"Robot" Gunslinger by Bosstown Dynamics Fools Many

A new Youtube video created by Bosstown Dynamics has gone viral. The video has over two million views so far. Many are fooled by the well done video, assuming that the images are real. It is not hard to understand.  There are videos of actual Russian robots shooting guns, videos of dog like American military experimental robots, and others.

We are on in the process of breakthrough technologies. It is a continuing revolution that started about 500 years ago. We can call this advance the computer revolution, the digital revolution, the information age, or the beginning of the singularity.

Link to Bosstown Dynamics Robot Gunslinger

The Bosstown Dynamics video is not real. It does not have images of a real robot gunslinger. It is made with clever CGI technology, where the motions of a human actor are used to create an animated video. It is very well done, and can fool nearly anyone. A source called me and asked if I had seen the video. It was described as "scary". It is scary, perhaps not so much for the Terminator type robot, but for the ability of modern digital technology to create false images that are not easily distinguished from reality.

Bosstown does not have an enormous budget. They have computers, skill, a modest budget, and talent. To their credit, they show how they created the video using CGI. Over two million people watched the fake military robot video so far. Only half a million viewed the video showing it was a fake.

Link to Bosstown Dynamics explanation of how they faked the Robot videos using CGI



I was skeptical of the video, not because to robot did as well as it did; but because I did not think we had power supplies advanced enough to power it. Another tip-off is humanoid robots have limited usefulness.

Killing machines can be much simpler and still be extremely effective. Current drones will be easier to grant autonomy to than humanoid robots.

The fight to restore the Constitutional Republic of the United States has primarily been an information war.  The Progressives captured the mass media, the education system, most of Hollywood, and the bureaucracies.  We have been ruled by a Mediacracy.

The elites are losing the ability to control what information the people have to make decisions.

Bosstown Dynamics does the world a service by showing how easily videos can be faked. Things that make it harder to fake a video are date-time stamps and geostamping.

The two can be compared to make sure the background, shadows, and weather all are compatible with reality. It is much harder to fake a real location and time with a different location and time. Videos done indoors are easier to fake than those done outdoors.

Many of those who desire an unarmed population are highly talented people. The technology to fake videos is becoming more capable and more available every day.

People need to become skeptical and critical of what is used as evidence. There is an old saying "Believe nothing that you hear, and only half of what you see".  The provenance of digital evidence is as important as is the provenance of physical evidence.

Those who would rule do not need robot warriors if they can control what information flows to the people they would rule.

©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

KS: Armed Homeowner Shoots Woman Burglary Suspect

He entered the residence and found a woman and three men inside. The four ran out the front door, and the homeowner fired one shot from his handgun, striking the 50-year-old woman.

Police say the woman left in a 2012 white Ford Focus, and the men ran away.
More Here

OH: Robbery Suspect Beats Employee, Until Employee Shoots at him

CLEVELAND, Ohio— A masked robber jumped the counter of a grocery store and pummeled an employee before the employee fired a gun and scared him away, police say.

More Here

GA: Armed Victim Shoots Suspect, Police Capture Same

Atlanta Police said they were called to the 200 block of Forsyth Street around 1:15 p.m. to respond to the scene. Officers said they found a man at the location injured.

The shooter stayed on the scene and told officers a man approached him and tried to rob him. In order to prevent the robbery, he told police pulled out his gun and shot the man.
More Here

MN: Another Mis-Trial in Self Defense Case of Alexander Weiss

On Sunday, on 14 January, 2018, a bit after 8 A.M., Alexander Weiss was on his way to officiate a basketball game in Rochester, Minnesota. The streets were slippery. Weiss saw another car spin out of control. He stopped to see if they needed assistance. 

It turned out he occupants of the care were teenagers who were using illegal drugs. The car had been deliberately put into a "spin" for kicks. The drive of the car which had spun out backed up and hit Weiss car. The two male 17-year-olds got out of their car and acted aggressively toward Weiss. Weiss had a bumper sticker on his car that said "GUN CONTROL IS HITTING YOUR TARGET”.  I wrote about it in 2018.

Weiss retrieved his phone and a 9mm pistol, for which he had a carry permit, and warned the aggressive teens he was armed. At some point, it appears one of the teens spit on Weiss. Weiss said Muhammed pushed him and tried to grab his pistol. Weiss shot Muhammed and immediately called the police. There is some limited surveillance video of the event. Muhammed was an immigrant from Iraq who came to the U.S. six years earlier. The case went to trial.

The bumper sticker was brought up in the trial.

The Jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, and a mistrail was declared.  That was in June of 2019. The prosecution decided to re-try Weiss. They did so.  On 22 October of 2019, another mistrial was declared, after the jury could not reach a unanimous decision. From myfox47.com:

ROCHESTER, Minn. (FOX 47) — On Tuesday, the jury for the Alexander Weiss case couldn’t reach a verdict, forcing Judge Joseph Chase to declare a second mistrial, turning this into a complicated process.

FOX 47 talked to Meshbesher and Spence Law Partner, Zach Bauer, a legal expert, independent from the case, to talk about what this means and what could be coming next.

He says in his experience, it would be rare and uncommon to see a case tried more than three times, but the future of the case is now in the hands of the prosecutor, whether they want to go through a third trial.

“There’s really no limits to the amount of times it can be retried,” said Zach Bauer.

Multiple trials are devastating to a defendant. They have to repeatedly pony up the expenses of a trial, over and over. The bumper sticker was brought up again at this trial.



Commenters about the case are split about the verdict as well, which explains the jury having a difficult time in reaching a unanimous verdict. It is unknown if the prosecution will seek a third trial. There has already been much punishment by process.

One thing that played prominently in discussions of the trial and situation was that Weiss returned to his car to retrieve his phone and 9mm. It appears his actions would have been considered more justifiable in Minnesota if he had not returned to retrieve his phone and 9mm.

It is a good reason to have your defensive firearms secured on your person.

Several commentators observed that if Minnesota were a "Stand Your Ground" state, the trial would likely never have taken place.

 Could Alexander Weiss have de-escalated? Should he have?  It is not clear.

One thing is almost certain, Alexander Weiss wishes he had never stopped to try to help someone in distress. In this case, they did not want or need his help, and had deliberately precipitated the events he witnessed.

In the first trial, the surviving male witness testified for the prosecution. His testimony did not go well for the prosecution. In the second trial, the same man was forced to testify for the defense.

We will see if the Rochester prosecutor decides to conduct a third trial.

©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

CA: Armed Homeowner Shoots, Kills, Burglary Suspect in Oxnard

Police are investigating after an Oxnard man fatally shot a reported burglar at his home early Monday. 

