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This gem deserves wider distribution From Not Always Right via The Real Gun Guys:
There are times when this stuff seems too ignmorant to be true. Then I go drive on a freeway and I realize we’re only seeing a very small percentage of the truly incomprehensible stupidity that surrounds us constantly. I wonder if that gun store’s hiring… I can’t help but notice the incremental creep of the Federal Government’s continued power grabs. From the National Firearms Act of 1934 to the Gun Control Act of 1968 to the idea that somehow Washington DC can say what a citizen can do with their own property in their own home it only gets worse as time goes on. I came across a couple of quotes that bring home just how dangerous this trend is. First, a quote from Patrick Henry that I found on the Oath Keepers’ website:
Take note of that part that says, “Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to TAX) but “to BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER” and if being bound in that manner, is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth.” The second quote is from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as quoted by the L.A. Times:
That quote is from Justice Thomas’ dissent regarding a ruling by the Supreme Court about the constitutionality of the Federal Government’s claim that it could decide the legality of marijuana anywhere in the United States. A state law said that someone could grow a plant on their property and consume that plant on that same property. The plant never left their property, nor did it leave the city, county, or state. Yet somehow the Supreme Court decided that it could have an effect on interstate commerce which allows it to fall under the jurisdiction of Federal Law. The legality of marijuana is a touchy subject with strong opinions on both sides. I don’t smoke pot and choose not to get too close to anyone who does. But that’s not the point here. The point is that the Federal Government can now make whatever laws it wants as the law currently stands. Looking at that precedent and Justice Thomas’ words, how can any conclusion be reached but that the Federal Government has nearly unlimited power? What is to stop them from regulating your thermostat setting? After all, you’re using electricity to cool your home which could be produced by means which could affect the air quality in another state, right? The same argument could be made about the electricity, natural gas, heating oil, or wood used to heat your home. Anyone who knows me or has read this blog for any period of time knows where I stand on the issue of guns. Yes, I’m going to bring them into this. I do so because Federal Law is relevant here. Under the National Firearms Act of 1934 the transfer of certain firearms is taxed by the Federal Government. My problem with this Act is that neither the parties involved nor the location of that transfer matter at all. That tax still has to be paid. If I want to buy a short barreled shotgun from my neighbor who legally owns it, I have to pay a $200 tax to the Federal Government. Both parties in this hypothetical transaction are residents of the same state. There is no interstate commerce. Yet somehow we still owe a transfer tax to the Federal Government. Likewise, if I find a used firearm at a dealer, I have to fill out a Form 4477 for a background check. That form states that it is required because I wish to purchase a firearm in interstate commerce. What gets me about this is that it doesn’t matter if that rifle was made by a private citizen for his own use with no paperwork (which is legal) and sold to that dealer at a later date (again, this is legal). It doesn’t matter that this theoretical rifle was made in the same city and never left the state. Because it is being sold by a Federally Licensed Dealer I have to fill out that form which states that I seek to purchase a firearm in interstate commerce. I’m not against background checks provided no record of that sale is kept aside from the one in the dealer’s logbook. Actually, I do have a problem with the logging – no record should be kept regarding who the firearm was sold to, but that’s another story. My problem is that this is a matter which should be left to the states when viewed in a Constitutional light. Look back at those quotes again and take a moment to digest them. Think about what the National Firearms Act of 1934’s transfer tax means and the implications of the words on those Form 4477s. Now tell me where how the position of the current Federal Government is different from that of the British Empire in Patrick Henry’s time. I’d love to hear it because I sure can’t find one. If no difference exists, how are we not slaves as described by Patrick Henry and what were we fighting for? Today I’d like to direct your attention to several posts by National Gun Rights Examiner author David Codrea. I’ve followed David for some time and have come to the conclusion that he’s the real deal. He doesn’t do this for the money. He does it because of conscience. The posts in question are:
This is more important than it might first appear. Attacking Constitutional and Civil Rights has been done before. It was done the same way – with bias, misdirection, flat out lies, and malice aforethought.  History Lesson - Image by Oleg Volk Make no mistake, this is the lead up to much more. National registration and background checks on private transfers including those between family members are already abominations which have been proposed. Registration invariably leads to confiscation. Just ask the Californians who lost their SKS rifles or the New Yorkers who believed that this wouldn’t happen. Of course, it also happened to the Jews in Deutchland and the People of Cambodia, too. Anyone remember what happened there? Bueller? I probably wouldn’t have included the thought of becoming a victim of genocide in a post like this a year ago – a post about the U.S. – but times have changed. We keep hearing about how we need to “share the wealth” via government redistribution. Anyone think they’re just going to ask nicely? Really? It’s gotten bad enough that even Pravda, a prominent Russian publication, called out the current administration on their Marxist policies. The author of that article, Stanislav Mishin, likely knows more about that subject than I ever want to. Don’t be fooled. No, you’re not hallucinating. This really happened. You can read the whole story here. Sure, the victim came out of it with only a swollen lip and had his face “covered with blood.” All he lost was a bologna sandwich with an estimated value of 76 cents according to the police report. Nothing much to see here, right? Wrong. Anyone care to guess why we need to take notice of this story? I’ve got a few reasons. It demonstrates a few things I’ve said many times before.
This guy’s lucky to get out of this encounter as easily as he did. I can’t help but think of what might have happened if the attacker had used a knife, gun, or even a pipe or baseball bat. That concealed carry license I’ve been thinking about getting, well, let’s just say it’s climbing my ladder of priorities every day… Some people might say I’m a “gun nut.” I prefer the term “firearms enthusiast” OK, so I own a couple guns. Does that make me so different from the “average” person? Don’t answer that I’ll admit that I occasionally make arguments that I really need a new gun when there’s a <gasp!> possibility that a valid argument could be made to the contrary With the rising rate of unemployment has come an increase in crime as reported on this blog in recent days. See the posts about the home invasions here and here and the story of the guy who was attacked for his bologna sandwich. These events have caused a reconsideration of my security and safety situation and I’ve concluded that it doesn’t quite measure up to my preferred standards. I’m pretty well set for home defense, but what about when I’m not home? It’s high time I go get my concealed carry permit. There’s just one problem – I don’t have a gun that would really work for that. Yes, I have two handguns, but there’s a few problems with them when it comes to concealed carry. Yes, open carry (carrying the gun exposed) is legal in Nevada without a permit, but there are just too many people out there who get freaked out by the mere sight of a firearm in public. I want to make sure I have the means to protect myself from the evil hominids out there, but I don’t want to freak out the Soccer Moms. At least most of the time  Hi-Point C9 - Designed for reliability, accuracy, and affordability. Image by Hi-Point Firearms. Click to go to the manufacturer's product page. One of my handguns is a Hi-Point C9 like the one in the picture above. Check out the manufacturer’s product page by clicking here. There’s a whole bunch of people out there who say they’re only good as boat anchors and that the person firing one of these is in as much danger as the person the gun’s aimed at. My experience is the exact opposite of that. My C9 has been reliable, more accurate than I am, and I trust it with my life. It seems to thrive on +P (higher performance) ammo. It’s the #1 gun in the Parrothead Home Defense Arsenal. Of course, the argument could be