February 1, 2019 Newsletter by Jeff Pittman
We see the Left’s complaints that the government “shutdown” cost some $11 billion and whining that $3 billion of it cannot be recouped. But when the government’s open it spent $4.11 trillion (2018 annual), which equates to almost $400 billion over a 35 day average. Maybe we should shut it down a lot more. On the other hand, that border wall price tag is supposedly $5.7 billion.
AG nominee William Barr
And then there’s this.
Related: about those “Red Flag” laws
“Red flag laws had no significant effect on murder, suicide, the number of people killed in mass public shootings, robbery, aggravated assault, or burglary. There is some evidence that rape rates rise. These laws apparently do not save lives.” (But they do commonly violate the rights of the innocent. — JP)
US Judiciary
President Trump has announced a new slate of judicial picks from California, including three nominees for the ultra-left 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals (jurisdiction of the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii) and four picks for district judgeships in California. Two of the appeals court nominees – Daniel P. Collins and Kenneth Kiyul Lee – were names he’d submitted last year, while a third, Daniel A. Bress, is considered a rising star. Presumably they are predictably conservative. But the 9th Circuit is so large it will take a lot more replacements to turn the tide. But ya gotta start somewhere.
NRA election
Have you voted for NRA Board yet? Ballots are due by April 7. Consider the petition-nominated candidates, Anthony P. Colandro and Adam Kraut. Don’t forget you can bullet vote (vote for only one or a few candidates, to increase their odds of winning, instead of voting for a full 27-candidate slate and watering down your most preferred votes).
Citizen complaint results in removal of illegal gun ban signs in MS courthouse
Carry in Non-Permissive Environments
Vegas update
The FBI has concluded that the Las Vegas massacrist was acting simply to gain fame, which is why we don’t name those monsters. Instead, let’s remember the names of the victims and any heroes.
Enemies
Atlantic contributor Dick Polman wrote in a January 27, 2019 piece that the new Democrat majority’s gun control bill did not make a big lamestream media splash, and suggested that a “new massacre” will be key in getting the push more attention. He wrote: “The Democrats’ championing of gun reform is not currently a first-tier story, but a new massacre would likely make it so.”
“You can be in favor of the Second Amendment and also understand that there is no reason in a civil society that we have assault weapons around communities…” — US Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Harris also called for criminalizing all private gun sales and to eliminate the fossil fuel industry and the private healthcare market. Further, Harris said more gun control legislation would have been possible after the Sandy Hook massacre if only lawmakers had been locked up with “the autopsy photographs of those babies.”
In response, John Farnam noted: “Perhaps Kamala and her socialist/Democrat friends should be forced to view charred remains of babies, piled in heaps, at Auschwitz and Majdanek, so they can fully understand what happens when hapless minorities first have their ‘assault weapons’ taken away, and are then rounded-up and systematically exterminated!…. To prove their sincerity, Kamala and her fellow socialist commissars need to first voluntarily disarm their own bodyguards, relieving them of their ‘assault weapons.'”
Space cadet Mark Kelly says that wife Gabby Giffords has a gun, but wants more gun control. That sounds exactly like every other dangerous criminal, which brings us to why I need a gun.
Liars
The US Centers for Disease Control says that there were 431 incidences of school-associated youth homicides from 1994-2018. But even they admit that at least 47.42% of these “school” incidents did not occur at school or at a school-related event and that 40.85% of the victims were not killed at school or at a school-related event.
The Only Ones
An off-duty female St. Louis police officer was fatally shot in the chest by a fellow officer while playing Russian Roulette* with a revolver with at least one of two on-duty male officers while at the home of one of those two officers. Officer Nathaniel Hendren, 29, who reportedly loaded the gun, pointed it at the victim, and pulled the trigger, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action. But police officials said Hendren “mishandled” the weapon, causing the “accident.”
*This also clearly qualifies under the “Department of Idiocy” heading. The real question is why are police departments hiring and arming homicidal idiots?
The Maricopa Caounty (AZ) Sheriff’s Office had previously admitted to 29 missing firearms, but an additional audit done with the help of the ATF found the number of missing guns was actually 50, including 29 fully automatic weapons, 20 short barreled shotguns, and 1 short-barreled rifle.
Oregon retailer accused of selling counterfeit Leupold rifle scopes
About the hot “new” 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge
“It isn’t a new concept. As a hunting cartridge it’s no better than 1891’s 6.5x55mm Swedish Mauser. As a long range target cartridge, only individual barrels can determine whether it’s better than the similar .260 Rem. or the faster 6.5-284 Norma. Before the Creedmoor craze you could barely give away 6.5 mms in this country, but their advantages (and disadvantages) haven’t changed. It’s a phenomenon that I can’t fully explain.” — Col. Craig Boddington (USMC-Ret.)
I can’t explain it either, except all the kiddies just have to jump on the bandwagon.
Products
I saw a notice this week that CCI is advising that you NOT use their new Quiet-.22 LR ammo in rifles with barrels longer than 24″, due to the possibility of a stuck bullet.
Magnum Research has chambered their BFR (Biggest, Finest Revolver) in .500 Linebaugh. In case you feel the need to overcompensate.
Magpul has introduced a 27 round, 9x19mm Glock PMAG.
And for those big magazines Tippmann Armory has a 9mm Gatling Gun that takes Glock mags.
GrovTec’s new sling swivel base-to-stud adapter is very cool. $19.
Delta P Designs has developed a 3D printed suppressor for the M2 50 caliber machine gun. It doesn’t “silence” it of course, but it does suppress the sound enough to be hearing safe while standing right next to the weapon.
Norma’s new Bond Strike Extreme long range rifle hunting load uses a bonded-core match grade boattail round with a polymer bonded tip, and a new personal defense pistol round with a monolithic copper bullet, for about $1 a pop.
Norma also has a new .17 HMR load with a 17 gr. V-max at 2650 fps, and a new .22 WMR load with a 40 gr. JHP at 1877 fps.
Seismic Ammo’s new +M (extra mass) heavy ammo comes as 185 grain 9mm, 325 grain .45 ACP, and 2.5 ounce 12 gauge slugs. Very interesting.
Crimson Trace’s new rifle scopes have alignment marks called leveling lines to ensure proper exact horizontal orientation when mounting. Duh, it’s about time.
Pop a top on some canmunition.
Winchester’s Wildcat .22 (the rifle, not the ammo)
Winchester also has the Model 1886 Extra Light. 7 lbs. 4 oz. in .45/70.
Bighorn Armory’s AR500 is basically an AR-10 based rifle chambered in the .500 Auto Max — essentially a rimless/rebated .500 S&W Magnum operating at 60,000 psi. 350 grain bullets at around 2200 fps and 440 grainers at 1860. About $2000. I can’t help but wonder if they would have been better off with the .460 S&W at rifle distances.
Brownells now has its own line of Japanese-made optics.
Samson’s FSMT (Field Survival Multi-Tool) fits completely within an AR, AK, MagPul or Hogue pistol grip and features a pliers, scraper, and a broken-case-extractor. About $100. Also, their SOPROD is a bore-rod which is four inches long collapsed and fits inside the 123 battery compartment of stocks that have one.
Surefire’s Fury-DFT (Dual Fuel Tactical) runs on CR123A batteries (1200 lumens) or a 18650 rechargeable battery pack (1500 lumens) and at 5.6″ long will still fit in a pocket.
Fenix’s “coming soon” E30R also provides 1500 lumens at about half the price of the Surefire Fury-DFT.
Hodgdon Powder Company will be a distributor of Alliant Powder for 2019. The company doesn’t sell direct to consumers but will distribute the Alliant line to retailers.