Officers were called to the 400 block of La Cañada Avenue at about 2:30 a.m. to find a man wounded by gunfire at a residence in the Blackstock neighborhood, the Oxnard Police Department said.

More Here

LA: Domestic Defense, Woman Shoots Man who had Choked her

The woman told investigators she fired a warning shot in the air to stop Frank, the report said. He began "walking aggressively" toward her before she fired again, striking him in the leg.

More Here

AZ: Scottsdale Clerk Shoots at Burglary Suspect, Helps Capture Same

Scottsdale police report that around 4 a.m. on October 21, they responded to a shooting call at the Extended-Stay America hotel near Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard.

The hotel clerk contacted police, saying he had shot a burglar. He reportedly told police that he was making his rounds in the parking lot when he saw 46-year-old John Paul Bays near a red van, and then heard glass breaking.
More Here

OK: Man who Shot an Intruder a Year ago, Holds Woman at Gunpoint

You would think after the fire, now sitting empty, that would be the end of the house attracting trouble. Not so. Monday afternoon Charles got a call from a neighbor saying someone was snooping.

"I approached the house gun in hand. I found about a 40-year-old white woman rummaging through my stuff. I ordered her at gunpoint out of the house. I told her if she reached in her pocket she'd be shot," he said.
More Here

Montana Supreme Court Strikes Down Missoula Gun Control Scheme

Montana has a strong preemption law to protect the right to keep and bear arms in Montana, and to maintain uniform firearms laws across the state. It is straightforward and easy to understand. From mt.gov:

45-8-351. Restriction on local government regulation of firearms. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a county, city, town, consolidated local government, or other local government unit may not prohibit, register, tax, license, or regulate the purchase, sale or other transfer (including delay in purchase, sale, or other transfer), ownership, possession, transportation, use, or unconcealed carrying of any weapon, including a rifle, shotgun, handgun, or concealed handgun.

There are two exceptions to the law: 

     (2) (a) For public safety purposes, a city or town may regulate the discharge of rifles, shotguns, and handguns. A county, city, town, consolidated local government, or other local government unit has power to prevent and suppress the carrying of concealed or unconcealed weapons to a public assembly, publicly owned building, park under its jurisdiction, or school, and the possession of firearms by convicted felons, adjudicated mental incompetents, illegal aliens, and minors.

Missoula is home to the University of Montana. It represents the far left politics in the state.  In Missoula, in 2018, the Democrat candidate for Senate received 41,688 votes. The Republican candidate received 18,631 votes, about 31%. Statewide, the Republican candidate received 46%.

 In 2016, the City of Missoula passed an ordinace to require private sales of firearms to be approved by the government. As I wrote in 2016:

Last year the City Attorney claimed that a background check law was exempted under paragraph 2, that allows a city to prohibit possession "by convicted felons, adjudicated mental incompetents, illegal aliens, and minors".  

But the law does not prohibit possession.  It requires private purchasers to submit to a background check, directly regulating the sale of firearms. The ordinance claims it has the authority to "prevent and suppress" possession of firearms by prohibited possessors. From the ordinance(pdf):

9.60.010 Purpose and Intent.
This ordinance is adopted pursuant to the statutorypowers explicitly granted to Montana local governments pursuant to subsection 45-8-351(2) MCA for public safety purposes to prevent and suppress the possession of firearms by convicted felons, adjudicated mental incompetents illegal aliens, and minors in order to ensure that background checks generally occur with respect to firearm ownership transfers as a prevention mechanism to serve as a deterrent to convicted felons, adjudicated mental incompetents illegal aliens and minors unlawfully obtaining possession of firearms.

The State Attorney General wrote an opinion that the ordinance violated the preemption law.  The City passed it anyway. It was challenged in court. In an amazing display of judicial activism, the District Court Judge,  Robert Deschamps, proclaimed the law to be acceptable.

The law was appealed to the Supreme Court, which found it to be in violation of the preemption ordinance. From the opinion:

As the Attorney General notes, the District Court’s interpretation of the exception in subsection(2) is overbroad. As the Ordinance offers, its background check requirements for firearm transactions is intended to be a “prevention mechanism to serve as a deterrent” to the possession of firearms. City of Missoula, Mont., Municipal Code §9.60.010 (2016). Under such a rationale, virtually any kind of regulation could be justified as being a “deterrent” to possessing firearms and would permit the exception within subsection(2) to swallow the rule in subsection(1), an absurd result. Harmonizing and reading the statute holistically does not permit such a rendering. Statutory interpretation cannot divest the authority of other provisions, or render other provisions, superfluous. Hendershott v. Westphal, 2011MT 73, ¶20, 360Mont. 66, 253P.3d 806; see also Mont. Trout Unlimited v. Mont. Dep’t of Nat. Res. & Conservation, 2006MT 72, ¶23, 331Mont. 483, 133P.3d 224. This proper reading of §45-8-351, MCA, is also consistent with §7-1-111(9), MCA.¶23As the District Court noted, the powers of self-governing local governments must be liberally construed, but this presumption cannot override specific legislative preemption, as here. See City of Missoula v. Franklin, 2018MT 218, ¶¶13-15, 392Mont. 440, 425P.3d 1285; § 7-1-106, MCA. The express statutory prohibition upon cities in § 45-8-351(1), MCA,is a limitation on Missoula’s self-governing powers.¶24The judgment entered by the District Court is reversed. We remand this matter for entry of judgment in favor of the Attorney General.

One of the results of the power grab by the City of Missoula was a referendum referral to  the people to remove the power of municipalities and other local governments to regulate firearms. The referendum is LR-130. It will be on the ballot in 2020. From ballotpedia.org:

The Montana Code Annotated (MCA) Section 7-1-111 provides that local governments have the power to regulate the carrying of concealed weapons. LR-130 would remove that authorization. The measure would also remove the authority that local governments currently have to "prevent and suppress ... the possession of firearms by convicted felons, adjudicated mental incompetents, illegal aliens, and minors." It would state that it is the policy of Montana "that the citizens of the state should be aware of, understand, and comply with any restrictions on the right to keep or bear arms ... and that to minimize confusion the legislature withholds from local governments the power to restrict or regulate the possession of firearms." If approved by voters, the amendment would take effect January 1, 2021

The referendum is likely to be passed by the voters. Missoula's power grab  may boomerang on them.

Montana has repeatedly passed Constitutional Carry, only to have it vetoed, twice, by Democrat governor Bullock.  Bullock will not be able to run for Governor in 2020, because of term limits. Democrats will have held the governorship in Montana for 16 years.

©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

TN: Domestic Defense? Man Shot by Ex

A Tellico Plains area man was reportedly shot Oct. 22 after he allegedly violated an order of protection against his ex-wife.