made that the AK-47 is the #1 gun and this one is in second place, but I’d really rather not shoot the AK in a home defense scenario – it’s louder than the C9 and the AK rounds will go through more walls than the C9 will. I’d rather not accidentally shoot my neighbors through their walls. So yeah, the C9’s a good gun. It’s great for home defense. Or carrying in a glove box. Why then, don’t I want to use it for concealed carry? There’s a couple of good reasons. It’s too big and too heavy. Really, a concealed carry gun needs to be small and comfortable enough that you don’t mind carrying it everywhere. At 29 ounces empty, the C9 is only three ounces under two pounds. Without ammo. If you don’t think that’s uncomfortable to carry and that two pounds is light, consider that a standard U.S. quarter (you know, a 25¢ coin) weighs all of .20 ounces – that’s 5 quarters to the ounce or 80 quarters to the pound. The C9 weighs as much as 145 quarters! So try this – go get $36.25 in quarters, put ‘em all in a bag (zip lock would work fine), and attach it to your belt. Now go about your daily business. Get back to me on how that works out for you comfort wise The C9’s also a bit too large for the role of concealed carry gun. It’s about 5.25 inches tall (from the top of the rear sight to the front lip of the magazine) with an 8 round magazine and nearly six inches tall with a 10 round magazine installed. At the grips, the widest point of the gun, it’s about 1.5 inches wide. Heck, it’s nearly seven inches long. So yeah, it’s reliable, accurate, only cost me $120 new, and it has a warranty that’s second to none. I’ll gladly use it as a car gun, home defense gun, tacklebox gun, or in a similar role. I’ve even carried it in a holster on my hip from time to time in the desert, but it’s just not the right gun for concealed carry.  Heritage Rough Rider - Designed for accuracy, affordability, fun, and Old West styling. Image by Parrothed Jeff. Click to go to the manufacturer's web page. My other handgun is the wonderful Heritage Rough Rider (click here for the manufacturer’s product page). It’s great for my intended Philosophy of Use (borrowing a term from Nutnfancy here) as I envisioned it when I bought it. I intended to use it as a gun that would be affordable to shoot. You can still find .22 ammo and it won’t break the bank – it’s just 3¢ per shot if you buy one of the $15.00 boxes of 550 rounds. That’s right – six rounds of .22 ammo cost less than one round of 9mm practice ammo. It punches paper and kills soda cans as well as I could expect anything to. With the .22 long rifle caliber cylinder it excels at this role. I also intended this gun to be a desert companion at times. I do have a holster for it. It’s just what the doctor ordered for smaller critters that might need non-verbal advice that I should be left alone. Rogue snakes or scorpions could be dealt with most effectively using a round of .22 magnum shotshell ammo. Likewise, a round of .22 magnum hollowpoint as a warning shot would likely send most four legged critters running and a couple more on target would probably stop the threat. The problems with this gun for concealed carry are mostly the same as with the C9, but with a couple more thrown in. First, the Rough Rider weighs 33.4 oz empty. Using our earlier example, that’s 167 quarters or $41.75. Add in 5 rounds of .22 magnum hollowpoint ammo and you’re up to 34.1 ounces or about 171 quarters. That’s almost $42.75 in quarters. So it’s not light. Another problem is again size. At 1.25 inches wide at the bottom of the grip and at the cylinder, it’s not slim. At nearly 12 inches long and 5 inches tall, it’s not short. Size and weight are only a couple of the problem areas when considering this gun for self defense. While the cylinder can hold six rounds of ammo and there is a hammer block safety, you don’t want to carry this gun with all six chambers loaded. There’s too much of a chance that the safety could be knocked to the fire position which would leave nothing in the way of the hammer being knocked into the firing pin. If that happened, a round would be leaving the barrel when you didn’t want it to. That would be very bad. So five rounds it is when carrying. Another problem is the power of the ammunition. Even .22 magnum ammo is pretty underpowered for “social purposes.” Don’t get me wrong, if it’s all I’ve got I’ll take it over a baseball bat any day of the week. Sometimes you don’t even have to fire your weapon to defend yourself – even criminals are likely to run from you if you point a gun at them! That said, I prefer something a bit bigger than .22 magnum. Last, but certainly