Carnival of Cordite #31

Greetings Ladies, Gentlemen, and small woodland Creatures, welcome once again to the Carnival of Cordite: a weekly round-up of blog posts related to guns, shooting, personal defense, and the laws and politics of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

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Before we begin, I have one personal request of the many practicing lawyers (especially those with criminal law experience) who read this column:

As you may remember from a few weeks back, I am working as a research assistant for our Dean, who is writing a text book for a law course on forensic sciences and the law.  I will be doing the leg work on firearms ballistics and evidence.  My question to all of you is:

Pretend you are teaching a course on forensic sciences and the law.  What kind of information on firearms ballistics and evidence would you want in the book your students are reading, information normally not found in a text book like this?

Since you are not only practicing attorneys, but also firearms enthusiasts, your opinions will be highly valued.

Thanks in advance!

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In continuing follow-up over the New Orleans gun-grab fiasco, we turn to Michelle Malkin, who put together the following mini-round-up:

The NRA is seeking plaintiffs:

If you have personally had a gun confiscated in Louisiana since Hurricane Katrina hit, please call (888) 414-6333.  Be prepared to leave only your name and immediate contact information so we can get back to you.  Once again, we are seeking contact information from actual victims of gun confiscation in Louisiana only.

The Second Amendment Foundation is joining in:

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and National Rifle Association (NRA) joined with individual gun owners in Louisiana Thursday morning, filing a motion in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana seeking a temporary restraining order to stop authorities in and around the City of New Orleans from seizing firearms from private citizens in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Arbitrary gun seizures, without warrant or probable cause, have been reported during the past three weeks since the Crescent City was devastated by the hurricane. In cases reported to SAF, police refused to give citizens receipts for their seized firearms. Earlier, SAF insisted that police account for all seized firearms, disclose their whereabouts, and explain how they will be returned to their rightful owners. Authorities have not responded.

Gun confiscations have been highly publicized since the New York Times quoted New Orleans Police Superintendent P. Edwin Compass III, who said, “Only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons,” and ABC News quoted Deputy Police Chief Warren Riley stating, “No one will be able to be armed. We are going to take all the weapons.”

For example, a San Francisco, CA camera crew from KTVU filmed one incident in which visiting California Highway Patrol officers tackled an elderly woman identified as Patricia Konie, to seize her pistol and forcibly remove her from her home. An ABC news crew accompanying an Oklahoma National Guard unit filmed another incident in which homeowners were handcuffed and disarmed, then released but without their firearms.

“We are delighted to work jointly with the NRA in an effort to bring these outrageous gun seizures to a halt,” said SAF founder Alan M. Gottlieb. “Our inquiries about these confiscations were cavalierly ignored, as were our demands for a public explanation from the police and city officials about why citizens were being unlawfully disarmed, leaving them defenseless against lingering bands of looters and thugs.

“New Orleans officials left us with no recourse,” Gottlieb observed. “It was bad enough that Big Easy residents were victims of the worst natural disaster in the nation’s history. That they would be subsequently victimized by their own local government, taking their personal property without warrant, is unconscionable. These illegal gun seizures must be stopped, now.”

Be sure to head over to Michelle's post for more background links from the MSM.

(Thank you to numerous readers who sent in similar posts!)

For commentary, Josh has this to say:

I have my own copy of the Patricia Konie gun confiscation video shown on Fox News.  Certainly this is evidence that the New Orleans gun confiscation went too far... It's rumored that the confiscations have been quietly discontinued, but in my opinion it's too late to save face.

More from Josh on the NRA response.  And more here.

PawPaw, who is from Louisiana, discusses illegal orders.

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We continue to receive posts about basic survival in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and its resultant impact on the people of New Orleans.  Now that Hurricane Rita is bearing down on the Gulf Coast, such posts continue to be relevant:

From The Freeholder: Lessons you Need to Learn.  27 of them, actually!

The Outdoor Channel's Michael Bane brings us more.

Error Theory has an interesting post on the philosophy of when to shoot in the context of social disaster.

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It is getting be that time of year, the time when gun talk begins to focus more on hunting...

URGENT:

Mr. Completely informs us that there is a move on to BAN ALL HUNTING on Whidbey Island!

Please go to Mr. Completely's blog for important contact information.  The hearing is MONDAY, September 26, so ACT NOW!

TFS Magnum brings us a happy news story about a 10 year old GIRL who won a trophy hunt:

(photo from Anchorage Daily News)

Speaking of Alaska and hunting... want to try some whale meat?

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Let us now leap into politics and law:

Knowledge is Power is getting good Second Amendment vibes about nominee for Chief Justice John Roberts, from the point of view of the "concerned feminist."

It's not the guns; it's the knives... Australia's Gun Watch reports that relatively gun-free Scotland has been labeled "the most violent country" in a new study:

And you will note that the report specifically states that knives, not guns, are the problem. So Glasgow is a very good example of where banning guns has done no good at all. It is the culture and the individual that leads to violence, not guns.

Read more here.  And while you're at it, read all of the Gun Watch blog from the top down!

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On to shooting and range reports:

More from The Freeholder, who reports on the "trip to camp Freehold," including information on this:

That is the M-1 Carbine.  Full report here.

Newcomer Matthew Maynard wants you to participate in his new postal match.  The theme: military rifles with iron sights only!