More Here

MT: Hunter Shoots Grizzly Bear, Stops Attack in Eureka Basin

BUTTE — A hunter shot a grizzly bear in self-defense in Eureka Basin in the south Gravelly Mountains Saturday, according to Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

More Here

CA: Armed Resistance by Business Owner against Armenian Gang Extortion

 The business owner had a long gun and a handgun.

A shootout that wounded at least one person outside a North Hollywood market on Monday involved the business owner and members of a street gang who had been trying to extort $100,000 from him, a police official said.

More Here

3D printed Bolt Action .223 Rifle, successfully Test Fired

From twitter


The .223 Remington cartridge is a high intensity rifle and pistol cartridge. The SAAMI (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute, Inc) allowable pressure level for the .223 is 55,000 psi.

In most "3D printed" AR-15 type rifles, only the lower receivers are 3D printed for the platforms they are on. The lower receiver holds together the fire control system. There is little mechanical strength needed. Upper receivers have not generally been printed because they are easily available in the United States. . They are considered a firearm part, like a butt stock, or a bolt, a sight or a magazine. They can be purchased over the counter or through the mail as part of ordinary commerce.

The rifle pictured in the Twitter post above is different. It is not using an AR-15 lower or an AR-15 upper. It is labeled a "bolt action", that is, a manually operated rifle.

This design appears to take standard type AR-15 magazines. It should be easy to alter the design to take different magazines from different platforms. Numerous magazines have been successfully printed with 3D printers, some with plastic springs.

The ingenuity if the design is interesting. Some features can be deduced from the picture and some from comments made on Twitter.

It was claimed the design has been fired once, successfully.

There is little reason to doubt it.   The AR-15 platform, and several other designs, use the barrel or a barrel extension to lock the bolt to the barrel. This allows the barrel and bolt to contain the pressure generated by the fired cartridge. Because the receiver is not part of the system containing the pressure, it does not need to be made of high strength materials.

In the AR-15 design, some of the high pressure gas is bled into a gas tube to operate the action, making the firearm semi-automatic. The design ejects the fired cartridge and chambers another cartridge from the magazine, ready to fire with the next pull of the trigger.

This design appears to be quite different. It is not semi-automatic. When the cartridge is fired, the shooter is required to operate the manual bolt action to chamber another cartridge. It seems to be a straight-pull bolt. When the bolt is pulled to the rear, the cartridge case is ejected. When the bolt is pushed forward, a new cartridge is stripped from the magazine and fed into the chamber. During this process the firing mechanism is cocked, so the rifle is ready to fire another shot. It is an old system, and can be reliable.

The AR-15 semi-automatic system is not difficult to convert to a straight pull bolt system.

This illustrates the futility of requiring serial numbers on the receivers of rifles. Attempting to track firearms with serial numbers has always been a silly exercise. It might let you know when a firearm was made and where. Other than that, if offers little useful information.

This is an early prototype. The maker has not bothered to put a trigger guard on it. The ability of the design to function as a repeater is not clear.

A straight pull bolt action, magazine fed rifle, is a very useful firearm. It would be a good militia weapon and a very useful hunting rifle.

The activists who are tinkering with firearms designs continue to push the envelope and show the futility of gun control laws in a technological society.

 ©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

Followup NC: Man Justified in Shooting Drunk who Broke into Room

OAK ISLAND – A Lincolnton man will not be charged for shooting an intruder in his motel room last Sunday.

On Friday, Brunswick County District Attorney Jon David announced that Bryan Thomas Lopes, 39, was found to be legally justified in shooting Paul Willard Dobson, 47, when he came crashing into Lopes’ room at the Ocean Crest Motel on Oct. 20. The shooting was found to be justified under “defense of habitation” doctrine, according to a release from David’s office.
More Here

SC: Armed Victim Shoots Attacker who was Choking him

According to the sheriff's office, 26-year-old Robert Harold Mattson was arrested and charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature after they say he charged a man and placed him in a choke hold during an altercation.

According to the sheriff's office, the victim shot Mattson in self-defense who was then transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and remains there for medical treatment.
More Here

WV: Disarm, Woman Shoots man Attacking her Child

According to Freeman and other witnesses, Johnson pointed the gun at several people, threatened them, and attempted to shoot Freeman’s boyfriend. Witnesses say the gun malfunctioned and a fight ensued. During the altercation, Freeman said Johnson began fighting with one of her children. Freeman said she was able to grab the gun and shoot Johnson while he was attacking her child.
More Here

OH: Dispute over Car Turns Deadly, Career Criminal Brother Shoots, Kills Sister

In the days leading up to the shooting, Swanson bought a car that his sister and her boyfriend took, according to court records. Swanson was angry and threatened to kill Hill, court records say.

Hill, 26, and her boyfriend on Thursday drove to her father’s house. Hill was already there and opened fire on both, according to court records. Several people were standing outside the house when the gunfire erupted.

Hill suffered several gunshot wounds and her boyfriend returned fire, missing Swanson, according to court records.
More Here

MO: Armed Victim Returns Fire, Stops Assault

At that time, the suspect began shooting at them and struck a woman in the leg. Another victim returned gunfire and then put the woman in his car and drove her to the hospital.

More Here

OH: Domestic Defense? Woman Fires at Father of her Son

The incident happened shortly after 11 am in the 700 block of Ernroe Dr. in Dayton. According to authorities, a woman stated that her 3-year-old son was taken by the child’s father. The woman then fired shots at the man, who took off on foot.

More Here

WV: Self Defense Situation, Man Shot in Arm in Jackson County

KENNA, W.Va. (WOWK) – Emergency dispatch officials say a man has been shot in the arm following a self-defense situation. The incident happened early this afternoon on Dexter Drive in the Kenna area of Jackson County.

More Here

Showdown in New Zealand: National Party Opposes Mandatory Gun Registration

Image from wikimedia commons

New Zealand has had relatively moderate firearms restrictions for most of its existence. As an extremely peaceful nation which evolved from the conflict between an collection of warring, cannibalistic tribes and the British Empire, it is a very successful nation. From 200 years ago to the 1990s, it was dominated by farmers and hunters.  It has a proud tradition of military prowess on both the Maori and British sides of its ancestry. The English pioneered the concept of individual rights in the modern era. Those rights were transferred to settlers in the English colonies. The English colonies also pioneered the modern version of gun control, in order to keep the natives subjugated.

With peace, prosperity, urbanization, and protection from invasion by the American nuclear umbrella, New Zealand has forgotten the days in 1940-43, when Kiwi yeomen prepared to repel a Japanese invasion with axes and crowbars.  Most military aged men had gone to war to protect the British Empire. The reserve ammunition supply was sunk by a German merchant raider on its way to England, just outside of Whangarei, in New Zealand waters, on 19 June, 1940. The ammunition was desperately needed to resupply the English homeland after Dunkirk.

