Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Small Furry Animals: It's time once again for the CARNIVAL OF CORDITE! It's great to be back here hosting again. Thanks to all those wonderful guest hosts who filled in so I could have a brief Summer vacation. And today is our TWENTY-FIFTH Carnival of Cordite! That's quite a milestone, indeed.
One quick request before we begin: take a look over on the right sidebar and find my new straw poll. We had a huge success with voter turnout for my first straw poll (see results and analysis here); now I have a follow up. It will only take a moment of your time, so please vote for your choice for the 2008 GOP Presidential Nomination. Thanks!
And now...
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GUNS!
First time contributor Life in the Great Midwest has a report on a fine .22 rifle. Here is one interesting photo:
Another excellent .22 from Ruger, this one a custom 10/22, courtesy of Random Nuclear Strikes:
The Blogonomicon would like to tell you about his favorite .22 rifle. There are plenty of pictures; I like this one best for its great perspective:
The Blogonomicon also has some ideas about bear attacks. Les Jones might agree. You could say this idea is about the exact opposite of a .22 rifle... Me, I'd take a Glock model 20 10mm with extra 15 round magazines as a carry-in-the-wilds handgun. Back to rifles...
Irons in the Fire has a report on a slightly bigger rifle, the Savage 340:
Irons in the Fire also reviews the unusual Nagant Revolver in the same post; be sure to read the whole thing!
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On a side note, Irons in the Fire has some great posts about making your own blades here, here, and here. Be sure to keep an eye on Irons in the Fire for the continuation of this series.
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Back to guns, and speaking of Nagant, Toys in the Attic has a new rifle, a Mosin Nagant 91/30:
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Moving on to legal and political matters...
As you are no doubt aware, we have a new nominee for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Judge John Roberts looks like a highly qualified candidate. But where does he stand on the Second Amendment? For information, we turn to Of Arms and the Law.
Is an organization really your political ally simply because it says it supports your Second Amendment rights? According to TriggerFinger, the answer is: maybe, maybe not. The Countertop Chronicles offers some more on this topic. Countertop has been exceptionally busy this week with tons of great posts: just start at the top and work your way down! By the way, I like the new look: nice, clean lines, easy on the eyes. Speaking of easy on the eyes...
But, ahem, back to, erm, legal and political matters...
Kevin the Techno Gypsy informs me that the NRA is calling on all of us to boycott ConocoPhillips over their employee policy. This issue of guns in vehicles on company property has come up before here at the Carnival of Cordite. Previously, I had said that I believe a private employer's property rights are equally as valid an employee's Second Amendment rights, and that I wouldn't blindly support a law favoring the employees. But this time, it is different: the NRA isn't calling for a law forcing ConocoPhillips to allow guns on its property. Instead, it is asking the free market to decide the issue. ConocoPhillips maintains its property rights. And we consumers maintain the right to buy our gasoline from other companies. I do not support using the power of the State to force a company to allow employees to bring firearms onto company property. But I absolutely support the power of the consuming public to apply the pressure of free market choice on an employer to change its policy. That's what freedom is all about: choice.
Kevin also fills us in on the good, and the bad, of S. 397.
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On to the crime scene:
TFS Magnum tells us how a woman refuses to be a victim.
(thank you to Oleg Volk of A Human Right for the excellent visual aid)
More self-defense from Kansas City. Be sure to check the Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog regularly for up-to-the-minute coverage of firearms used for lawful protection.
More on handguns for protection from Les Jones, this time shifting from bears to urban predators.
What do you do when someone claiming to be a police officer is at your door, but doesn't seem to be acting like a real cop? Do you shut your door and dial 911? Gunner of No Quarters has the details. Tough call: if you are right, you protected yourself. But if you are wrong, you have committed a crime by obstructing an investigation. Maybe this is a case where the law needs to be clarified, to protect the public. Gunner is another busy blogger this week: just start at the top and work your way down for a ton of great posts.
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On the tech front, Shakey Pete has more information than you ever thought existed on priming your cases.
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It was a good week for range reports and shooting matches!
More from Random Nuclear Strikes, reporting on e-postal match scores (and losing to a CANADIAN!). Also, chicks with guns!
Speaking of e-postal matches, Mr. Completely is looking for more entries in his fly-swatting competition.
Libercontrarian has a report on his second BloggerShoot. Lots of great pictures, like this one featuring a beautiful Garand rifle:
The folks of Blog Idaho are heading out this weekend to Westmatch XIV. Let's wish them well, and hope for lots of great photos next week!
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Eric, grumbling before his grave, grumbles today about some firearm philosophy and American history. I'm stealing his quote:
Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined.
To learn the name of this speaker and more, see Eric's post.
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And now, the time has come to highlight the blog of the week. This week, we salute Hell in a Handbasket.
First off, there is Old Tech in a Spaceship, in which we see some good old fashioned firepower featured in an upcoming sci-fi thriller.
Next, we have some follow up to a previous post on the guns of Battlestar Galactica.
In a more serious post, there is Lethality Legality, which explores hollow-point ammunition and the U.S. Military.
And finally, Hell in a Handbasket gets credit for forwarding to me a post from another blogger, Michael Yon, reporting on, among other things, the .223 in service in Iraq:
The lack of power of the American M-4 and M-16 rifles is astonishing. So many people and cars shot-up, but they just keep going and going. For a moment, it appeared the terrorists might get away.
Fortunately, enough ammunition was fired to eventually bring the bad guys down. But could the fire-fight have ended more quickly? In combat, is it "good enough" that the enemy is defeated "eventually"?
I've said it before and I'll say it again: the .223 is a great round when used for its intended purpose. That purpose is firing close-range at soft targets and suppressive fire in person-to-person combat. But the .223 is NOT a good round for other situations, including firing at long-range, and firing at vehicles. I believe that a military squad needs a variety of weapons to handle a variety of situations. Why wasn't there an M-60 firing heavier 7.62mm ammunition? The notion that some of our military planners have that there can exist an "all around" ammo choice is simply ludicrous.
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Finally, we end with a question for discussion:
Are potential terrorists given too much freedom when it comes to the Second Amendment in America? Should the government take steps to ensure that terrorists are unable to obtain firearms lawfully? And how can this safety be accomplished without infringing on our rights as Americans?
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That wraps up this week's Carnival of Cordite. Thank you all for contributing. For information on future and previous carnivals, please see the official Carnival of Cordite blog. E-mail 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 Carnival Submit Form courtesy of Conservative Cat.
See you here again next week. And in the meantime, keep your powder dry!
Doyou have any information on the economics of a shooing range where primarily women could receive instruction and practice in self protection?
Posted by: William J. Adams | Sunday, 07 August 2005 at 10:32 PM
local property taxes have made most shooting ranges too expensive to continue turning a profit--and now with Kelo v. New London, local governments in primarily liberal (i.e., anti-gun), urban environments may even have the power of eminent domain to seize shooting ranges (big waste of space) and turn them into high-rent buildings.
Posted by: Gullyborg | Monday, 08 August 2005 at 12:52 PM