Here's another one.

Speaking of matches, Mr. Completely wants to share some tips on Winning and Losing.  Key advice:

Always remember that misses, no matter how fast you got them off, don't count for much.

Mr. Completely also reports on a recent pin shoot, featuring this fearsome foursome:

It's always great to see ladies enjoying the shooting sports!  We need to encourage more of this in our society in order to ensure that our society will continue to respect the importance of shooting.

Only in Idaho...

Not to be outdone, Mr. Completely has machine gun shooting.

And still more video here.

Videos are cool!

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Just for fun:

Critical Mastiff wrote a poem about being a bullet, Fidelis.

You might be a gun nut if...

The fabulous Tam of View from the Porch has some tales from the other side of the counter:

The next time you call the shop and ask the harried-sounding chick on the other end of the line how much your grandpa's Remington is worth, please be understanding if she cackles wildly and says "I can't see it too well from here; hold it closer to the phone." 

Having worked in retail myself, I totally commiserate!

Hell in a Handbasket ponders anonymity.  And to answer the question: while I use a pseudonym in general on my blog, it's not for anonymity so much as a fun way to combine my real last name (which is there for the world to see on my about page) with the Star Trek "Borg" inspired name of my blog.

Now you know.

And can somebody explain how the whole Gunblogger Community thing works?

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Crime beat:

The Civilian Gun Self Defense Blog is loaded up this week.  Ordinarily, I try to excerpt some key information from prominent articles, but this week there is so much good reading I just couldn't do it justice with excerpts.  Simply start reading at the top and work your way down!

Uncle has a thought provoking post on the guns of heroes and villains.

Numerous readers e-mailed in this story about shooting in New Orleans.  Knowledge is Power was inspired to produce both this:

And also this...

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Let's not forget about the guns themselves:

An e-mailer wanted us to plug a site for general information about Glocks.  Okay.

PawPaw has a new shotgun:

This is the Remington 870 Express:

If it were to be introduced today, the 870 would be hailed as a breakthrough in shotgun design.  It is strong, durable, sleek, with a silky smooth action.  The fact that is has been around over half a century is testament to its versatility and utility as a modern firearm.

And let me be the next to endorse this as THE IDEAL first weapon for home defense.  Literally all you need to make this gun perfect is a 3-shot magazine extension and a good sling.  Every home should have one!

Upgrading your AK with some fancy optics?  Uncle has some info for you.

Michael Bane has a report on a BEAUTIFUL custom S&W 625 .45 ACP revolver, build by Randy Lee/Apex Tactical:

(be sure to click the photo for fabulous full-size!)

Here's the bottom line: Randy Lee is the best revolver gunsmith working today. He is clearly one of the greatest S&W mechanics ever.  Back in the day, I was lucky enough to shoot guns from some of the legendary PPC revolversmiths, and I would put Randy's 625 against any of those guns.  I suggest you get your S&Ws to him TODAY, because as soon as word gets out, he's going to be sitting on a waiting list like you wouldn't believe!

Michael, THE WORD IS NOW OUT!  Randy: if you take charity cases, I could use a custom .44 Magnum...

Speaking of wheel guns... Cowboy Blob is putting his .357 into nightstand use so he won't have to worry about spring fatigue with his auto-pistols.  And here it is:

And here is its friend:

See what you can find when you go digging around the back of the safe?

Thinking about trigger jobs?  Hell in a Handbasket doesn't think you should bother.  (Go ahead and flame away, he says...)

And since we are used to talking about excellent firearms, how about some crummy ones?  This one gets Hell in a Handbasket's vote:

If you are the proud owner of a Type 94... sorry...

And to wrap things up...

If anyone knows about handloading all-brass black powder shotshells, please contact Shakey Pete!

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Thus ends our foray into the posts of others, and we close with Blog of the Week and our discussion question:

Blog of the Week award goes to the Civilian Gun Self Defense Blog for such diligent work this last week.  Again, go read everything there!

And for discussion:

These last few weeks, we have read all about guns and disasters.  But disasters might happen once in a lifetime, if at all, for the average gun owner.  What is important to consider about the use and care of your disaster-preparedness arms during all those years of disaster-free living?

Please discuss in the comments below.

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Thank you all for coming.  Hope to see you back next week.  You can catch up archived Carnival of Cordite reading at our main site.  Want to contribute?  Send in your posts to:

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 handy Carnival Submit Form from Conservative Cat.  And find all the blogosphere's latest Carnivals on a wide variety of topics at The Truth Laid Bear's Ubercarnival Page.

See y'all next week.  Until then, keep your powder dry!

 

Comments

[Rivrdog]

Disaster Preparedness firearms goals:

1. Practice with them. Regularily.
2. Set up a cleaning schedule and clean them. Regularily.
3. Buy and store plenty of ammo for them. Rotate the ammo so you are always practicing with the oldest of it.

[Bob]

Dude!

Dr. Ray plugged you!

[Mr. Completely]

Thanks for the mentions, and thanks for all the work you do to put the carnival's together. They don't just happen by themselves........

...........Mr. C.

[Gullyborg]

Call me Mr. Ignorant, but who is Dr. Ray?

[thebizofknowledge]

I stumbled across your blog while I was doing some online research. This was certainly very informative and it's clear that you have a lot of knowledge about this isssue. I learned so much!