England said it had its hands full. No help from the homeland. America did not enter the war until December of 1941.

While a restrictive gun registration regime was imposed after the war, it was mostly ignored. The police found it to be expensive and without merit. It was done away with in 1983, in favor of licensing of gun owners.

In the last 40 years there has been a sea change in political climate. The far left media has gained political ascendancy in all of the West. Except for America, voices that championed an armed citizenry have been shut out, shut down, and shut up. The Leftist Media speaks with one voice on the need to disarm its population.

New Zealand has a long tradition of gun ownership, farming, and hunting. In spite of the rise of the urban power structure, there remains a core of rural yeomanry, a significant voting block.

The National Party in New Zealand is primarily their party. The Nationals were unwilling or unable to resist the media storm to outlaw most semi-automatic rifles after a political terrorist killed 51 people on 15 March, 2019. In the New Zealand Media, the possibility of using rifles for defense of self or homeland is considered out of bounds.

The official New Zealand Censor will not allow the fact the terrorist predicted the gun ban in New Zealand, and hoped to precipitate a similar gun ban in the United Sates, to be published. Renowned researcher on guns and crime, John Lott, had his twitter account shut down when he mentioned the fact.

In spite of these handicaps, New Zealand gun owners are fighting back with logic, reason, and facts.

After pushing through the gun ban in record time, Prime Minister Ardem is attempting to change the entire regime of gun laws in New Zealand, from one of moderation to an extreme of political control. Most New Zealand owners of semi-automatic rifles have not turned them in to police. The rifles are not registered.

The proposed system imposes strict registration on all legal guns in New Zealand. There is a raft of extreme restrictions placed on gun owners, gun clubs, gun shops, farmers, and even visiting sport hunters.  It is modeled after the extreme system of controls imposed on Australia in 1996.

Prime Minister Ardem is in a weak electoral position. She is head of the Labor Party, the far left party in New Zealand. Labor holds 46 seats. 61 seats are needed to form a majority government. National, the more conservative party, has 56 seats. The far left Green Party, who normally teams with Labor, has 8 seats. NZ First, considered a populist/conservative party, has 9 seats. ACT, a libertarian party, has 1 seat.

In the current government Labor formed a coalition with the Greens and NZ First. That is 63 seats, a majority. It depends on the inclusion of NZ First. But members of NZ First are not happy with the coalition. Many wanted NZ First to form a coalition with National. That would have given a National-NZ First coalition 65 seats, and a majority government.  From thespinoff.co.nz:

New Zealand First voters and members lean socially conservative, and many of them would have preferred to go into government with National, which is why the leaked documents reveal a party deeply shocked to learn that (a) their leader chose Labour and (b) he was filing legal papers against National while affecting to negotiate with them to form a government.

National has decided to oppose the draconian gun law changes and registration scheme. Polls show some increase in National's favor, with drops in Labor, Green, and NZ First popularity.

National is up, New Zealand First Down in latest poll in October.

In tonight's result National is on 47 - up two percentage points - while Labour has dropped three to 40.

New Zealand First would not make it back with just four points, while the Greens are on seven.

This poll would give National and ACT's one seat in Epsom enough to govern while Labour and the Greens together would not be able to form a government.

This is the first time in two years of Colmar Brunton polling that the National Party has been in a position to form a government.

It's also the worst result in 18 months of the same poll for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who has hit an all-time low for preferred prime minister.

The National Party is opposing most of the extreme restrictions in the new gun law. However, it warns farmers and gun owners to follow the law banning semi-automatic rifles. From stuff.co.nz:

The Act proposes to introduce a gun register, which would store information about firearms and link them to licence holders so that every firearm legally held in New Zealand could be monitored.

But Hudson said the register, as it stood now, did "little or nothing" to stop firearms falling into criminals' hands, and increased regulation for lawful firearms owners.

He said the 13 changes the party wanted were likely to become party policy going into next years' election.

"They are absolutely our bottom line."

Hudson said firearms owners who were considering holding on to firearms until after the election in the hope that National would win, rather than handing them in under the current buy-back operation, should think again.

The New Zealand government appears to be of the absurd belief the U.S. nuclear umbrella will protect them forever; that no other nations covet their fertile lands, fishing, and deep harbors.

They seem to believe that international agreements are stronger than armies, navies, and force of arms. The West saw a similar philosophical development prior to WWII.  At the beginning of the war, New Zealand's faith in the British Empire was shattered.

Farmers and hunters have always had a firmer grasp of physical reality than urban dwellers.

Will this result in New Zealand resisting the urban, media driven call for all guns to be held at the whim of government bureaucrats?

The 2020 elections in New Zealand will answer that question.

 ©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

VA: Man Shot after Focing his way into Apartment in Scott County

DUFFIELD, Va. (WJHL) — UPDATE – A Southwest Virginia man is behind bars – accused of forcing his way into an apartment. Investigators say the resident shot him.

We now know the home invasion suspect Keith Pierson is behind bars.

According to what the Scott County Sheriff’s Office has gathered so far – the tenant acted in self-defense when they say Pierson forced his way into the apartment.
More Here

MI: Armed Busines Owner Shoots, Kills Armed Robbery Suspect, Waitress Slightly Wounded

The man came inside the restaurant with the intent to rob the place, according to police.

A CPL holder inside the business at the time opened fire, killing the suspect. Police say the CPL holder was the business owner.
More Here

Details of .22 Pistol Defense Failure against Polar Bear near Svalbard, Norway

Image by Ansgar Walk, 16 November, 2004, Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada wikicommons

While searching for cases where pistols were used to defend against bears, three failures have been found. In the last published results, of 73 cases, that was a 4% failure rate. The very small sample size means a few cases can change the percentages of success or failure significantly.  It is useful to know what happened in each case to determine how the failures and successes occurred.

The three failures involved the three species of North American bears. One case involving a polar bear and a .22 pistol in 1995, one case involving a grizzly bear and a .357 magnum in 2010, and one case involving a black bear and a .38 revolver in 2015.

Reasonably detailed accounts of the failures for the 2010 and 2015 attacks have been given in the last update, where 73 cases were examined.

The failure of the .22 pistol defense against a polar bear had little information.

3.  1 September, 1995, Norway, Svalbard Island, .22 rimfire, Failure Polar Bears:  Proceedings of the Twelfth Working Group

On 1 September, 1995, two male tourists were attacked by an adult male bear on a remote island in eastern Svalbard. The two tourists defended themselves with a .22 calibre pistol which proved ineffective. One man was killed, the other injured. Police later shot the bear.