not least, the Rough Rider is a slow gun. This isn’t a problem when it’s used for target practice and can be a positive thing in that role as well as other times like when you’re faced with a snake and adrenaline has taken over. Loading requires that the loading gate be opened and the hammer pulled to half-cock before rounds are inserted one at a time and the cylinder rotated by hand. Unloading is the same as loading, but you have to actuate the ejector to kick out the empty cartridges one at a time instead of loading the fresh ones. You also have to manually cock the hammer every time you want to fire. This can be a good thing when target shooting as it forces you to take your time. It can also be a good thing because you can’t accidentally fire a second shot if you’re jittery and your finger’s still on the trigger after you’ve just dealt with one of Mother Nature’s hostile creatures. It is, however, not something I look for in a defensive firearm. Everything considered, I love my Rough Rider. It’s great for its inteded uses. It’s just not really concealable, comfortable to carry concealed, or powerful enough for a primary self defense gun.  Kel-Tec PF-9 - Designed for reliability, accuracy, and concealability. Image by Kel-Tec Firearms. Click to go to the manufacturer's product page. So if my current collection of handguns aren’t really suited, what would I want? That’s a tough choice, but I think I’ve made my decision. And the winner is the Kel-Tec PF-9 This little handgun’s got a lot going for it. It’s lightweight – only 12.7 ounces empty and 15.5 ounces with a full magazine It’s also positively tiny – just .88 inches wide, 4.3 inches tall, and 5.85 inches long It tolerates +P ammo as long as it’s not regularly used, so you can practice with it occasionally along with being OK to use when you must resort to non-verbal communications after a criminal has indicated his unwillingness to leave you alone and refrain from harming you. My preferred ammo for such purposes is Speer Gold Dot 124 grain +P jacketed hollow points. Of course, there are times when Pow’R Ball 100 grain +P ammo comes in handy, too. With ammo as with guns, I’ll take what I can get, but I prefer more powerful ammo when I can use it. Yes, those are expensive rounds – about $1.00 each or more. But then again, you’re betting your life on that ammunition. With a capacity of 7 rounds in the magazine and one more in the chamber, it’s not short on ammo either. One last consideration which is incredibly important is price. I can’t afford the pistol Dad recommends and carries – the Smith and Wesson M&P 40C is a great gun but I don’t have $500 to $700 and wouldn’t be able to come up with it anytime soon even if I wanted to. The MSRP for the PF-9 is only $333 and spare magazines are only about $20 each. I’ve provided quite a few sterile facts and figures about the PF-9, but I think Nutnfancy does a much better job than I can of explaining this in his videos. I also value his opinon due to his military and law enforcement experience. Therefore, I yeild the floor to Mr. Nutnfancy for a few videos So the plans are thus – I will have to save up between $100 and $110 for the required concealed carry class, another $100.25 to have the Nevada paperwork put through, a bit extra (I can’t remember how much right now) for the Utah paperwork to go through (that way I could carry in Utah when I visit Cindy and in Arizona when I visit my family as Arizona recognizes Utah permits), and another $350 or so for the proper gun. I think I’ll get the gun first so I can have it with me for the class and shooting qualifications and I won’t have to go back later to add it to the permit. This isn’t going to be cheap. Not by a long shot. But then, what is cheap that’s worth anything these days? I know my life has a value to me of much more than this would cost I keep hearing and reading in the media that we in the gun loving community are just being irrationally paranoid about the Federal Government and its actions towards us. We hear that the BATFE doesn’t want to harass us. They just want to make sure we pay our NFA transfer taxes and go after people plotting agains the Government of the United States. If you’re not a criminal, you have nothing to worry about. Right. Tell that to David Olofson whose semi-auto AR-15 malfunctioned, who was denied a just trial by the judge when his expert witness was not allowed to know what the prosecution’s witness (an ATF agent) had testified to so as to refute said testimony. Mr. Olofson’s legal battle continues. Tell that to Len Savage who was Mr. Olofson’s expert witness. Mr. Savage is a firearms manufacturer who sent a non-firearm to the ATF for testing after his work on the Olofson case. The ATF attached chains and duct tape to his upper receiver, manufactured other parts, and said that in their configuation the charging handle became the trigger which when actuated (released) would cause the device (again mostly their creation) to fire in full-auto mode. Mr. Savage’s legal battle continues. We can now add average, everyday gun buyers to the list of people being harassed and intimidated by the BATFE. From David Codrea’s National Gun Rights Examiner column today:
Let me get this straight. Let’s say Dad (who lives in a border state) goes out and buys an AR-15 or some other type of firearm that the BATFE claims is “frequently recovered in Mexico.” Somehow this gives the BATFE the probable cause to set foot on his private property, to demand that he produce his legally owned private property for their inspection, to record the serial numbers, and to threaten him if he declines? All this without a warrant??? What in the hell ever happened to the 4th and 5th Amendments??? Has the Constitution suddenly become someone’s new version of toilet paper – something to be thankful for at times, yet flushed down the toilet when it’s no longer useful? I posted an email I sent to Bass Pro a while back. OK, so it was a really long time ago. And I have to apologize for not posting their response sooner. I’m going to fix that right now. Again, it was a long time ago, but I did receive a response from them. And it wasn’t an email. Someone actually called me! They said that although they had tried mightily, they were unable to order the Hornady ammunition I wanted and that it appeared that Hornady had a special arrangement with those who’d been chosen to sell it. That’s good customer service I was recently reminded of a little known firearm from the Russian Civil War known as an Obrez by a post over on The Real Gun Guys  Obrez - Oh yeah! So just what is an Obrez? It’s a cut-down Mosin Nagant bolt action rifle as you can see above. Now, for those of you out there who don’t know better, a Mosin Nagant rifle ain’t a pop gun. It’s loud, it kicks, and it hits hard. The 7.62×54R round is a full house rifle round, not an intermediate round like the AK-47 and M-16 fire. It’s mean I still can’t imagine firing one of these, but here’s video of it being done Visit 7.62×54R.net for lots more info on the mighty, mighty Mosin Powder smoke never smelled so good For the first time in much too long, my rifles thundered and I know for a fact that people asked themselves, “What in the *&^% was that???” I’ve heard the selector switch on automatic weapons which allows the user to choose semi-auto or full automatic operating modes referred to as a “giggle switch.” I’d say the triggers on my old military rifles qualify for that description. I can’t help but giggle a bit when people ask me that question Of course, I also giggle a bit when I pull the trigger and the rifle slams back in recoil with the thunderous report echoing for miles and miles across the landscape, reflecting off of the distant mountains I even managed to meet a couple of new friends out there as you’ll see a bit later. Joe and Shane had traveled to the same area as I had with the same intentions. I didn’t want to bother them, so I continued on a bit farther to shoot. I did stop to ask what I’d heard from my shooting position and they kindly showed me their 12 gauge, 20 gauge, .22 rifles, very cool old single action .22 short revolver, and 30-06 rifle. Then they asked the question I referred to at the beginning of this post I had a bit of ammo left for a couple of the guns, so I offered them a few shots on the K-31, the C9, and the Rough Rider and they accepted. I think they enjoyed it They seemed like great guys I’ll be emailing them some pictures and the link to this page, too Yeah, my shoulder still a bit sore. I couldn’t care less On with the pictures!  6 June 2009 - Desert Rain Shower I managed to get rained on yesterday without setting out to do so. Actually, I had hoped to stay dry, but I only got sprinkled on so it didn’t really matter. I don’t know if this happens anywhere else, but when it actually rains here in the desert it often takes this form – isolated showers that move across the landscape. You can see them in the distance and they pass quickly.  