win-win.
And on that note... see you next week at Pajama Pundits... and in the meantime, keep your powder dry!
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