After considerable research, a more detailed account of the incident was found. The incident involved crew members of the tour/expedition ship Origo, a traditional ship refurbished and used for arctic tours since the beginning of the 1990s.  In the summer of 1995, the ship was cruising in the arctic waters near Svalbard. The ship anchored in the Hinlopen Strait. A tourist party left the ship to explore. The party had an armed guard. Five members of the crew left to explore, separately. They brought a .22 pistol and a flare gun. From Spitsbergen: Svalbard, Franz Josef, Jan Mayen, 3rd Brant travel Guide, by Andres Umbreit:

Kiepertoyo Hinlopen Strait, August, 1995

Another five people of the crew set out separately with only a .22 pistol and a flare gun. After an hour's march, the second party were met by a bear, 75m away and openly aggressive. The bear was distracted neither by warning shot nor flare and attacked one of the party. As he did so, he was shot, from a range of only 15m and turned against the man who had fired at him. This man tossed the gun to the first, who shot again. The process was repeated, with first one man being attacked and then the other. By the time the pistol was emptied and a knife drawn, one man was dead and another badly injured. The survivors retreated to the ship. 

(snip)

On examination, three shots to the head were discovered, none of them piercing the cranium.  

The victim had three years experience with the Origo, with many bear observations, and there were sufficient weapons on board to equip everybody.

Fatal polar bear attacks in Svalbard are rare. They are well documented. This is the same attack as mentioned earlier, with better details.

The author of the account mentions a small caliber pistol must hit a very small target at close range. The range is not that important, as a .22 does not lose much energy in the first 50 yards.

Hitting a small target is important, and not easy from 15 meters (50 feet) away, when the target is moving. Most successful defenses against bear attacks with pistols occur at much shorter distances, often 20 feet or less.

This is the second case encountered where the person attacked threw the pistol to someone else. Both attempts resulted in failure.  In the Mark Uptain tragedy, the 10mm Glock did not have any ammunition in it when thrown; in this case the capacity of the pistol is unknown. In 1995, it would almost certainly have been 10 rounds or less. We do not know how many rounds were expended in warning shots. 

Three .22 rounds hit the polar bear in the head. None entered the cranium. This is not unexpected. The brain of a polar bear may be slightly larger than a grizzly. A grizzly bear brain is about the size of a pint jar (29 cubic inches). The head of a large Kodiak bear has a volume of approximately 808 cubic inches, based on measurements supplied by Tom Smith of Brigham Young University. The Kodiak bear measured by Dr. Smith was exceptionally large, estimated at 1,400 pounds. If we assume a 1,000 pound polar bear, and proportional measurements, the head volume would be about 577 cubic inches or 2.5 gallons.

If you have a pint jar in a 2.5 gallon container, you have to know where the jar is located to be able to hit it. It is easy to miss. There is a lot of muscle and bone in a bear head that can absorb or deflect a .22 LR bullet if they hit at a poor angle or in the wrong place.  A .22 is powerful enough to reach a bear's brain if it hits the correct place at a reasonable angle.

According to the more detailed account, the captain of the Origo ordered the bear shot with a high powered rifle, (instead of police) as it had been hit with the .22 pistol. The attack occurred in August, while the first account stated 1 September. Those are minor variations but not unreasonable.


©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

Followup MI: Siwatu-Salama Ra may Face Retrial in Detroit

A Detroit activist who was forced to give birth in jail last year after she was sentenced to two years in prison for brandishing a registered, unloaded firearm to defend herself could be heading back behind bars once again as prosecutors seek a new trial after her original conviction was overturned.

Siwatu-Salama Ra, 28, a mother-of-two, was convicted in 2018 for waiving the firearm at a three-time felon, who, she said, rammed her car and started making threats towards her family outside her home.
More Here

TX: Armed Neighbor stops Burglary Attempt

An Electra man suspected of cooking a big batch of liquid methamphetamine faces a new charge after attempting to steal from a home in Electra, court documents showed.


An armed neighbor faced off with the suspect in an alley, and the would-be thief -- who was the wheel man for the job -- immediately drove off, court records showed.


More Here

NJ: Domestic Defense? Fletcher Cox uses Shotgun to Drive off Suspect

PHILADELPHIA -- A burglary attempt at the New Jersey residence of Fletcher Cox prompted the Eagles defensive tackle to grab a shotgun, causing the suspect to flee, according to a complaint filed to Harrison Township Municipal Court.

The suspect was the ex-boyfriend of a woman staying at Cox's residence, according to the complaint filed last Wednesday.
More Here

MO: Gunfight, Suspect fires at Armed Homeowner

Logan then got a handgun from his mantel and went outside, where he saw a man checking his car handles.

“You picked the wrong (expletive) house, my man!” Logan yells in the video while pointing his gun at the man. “I suggest you get on the (expletive) ground.”

The man makes what sounds like a bird call, then fires three rounds from his own gun as a vehicle pulls up, authorities said. He then gets inside and the car drives off.

More Here

Oklahoma Police Departments Destroy Valuable Property for Ideological Reasons

In April, two Oklahoma law enforcement departments auctioned off guns they had accumulated. The guns had not been used in crimes, but were seized for a variety of reasons. They were turned into the police by people who did not want them. They were seized from prohibited possessors. They were forfeited as part of plea deals.

Oklahoma County auctioned off about 500 firearms they had collected. The guns were sold to dealers with federal firearms licenses (FFL).

Tulsa County auctioned off over 700 firearms. They collected $129,000 from the auction. If the price per firearm in Tulsa averaged the same as in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma County would have received about $92,000. It is a nice chunk of change. Costs to run the auctions for a few FFL dealers are minimal.  From fox23.com:

• The sale brought in over $129,000 to offset the department's budget.

There is no practical advantage to destroying the guns rather than selling them. If a dealer does not buy a gun at the auction, he simply buys one from a manufacturer.  When the police sell a gun, the money goes to the department instead of a gun manufacturer.  Even broken guns are valuable. Parts outlets will buy broken guns to use for spare parts.

Both Oklahoma County and Tulsa County auctions were conducted by Sheriff departments.
In Oklahoma City and the City of Tulsa, the police departments do not sell the guns they collect. They spend additional money and destroy them.

The number of guns seized in Oklahoma City has been trending up. KGOU says the number seized in 2018 was over 2,000.

The number seized in the City of Tulsa was over 1,500. Both departments go to the extra expense of destroying the firearms rather than selling them to federal dealers. From kgou.org:

Both departments destroy seized guns rather than reuse or sell them at an auction.

“Our goal is not to put guns back out on the street,” Adair said. “Whatever we might get from the sale just isn’t worth it.”