6 June 2009 - HHR in the desert OK, yes I admit to posting another gratuitous shot of my HHR which I think would make a fine photo for the official Chevrolet product brochure What can I say? I love this type of geography and I do love my car  6 June 2009 - Desert Shadows and Light The light plays tricks in the desert on days like this. Light and shadows dance across the hills, valleys, canyons, and washes. I couldn’t resist taking this picture and posting it here with the mountains so dark and the arroyo lit by the sun.  6 June 2009 - Shane and the AK-47 Though I had no ammo left for the AK-47, I passed it around. Of course, both guys wanted pictures so I made sure to fix the bayonet to add that extra bit of good looks to the rifle Here Shane looks down the sights. Yes, his finger is on the trigger. I didn’t mind because he had it aimed at a target.  6 June 2009 - Joe and the AK-47 Joe mugging for the camera here Yeah, he liked it  6 June 2009 - Joe and the Mosins The Mosins caused me the most trouble on this trip. Actually, some of the ammo caused the problems I shoot surplus ammo I can get cheap. Most of the time this works out great – ammo made for the guns for use in combat by the governments that fielded the guns in military service should work with them, right? This time, not so much. Mosins have a reputation for sticky bolts at times. I’ve had this problem before, but not nearly to this extent. I had to use the full force of my (considerable) body weight with the bolt handle on a discarded wooden cable spool to get the bolt open. The cartridge case stayed stuck in the chamber and I had to tap it out with the cleaning rod. The first time this happened I thought maybe the problem would stay limited to one round. No such luck. So maybe I should try one of the rounds in the other gun to see if I could blame the 91/30? Again, no such luck With much trepidation, I selected some copper washed ammo from another country’s now surplus stockpile. The bolt worked perfectly after the shot. Lesson learned – stay away from the bad ammo. Back to the picture, Joe and Shane really took a liking to the Mosins I can’t quite put my finger on it, but for some reason military rifles just look better with bayonets fixed. Even the old ones  6 June 2009 - Shane and the Mosins Yeah, these old rifles seem to bring grins to faces like few other things can The look on Shane’s face makes it all worth while  6 June 2009 - Evening in the Desert Looks like something out of an old west movie, don’t it? Yeah, I can live with this sort of scenery  6 June 2009 - Moon in the Clouds Looking at this picture I almost want to look around for Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday, Ike Clanton or Johnny Ringo. In my mind I see them riding fast through the creosote and I can almost hear Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson’s song “The Highwayman” drifting on the wind That part of the old west never existed in this area of the American desert southwest as far as I know, but it could have. Signs on the highway warn drivers that open range cattle. I have found at least one reference to an old west outlaw – check out the story of Queho. After reading that, I will have to make a trip down to El Dorado Canyon to tour the mine. No, I don’t think I’ll try to test the validity of the legend of the Hell Dogs of El Dorado Canyon  6 June 2009 - Driving into the Sunset Heading home, I had to drive west to get to the turnaround point. Yes, I held the camera out the driver’s window again So yeah, I had a good day. I needed that Fresh from KXNT via the Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog:
Here’s a link to a Google Map of the area where this happened. I’m farther in the northwest part of the valley – somewhere in this area. This didn’t happen in a run-down or “bad” area of town. It’s a nice, residential area. Kinda like where I live.  I'll take the AK-47, thanks. Image by Oleg Volk. And to think some people think I’m going overboard with my home defense arsenal. They think it’s overkill to have the 9mm ready to go with two spare mags, all right next to my bed or computer. The .22 revolver ready for action with 5 rounds of .22 Magnum just adds to their perception. The AK ready to go with 31 rounds of ammo and a fixed bayonet usually causes a furtherance of their cognitive dissonance. My collection of old military rifles that can be ready to go in a short notice just boggles them. They don’t understand why the bayonets are always fixed, either.  That's why my guns are ready. Image by Oleg Volk. Incidents like this are why. If something happens, I always have backup. Even if I have to resort to the bayonets, I still have a means of defense. Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog |
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All joking, kidding, and sarcasm aside, this ain’t one of those times.
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