Carnival of Cordite #39

Hello, and welcome once again to the Carnival of Cordite, a weekly round-up of blog posts on guns, shooting, hunting, personal protection, and the law and politics of the Second Amendment.  If this is your first time visiting Resistance is futile! please stick around and read up on conservative politics (especially Oregon politics) and a variety of other interesting topics.

Hat tip to TFS Magnum for pointing out a relevant offering from one of my favorite comic strips, Pearls Before Swine:

And now, on with the rest of the Carnival of Cordite...

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Let's jump right into a plea for support: Stop the ACLU is waging a hard war against one of our worst enemies, and can use your donations.  What will your donations fund?  How about an ad in the Washington Times?  Why do we need to stop the ACLU?  Here is reason 9:

ACLU POLICY “The ACLU agrees with the Supreme Court’s long-standing interpretation of the Second Amendment [as set forth in the 1939 case, U.S. v. Miller] that the individual’s right to bear arms applies only to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia. Except for lawful police and military purposes, the possession of weapons by individuals is not constitutionally protected. Therefore, there is no constitutional impediment to the regulation of firearms.”

Let's all chip in to Stop the ACLU!

As long as I am plugging worthy causes, here is one that, admittedly, is as much for me personally as it it for all of us:

Please vote for Resistance is futile! for a spot in the blogger deck of cards.  How does this help anyone other than me, you ask?  Well, I am hoping to earn some more publicity for my website, and that, in turn, will mean more readers for the weekly Carnival of Cordite.  More readers = more support for guns and gun rights here and abroad, and that's really the only reason I do what I do.  So please, take just a moment to head over there and vote for Resistance is futile!  Every little bit helps when it comes to supporting our Second Amendment.

And speaking of worthy causes: Mr. Completely tells us that Project Valour-IT raised almost $90 thousand from its recent drive!  I know some of you readers kicked in contributions; you guys rock!

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So why do we need to help support our Second Amendment, anyway?  Well... let's just ask the people of San Francisco...

New contributor Vengeful Zhid says that San Francisco got what it wanted.  If only it were really just a cruel April Fool's joke.

Even if all the guns are banned, and all the gun makers are run out of business, and all the existing guns are confiscated, what's to stop criminals from making their own?  As Irons in the Fire points out, it isn't that hard to make a very real, very functional gun:

There are a number of places from which you can get milling machines and metal lathes- good ones- and they'll deliver to your door.  Steel?  Cheap and easily available in all grades, same for brass.  And so forth.  It would actually be easier to make a subgun than a revolver, and you can find plans to make a subgun from salvage yard materials, no special tooling needed except for a reamer (and as one book points out, doesn't even have to be an actual chamber reamer).

It would be pretty easy for any competent machinist to churn out automatic weapons, which of course, would have no serial number and be completely untraceable, even after the San Fran Ban...

Read more about why gun bans are a bad idea here.

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Elsewhere on the legal front:

Xavier reports a change in Illinois law regarding the obliteration of a serial number on a firearm.

Meanwhile, Ah, Shoot! has more on the hair-brained scheme to put serial numbers on individual bullets.

Since it's hunting season, we need to keep abreast of changes in hunting regulations.  Blogonomicon reports that Pennsylvania is considering allowing hunters to take deer with the primitive atlatl:

Of course, there may be an unintended consequence:

I'm sure that the atlatl has just moved into 728th place on the list of items that certain groups will want to ban.

Heh.

So... all you real lawyers out there: if you live in an anti-gun state, can you incorporate in a more gun-friendly state, then use the corporation to buy weapons?  Because those of us in anti-gun states shouldn't have to move!

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Gun safety:

I try to be the safest gun handler I can be.  I hope all of you aim for an accident-free life as well.  But sometimes, we make mistakes.  Fortunately, my only mistake so far was relatively minor: I forgot to put my earplugs back in after having a little scratch... just before shooting a muzzle-breaked large-bore rifle off a concrete bench.  I literally didn't hear the shot, which was my first clue that something was very, very wrong.  But the safety gods must have been looking out for me, as within a few hours the dull ringing subsided and by the next day I was hearing just fine.  I was lucky. Some people suffer permanent hearing loss from mistakes like that.