The purpose of destroying the guns seems purely ideological. It does not "remove guns from the streets".  Manufacturers are producing millions of guns each year to take up any demand that results from destroyed guns. The guns destroyed would have gone to a dealer, to be sold through exactly the same channels in the same manner as new guns with the same safeguards as new guns.

Using the ratios from the Tulsa County sales, Oklahoma City will be throwing away about $368,000. The City of Tulsa will be throwing away about $276,000 dollars, all to make an obscure ideological point that "guns are bad".

Part of the difference may be Sheriff's are directly elected. The head of the police department in Oklahoma City  is selected by the City Manager, who is hired by the City Council. It is a political position, but twice removed from accountability to the people.

The City of Tulsa Police Chief is appointed by the Mayor of Tulsa. The police department is thus a power center for the Mayor, and the police chief is directly responsible to the Mayor of Tulsa, instead of directly to the electorate, as Sheriffs are.

Historically, urban police departments have access to more tax money and are less concerned with husbanding resources than are rural sheriff departments.

Ideologically, those who want a disarmed population often start their arguments with: "If there weren't any guns". They have an emotional attachment to the fantastical notion of a world without guns. This fantasy is fed by sacrificing hundreds of thousands of dollars for their emotional gratification.

Mostly, it is someone else's money.

©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

VA: Man Attempts Break-in, After Prison, is Shot

He said Robin Babbington, 71, found Hemp, 39, of Elkton, banging on and trying to enter his front door.


The two men engaged in a verbal dispute, Hutcheson said.


At one point, Hutcheson said, Hemp attempted to enter the home in a threatening manner.


Robin Babbington’s wife, Brenda Babbington, 62, shot Hemp once in the torso with a handgun.



Hutcheson said charges are pending against Hemp.
More Here

UT: Bobcat Chases Ducks, is Shot

The homeowner made several attempts to scare the bobcat away, which had no effect on the animal as it remained perched on the wall.

Fearing the animal would “kill his animals or other animals in the neighborhood,” the resident then shot the animal with a .22 caliber rifle, causing it to fall off the other side of the fence where it was then put down, Atkin said.
More Here

WA: Armed Husband Shoots Aggressive Neighbor who had a Hammer

The confrontation escalated when investigators say the neighbor walked towards the husband armed with a hammer. The sheriff's office says the husband warned the neighbor multiple times and told him to drop the hammer, but the neighbor kept advancing until he was shot.

More Here

Followup SD: Intruder shot and Killed at Residence Identified as Matthew Flagler

STURGIS, S.D. (KOTA TV) - Sturgis Police have identified the man who was shot to death as 32-year-old Matthew Flagler.

Police said he entered a Sturgis home, refused to leave, so the homeowner shot Flagler and he ended up dying in the hospital.

WI: Domestic Defense? Woman Shoots Man after He Kicks in Door of Their Residence

Police say the woman shot the man after he kicked in the door of their residence. The 23-year-old man sustained a serious injury and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

More Here

FL: Woman who Shot Man near Peachtree Meat and Produce was Acting in Self Defense

COCOA, Fla. —

A woman will not face charges after a man was shot in the head during a shooting at a convenience store late Sunday night.

Around 11:30 p.m., Cocoa police were called to Peachtree Meat and Produce at 904 Peachtree St.
More Here

GA: Robbery Suspect Shot, Killed in Residence on Lumpkin Road

Ryan Lovett, 20, of Hephzibah was shot at least once and transported to Augusta University Medical Center where he later died, according to Coroner Mark Bowen.

“The investigation into the incident indicates that Lovette had gone to the residence and attempted to rob a subject there at gunpoint prior to being shot,” according to Sgt. Caleb Lee.
More Here

Followup OH: Jury Convicts Joshua S. Ferrell of Murder in Shooting During a Fight

This case illustrates it is a bad idea to create confrontations when you are armed.

Joshua S. Ferrell, 31, of the West Side maintained that he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot 51-year-old Mario DiPenti after a fight that involved a dispute over a near accident. But a Franklin County Common Pleas Court jury disagreed Monday and convicted him of murder with a gun specification.
More Here

MO: Gunfight in Kansas City Home, Defender Wounded

 Video available at the link. Closed caption available if sound does not work.

KCPD said two men broke into a house. One resident and the suspected burglars exchanged gunfire, injuring two residents. The suspects got away.

More Here

Halle Germany Shooting With Homemade Firearms

 Source Mike-linday.co.uk


Thanks to the unique way social media censors the truth I will put the post that was originally on my page here. As a Journalist I find it extremely disturbing that a platform is censoring news and my views were deemed worthy of deletion.

Halle Germany.

A psychopath killed two people outside a synagogue in the eastern German city of Halle on Wednesday, filming his attack on a head-mounted camera and live streaming it in a method that was reminiscent of the attack on two New Zealand mosques earlier this year.
His firearms were homemade.
Below is from his “manifesto”.







His ammunition was homemade using even cardboard casings in some instances.
His pipe bombs were homemade.

Can we now admit that gun control doesn’t stop a madman with murderous intent?

Can we now admit it isn’t the object but rather the person using it that is the problem?

I will say it once more, these firearms are homemade, the ammunition is homemade, his explosives are homemade.

He successfully managed to kill 2 innocent people even with his crude ammunition and makeshift firearms.

You cannot legislate your way to safety by assuming the guilt of every citizen.
Your gun control failed.

Georgia Carry and Phillip Evans win Five Year Legal Battle at Supreme Court

Image from wikicommons by Daderot 12 November, 2007

The road to restore Second Amendment rights in Georgia has been long and hard fought. Much has been regained through the legislature. Many of the infringements on the Second Amendment were imposed as part of the effort to keep freed blacks from enjoying their new rights as citizens.

 In 1868, in what was known as the "Camilla Massacre" black marchers and their Republican supporters had defended themselves with firearms, even though several of the marchers were killed. 

In 1870, the Georgia legislature banned the carry of guns or knives at "public gatherings" in response to marchers protesting to claim their rights under the 14th Amendment. Variations of the law remained on the books until 2008.

In 2008, Second Amendment supporters, in particular, Georgia Carry, successfully lobbied the legislature to remove some of the infringements in the statutes, including the restriction on carrying knives and guns in "public gatherings".

In 2010, the Georgia statues were amended again, restoring the right to carry throughout the state, to people who had been issued a permit. Private property owners were exempted; including those who had control of property through a lease.

Occasionally, local governments used the ability to lease property to private entities to restrict people from lawfully exercising their Second Amendment rights. The ruse was to lease property to a private entity, which would then ban the carry of arms, claiming it had the right to do so as a non-governmental actor.

In 2014, the Georgia legislature reformed the statutes again, to insure the exemption for private actors to ban guns only applied to leases of private property.

In 2014, the Atlanta Botanical Garden banned Phillip Evans from openly carrying his holstered handgun on the property with his family. Evans, with the aid of Georgia Carry, sued to enforce his rights, as protected by the legislature. The Botanical Gardens has a 50 year lease from the City of Atlanta.

The case has been moving through the courts for five long years. The Fulton County Superior Court held for the Botanical Garden. The Georgia Court of Appeals upheld the Fulton County Superior Court.

Finally, on October 7th, 2019, the Georgia Supreme Court held that words actually mean what they say.

They ruled a private entity lease of public property does not convey the right to ban firearms on the premises, unless the actual ownership of the property is transferred to the lessee.

That is what the law passed in 2014 says. From the Supreme Court decision:

On July 1, 2014, this Code section was again amended. Among other changes to the state’s weapons possession laws that took effect the same day, the proviso in OCGA § 16-11-127 (c) was amended by the General Assembly to insert the word “private” in three instances where it had not previously been included:

 . . . private property owners or persons in legal control of private property through a lease, rental agreement, licensing agreement, contract, or any other agreement to control access to such private property shall have the right to exclude or eject a person who is in possession of a weapon or long gun on their private property[.]

 (Emphasis supplied.) Ga. L. 2014, p. 599, § 1-3 (effective July 1, 2014). This is the current text of OCGA § 16-11-127 (c), and it was in effect at the time the Gardens prohibited Evans from carrying a firearm onto the premises the Garden leases from the City of Atlanta.6

The Supreme Court goes on to say, private property is not public property, and public property is not private property.  The Supreme Court returned the case to the Fulton County Superior Court to examine the lease in question. The actual lease had not been entered into evidence.

Attorney John R. Monroe can be heard on this radio show on WABE.org. Toward the end of the interview, he is asked if he has read the lease in question. Monroe represented Philip Evans in the case. He says, in his opinion, the lease does not transfer ownership rights to the Botanical Gardens.

The court is yet to make that determination. No matter what happens with the Fulton County Superior Court, the precedent has been set. Private entities may not, simply by leasing public property, prevent people who are legally carrying firearms from exercising their rights on the public property in Georgia.

©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

OK: MIstaken Identity, Woman Wounded, Shot Through Door

Police said he told them the woman is a family friend and was banging on his back door. He said he thought she was an intruder.

More Here

Followup CA: Intruder Shot in Home of Yuba County Off Duty Deputy Identified

According to the Yuba County Sheriff’s Department, 43-year-old Gabriel Wilson, of Oroville, broke into the deputy’s home in the town of Challenge on Thursday night.

More Here

OH: Homeowner Wounded, Intruder Killed in Home Invasion Shooting

According to a news release from Fostoria Police, a man called 911 and said two people broke into his home. He struggled with the intruders and ended up shot. One of the suspects was also shot and was pronounced dead inside the home.

Fostoria Police have not yet identified the suspect who was shot and killed.

A second suspect may have also been shot, according to investigators. Detectives say that second intruder, described as a man whose face was covered, escaped before officers arrived.

More Here

IL: Armed Security Guard Shoots, Wounds, Armed Robbery Suspect

About 9:50 p.m., a 26-year-old man walked into a fast-food restaurant in the 7900 block of South Western Avenue armed with a handgun and announced a robbery, Chicago police said. A male uniformed security guard fired at him and struck him in the right arm.
More Here

VA: Armed Victim Fired at Robbery Suspect

When officers arrived at the scene, a male victim said he was robbed of his personal belongings.

The victim says he fired at least one gunshot at the suspect who was not hit.
More Here

LA: Washington Parish Sheriff Cites Second Amendment, Leaves Democrat Party

Image from wpso.la.gov

In Louisiana, Sheriff Randy Seal has been in office over seven years. After winning his latest election on 12 October, he switched parties from Democrat to Republican. He said:

 "The Democratic Party left me. I didn't leave them."

His stated reasons for switching party affiliation were all about policies. Sheriff Seal specifically mentioned the Second Amendment. 
From wdsu.com:

After years in politics in Washington Parish as a Democrat, Seal, and his wife Sheila, walked into the parish registrar of voters office Monday and changed parties. Both are now Republicans.

Seal said he waited until after his Election Day win to change his affiliation, and is now the Republican sheriff of Washington Parish.

"I don't like what's going on in Washington," Seal said. "Don't care about abortion and Democrats support that. They are against the Second Amendment and I support the Second Amendment, and I am for closed borders. I think we ought to have rules. If we don't have rules, we have chaos."

The October 12th election was the primary election in Louisiana. If a candidate wins more than 50% in the primary, they are elected and do not have to defend their office in the 16 November general election.  This was an off year election in the primary. It drew record numbers of voters. The Republican party won a significant victory in the election. They won a super majority in the Senate. They have a majority in the House. There are 8 contested seats in the House. The Republicans need to win seven of those to win a super majority in the House as well. Governor Edwards (D) failed to win a majority. He will be defending his office in the general election on 16 November. Sheriff Seal won 53% of the vote in the primary on 12 October.

Washington Parish is a rural parish of about 47,000 population in Louisiana. The rural parish elections have been trending conservative; they have been gradually moving from traditional Democrat to Republican.

In 2016, Washington Parish voted for President Donald Trump by more than two to one. 5,692 votes were cast for Hillary Clinton; 12,556 votes were cast for Donald Trump, out of 18,628 votes total. President Trump received 67.4% of the vote; Secretary Hillary Clinton received 30.6% of the vote.

It may not have been a difficult decision to switch from decades of being a rural, conservative Democrat, to being a rural, conservative Republican.

Sheriff Randy Seal was correct when he said the Democrat party left him.

There is no issue where this is more clear than on support for the Second Amendment.

If Republicans gain the governorship in the general election in November, expect a strong run at passing Constitutional Carry in Louisiana.

Louisiana voted to enact a strong right to keep and bear arms state Constitutional amendment in 2012, with over 73% of the vote.  The official text on the ballot read:

Support

“

Do you support an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Louisiana to provide that the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right and any restriction of that right requires the highest standard of review by a court?[4]

”

Legislative reform to Constitutional Carry will only be enacting in statute what the people have already voted into law as a state Constitutional amendment.

Infringements on the right to keep and bear arms are a losing proposition in Louisiana. The Democratic party has planted itself squarely against the Second Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms.

©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

HIstoric Record Croc Killer Article from The Daily Mail

A struggling immigrant family's lives were changed forever when the glamorous matriarch picked up a rifle and shot a crocodile between the eyes.

Krystyna 'Krys' Pawlowski had been crocodile hunting for two years when she shot the 8.6-metre monster in 1957 on the McCarther Bank in the Norman River, Queensland.