But one of our regulars had a friend make the big, big mistake: he forgot to ensure his pistol wasn't loaded.  We all say "that will never happen to me because I am careful and know better."  Well, Xavier's friend thought so, too.  Thankfully, he is alive and well, and no one other than him got hurt.  But he has a mark to remind him of his mistake for the rest of his life:

I'd like to thank Xavier's friend for having the courage to write about this, and to share it with all of us.  We can all learn from it, and hopefully his grim reminder to follow proper safety protocols will give all you readers a cold dose of reality, and prevent one of you from making the same mistake with potentially deadly consequences.  Let's all wish him a speedy recovery.

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Crime report:

The Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog reports on a clear-cut case of defensive shooting.  Make sure you visit The Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog regularly!

Uncle reports on a gun dealer getting the Martha Stewart treatment... same as Scooter Libby, by the way.  I for one think it is an outrage that the feds can haul you in, not charge you with a crime, but then charge you with interfering with the investigation of the non-crime they didn't charge you with.  If that isn't the type of governmental abuse of power our Founding Fathers declared Independence over, I'm not sure what is!

Fearless Philosophy for Free Minds discusses mandatory minimum sentences for gun criminals.  Key question:

Is the motivation behind the mandatory-minimum sentencing law to take guns out of the hands of otherwise law-abiding citizens or is the motivation to put away drug offenders for a longer period of time or is it both?

This reminds me: I've seen/heard a number of ads from The Ad Council with the theme of "commit a gun crime and go to jail, and your family suffers as much as you do."  Read about their stance here.  My question is: what message are they really trying to send?  Because if their true aim were to reduce crime, thus saving families from heartache, wouldn't it be even more effective to tell people "commit any crime and go to jail..."?  After all, if you do 5 years for selling crack, but never used a gun, isn't that just as bad as doing 5 years because you pointed a gun at convenience store clerk?  So are they truly interested in reducing crime, or just demonizing gun ownership?

Why does our tax money go to the Ad Council, anyway?

Just because someone owns a gun shop, that doesn't necessarily mean he's on our side.  American Realpolitik is asking us all to write or call in and give hell to one such owner in light of comments made after a recent notorious local shooting.

If you are concerned about your safety and either live in an anti-gun state or would simply rather use non-lethal devices, Hell in a Handbasket is here with some good advice for you.  While you are there, read this post about some nearly fatal experiences.

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From the range:

Owen has been practicing with his air pistol:

Knowing how small those little holes are, I'd say that looks like some pretty good grouping!  And Owen has some advice for newbies buying guns for competition: get the best you can afford!

In a follow-up, Irons in the Fire has a range report with the Enfield trainer:

If you want to learn how to shoot a real battle rifle without spending a fortune on high-power ammunition, one of these beauties just might be the trick!

Speaking of battle rifles, The Jawa Report has a great post up with real-world range reports from our troops, on the Guns of Iraq.  MUST READ!

For The Freeholder, Sunday was take the family shooting day.

Jerry the Geek got in some serious rock and roll time with one of these:

Read all about it here.

Here is an interesting shooting sport I'd never heard of before: board cutting!

It's actually kind of similar to something I used to do with some friends when we went shooting in the woods: we used to try to shoot branches off the trees.  Hey, it grows back!

Mr. Completely has the report from the last hanging plate match of the year.  And while he's at it, here are updated rules for the next e-postal match.

Anthroblogogy is getting his ammo ready for his upcoming match:

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Before wasting ammo at the range, you might want to learn a thing or two about shooting form... and don't do it by watching people in the movies!  Leah Guildenstern has some critical words for whatever actor this is:

First off, people are much more effective shooting with their eyes open.  It makes finding the target much easier.  Using the Force can only go so far.

After seeing the last three Star Wars movies, I think George Lucas should have relied more on writers and less on the Force...

And of course, before you head to the range, BUY AMMO!  NATIONAL AMMO DAY IS THIS SATURDAY!

Mr. Completely has an alternate version here.

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We covered this at Halloween time... but since we are now in pumpkin-pie season, why not cover it again?

PUMPKIN CANNONS!

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, a while back some bored men with too much spare time thought it would be cool to launch pumpkins with home-built catapults.  Since then, this sport has blossomed into a huge event, with several categories of pumpkin launchers.  There is even a category for giant cannons that use compressed air to shoot pumpkins close to a mile.  Here is a photo of one, with it's engineer next to it so you can see the scale we are talking about:

And that's one of the smaller ones!  Check THIS bad boy out:

So next time you are mashing some pumpkin to make pie, consider your alternatives...

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OK, OK, y'all want to see some more "conventional" guns...

Here's one for you:

And, there is even video proof that you can shoot it without breaking your wrist!

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is endorsing this fine holster for your handgun:

Once you have a holster, be sure to work on your draw!  More here.

Meanwhile, Shakey Pete has information on gun belt suspenders and a very handy little gun-cart.

Is something missing here?

Don't worry!  This one is a work in progress.  Head over to Uncle's for the whole series on building an AK.

And finally, Baboon Pirates unveils the mystery gun:

Sweet!

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Time for the blog of the week... sort of!  This time, I want to recognize the mysterious blogless one, the friend of Xavier who shared his tale of pain.  We need reminders like that to keep us safe and sharp.  And this leads us to our discussion question:

Have you ever made a dangerous mistake with your firearm, and if so, what lesson should we all learn from it?

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Would you like to contribute to the next Carnival of Cordite?  Just send an e-mail 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.  You can catch up on previous carnivals at our main page.  And catch up on the many other fine blog carnivals at ubercarnival.

That wraps up this week's Carnival of Cordite.  Thanks for reading, and remember to VOTE FOR RESISTANCE IS FUTILE! FOR SPADES!

Comments

[tonyb]

It is kind of difficult to admit when you have done something stupid with a gun, after we fight daily with people whose only purpose is to show how dangerous guns are. Well here is my story where I learned my lesson once and for all.

This happened when I was maybe 16, and hunting in the northern Michigan woods with my dad.

I was using a Marlin 30-30 lever action, and was carrying the weapon in one hand with the barrel pointed straight down. I had been playing with the hammer cocking it back, and releasing it into the safe position. I was doing this over and over as I was walking back to camp for lunch.

At first I thought someone was shooting at me. When I felt the buzzing in my foot I looked down to see a nice sized crater in the frozen ground about 3 inches from the edge of my boot. Of all the things I thought about the one that stuck most in my mind was the fact that I had almost become a cripple for the rest of my life. That was the last time that I have done anything so stupid with a firearm in my life.

TonyB

[Jim Peavey]

Each summer at NRA Whittington Center, NM a camp for young shooters is held. Called Adventure Camp, it is two weeks of shooting and hunting skills training. Pistol, Rifle, Muzzleloading, and Shotgun are taught by some good people. If you know of a young person who might benefit and enjoy learning, or perfecting his shooting skills please tell about this camp.
Goto www.nrawc.org, NRA Whittington Adventure on the internet for more information.

[fudgypup]

I was at Black Canyon shooting range in AZ once about ten years ago shooting my ruger 9mm and had a jam. Instead of using my thumb and forefinger to grab the rear end and pull the slide back, I put my hand over the top of the slide to force it back. The range master announced over the PA for me to immediately place my gun on the table pointing downrange and see him now. I sheepishly walked up to him with everyone looking at me and he explained why that was a bad idea as he showed me a nasty scar from a .45 cal bullet that went through his palm when he did that very same thing one day about a year prior. I'll never forget that.

[me]

At an outdoor range, shooting a Ruger GP100 .357 in single fire mode (hammer pulled back before pulling trigger), I was about to shoot when I felt an intense pain in my arm. Thinking I had been winged by another shooter, I dropped my revolver and inspected my arm, where a large wasp was still attached and buzzing. After removing the insect and its stinger, I looked down at the range table in front of me, to see my cocked Ruger pointed across the firing line, essentially pointing at several other shooters at their benches. Fortunately nobody noticed, and even more fortunately the gun did not fire when I dropped it on the table.