Hunters had tried to get this croc for decades and were astounded that a 'lady' did what no man could.

That shot would make the family famous because at 8.6 metres, the reptile was, and still is, the biggest ever killed or captured in Australia.

Krys's famous croc-hunting career started in 1955 in Kaumba, in Queensland's Gulf Country when a 12-foot reptile started creeping up on her three-year-old daughter, Barbara.

'My brother came out and saw it and yelled "Barbara, crocodile!" and my father grabbed a rifle and shot it between the eyes,' Krys's son George Pawlowski told Daily Mail Australia.

The Polish immigrants, who came to Australia in 1949 and had been struggling to get by, realised they'd struck gold when they took the beast to be skinned.  

+10

Pictured: The 8.6-metre saltwater crocodile believed to be shot by Krystyna and Ron Pawlowski in 1955 at the Norman River, Karumba

'An old-timer in the town helped us skin the crocodile and we sent it off to a dealer in Brisbane and finished off getting 10 pounds for it,' Mr Pawlowski said. 

'In those days 13 pounds was the basic weekly wage, so Dad (Ron Pawlowski) thought they were on to something.'

More Here

TX: Armed Homeowner Shoots, Kills, 1 of 2 Invaders

HOUSTON, TEXAS (KTRK) -- A homeowner shot one of two intruders breaking into his house in north Houston Saturday, according to authorities.

More Here

TN: Charles Kalb Charged with Murder in Shooting of Fleeing Suspect

UPDATE: Charles Kalb has been charged with murder in the shooting death of of Lamorris Robinson as the suspected thief was fleeing. Kalb was an employee at a business next door.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man is dead after a shooting in front of a Fox Meadows business Wednesday, police said, and he was allegedly up to no good.
More Here

SC: Barber Wounds Robbery Suspect

One of the barbers said that when one of the accused robbers patted him down, the robber didn’t feel the weapon he had secured in his waistband.


A barber told deputies that he fired multiple shots into a cream-colored Chrysler 300.


Moments later, a male called 911 and said he was on the way to the Regional Medical Center because his friend had been shot.
More Here

NY: Retired 62-Year-Old Officer Shoots, Wounds Man who Attacked him with Flashlight

Once both drivers exited their vehicles they got into a verbal fight which escalated into a physical fight, at which point the victim was struck several times on his head with a flashlight, police said.


During the fight, the victim, a retired police officer, with a valid Nassau County pistol permit, fired one round from his firearm striking the other man in the buttocks.

Both men went to the hospital for treatment.
More Here

.22 Shot Shells, #12 Shot, Choke on a Rifle, a Usable Garden Gun

The .22 shotshell, made by CCI holds 1/15th of an ounce of #12 shot. Based on minimal testing 40 years ago, I considered it near worthless. In the last few years my brother and a friend reported experiences that caused me to reconsider the round. Varmints up to the size of red squirrels were killed more than 20 feet away. A dedicated smoothbore gun was reported to be useful up to 30 feet. Some Internet reports claimed effective results to 15 yards, or 45 feet.

An intriguing claim was that Marlin rifles with microgroove rifling produced noticeably better patterns than other .22 rifles.

Some testing seemed in order. I had recently acquired a Mossberg 702 .22. Its rifling appeared similar to Marlin's microgoove. It was added to the mix. Contemplating the problem of dispersing patterns caused by rifled barrels, I devised an experimental choke system to see if it would make a difference.

I tested the CCI rounds in an old Marlin model 60, the Mossberg 702, a CZ 455, and the CZ 455 with the experimental choke tube.

The .22 shot shell is a specialty round that shines for the control of small varmints and medium sized snakes at relatively short ranges. It has developed a reputation of being ineffective beyond a few feet. The size of the shot, #12, results in it being harmless after 30 yards. If fired into the air, most people are unlikely to notice the impact when it comes to ground. Fired inside a building, it does little or no damage. It will not penetrate wallboard or a roof. It is unlikely to  damage a window if fired from more then 20 feet away. It has a mild report. The longer the barrel, the lower the report.

The four test items were fired at 10 and 20 feet. The experimental choke tube was patterned at 30 feet as well. 

At 20 feet, the CZ 455 and the Marlin Model 60 have marginal patterns. The Mossberg 702 is adequate; the CZ 455 with the experimental choke tube is excellent.

Interpolated from a ballistic calculator, #12 lead pellets have these velocities and energies:

Muzzle  1,000 fps  .44 foot pounds

10 feet    900 fps   .36 foot pounds

20 feet    800 fps   .28 foot ponds

30 feet    720 fps   .23 foot pounds

45 feet    600 fps   .16 foot pounds

90 feet    330 fps   .05 foot pounds

The pellets have lost 2/3 of their energy at 45 feet (15 yards). At 90 feet (30 yards), they have lost 88% of their energy and pose almost no danger. There may be enough energy and velocity at 15 yards to be used on small mammals, birds, and reptiles. When using small pellets, pattern is the key to killing power. The cylinder choke in the experimental choke tube produces a pattern that may be adequate to 30 feet.

A choke designed as an extra full choke should be able to triple the pattern density. That might make a usable pattern to 45 feet. More experimental work is in order. A properly made choke tube would center the pattern to the point of aim of the sights. The CCI .22 shot shells were remarkably consistent. The pellet count was calculated to be 168. Five shots were counted. The numbers were: 166, 164, 162, 173, and 172. The average for the five shots was 167.4.

It appears most .22 rifles produce usable patterns to 10 feet. Some, depending on the rifling, may be adequate to 20 feet.

Rifling in Mossberg 702 after firing with .22 shot shells. It was easily cleaned.

The Henry Garden Gun, recently released, seems to have a cylinder bore. It should give usable patterns to 30 feet.

Chokes installed on .22 rifles should duplicate that performance, and may exceed it. They would be the inverse of the paradox gun system.   A choke tube would allow the use of the rifled barrel for bullets as well. The rifled bullet would never touch the choke. It should deliver about the same accuracy as without the choke. In a rifled garden gun .22, the Aguila Super Colibri might be used.  it is a rough equivalent of a medium powered air gun. The Super Colibri propels a 20 grain bullet at 375 fps. If those tend to stick in the barrel of your rifle, CB cartridges could be used. Stabilized bullets are dangerous for longer distances, of course.

The experimental choke tube is thin walled aluminum with about a .55 inch inside diameter. It slips on the barrel with a friction fit

It appears that devices of similar or greater complexity are being marketed at under $40.  Searches did not find any chokes on the market for .22 rifles. If readers experiment with choke tubes for .22 shot shells, we would like to read of your results.

All safety measures must be observed. Ammoland and the author publish the information for academic interest, and cannot assume any responsibility for actions taken by readers.



©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch