It all started when a man went to his girlfriend’s house. He says his car was running while he was standing outside. That is when an unknown suspect is accused of getting into his car and driving away.
According to reports, when the man began to chase his vehicle, the suspect fired shots at him. The victim allegedly returned gunfire, striking the suspect several times. A home on Delmar Avenue was also hit by gunfire, but the victims inside were not injured.
In 2024 a bill was introduced into the Minnesota legislature which would ban many semi-automatic rifles. The bill was similar to the President Clinton era "assault rifle" ban. A related bill, HF3628, did not pass out of the legislature in the last legislative session. In 2025 a new bill, Senate File SF1596/House File HF2449, takes a somewhat similar approach. The bill adds some new twists and turns. The new bill was introduced on February 20, 2025, and posted on February 25, 2025.
SF1596/HF2449 takes a different approach than HF3628 did. HF3628 banned the possession of a large number of rifles, pistols and some shotguns. SF1596/HF2449 does not ban possession of the effected firearms, at least not right away. Instead the bill bans the sale or transfer of the firearms. They are not allowed to be transferred as part of an estate, or even to be transferred out of state. The idea is to prevent any new sale of the banned firearms, and to gradually remove them from legitimate ownership in the state of Minnesota.
The major exception is that agents of the state may transfer such firearms to other agents of the state defined as: government officers, agents, employees; member of the armed forces of the United States, or peace officer for official use by the recipient. No private citizens need apply.
The bill anticipates funds will be allocated for "buyback" programs. Such programs are mandated to accept the listed firearms at rates determined by the Commissioner of Public Safety. People participating in the "buyback" programs are immune from prosecution under the law.
Looking at the list of firearms which would be banned from transfer under this bill, there are a few surprises. Here are some categories of firearms which are not allowed to be transferred if the bill would pass:
Semi-automatic pistols with fixed magazines having a capacity of over ten rounds. The first one to come to mind is the new Keltec PR-57, specifically designed as a self-defense carry pistol.
In the same line, the bill lists any semi-automatic, centerfire, or rimfire rifle with a fixed magazine which can hold more than ten rounds. This appears to include nearly all semi-automatic rimfire rifles with tubular magazines. The previous bill exempted .22 rifles with tubular magazines. The exemption was not found in SF1596/HF2449.
Any semi-automatic pistol which accepts a detachable magazine and has any one of four features is to be banned from being transferred. The feature which stands out to this correspondent is a "shroud which completely or partially encircles the barrel. This bans transfer of the Keltec CP33 and a number of Ruger MK variants which have shrouded barrels.
As written, the bill bans transfer of dozens of currently legal firearm models, except to transfer them to gun "buyback" programs where the state would take possession.
At the moment, the bill has little support, according to gunowners.mn. This does not mean support will not grow at some point in the future.
This type of bill strikes at the very heart of the Second Amendment. It seeks to remove from public ownership most firearms which are least used in crimes, especially those which would be more effective as militia weapons. It is important for the Supreme Court of the United States to strike down state bans of semi-automatic rifles. Such a ruling would make passage of bills such as SF1596/HF2449 highly problematic.
©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
The MPD responded to a shooting in the area of 31 South McLean Boulevard at around 5:45 a.m. A man on the scene told police that someone tried to rob him when he got home.
Police say the man pulled out a gun and he and the suspect began to physically fight. The man then shot the suspect, who was taken to Regional One in critical condition.
SPRING, Texas (KTRK) -- A Spring man was arrested after someone else broke into his car. Harris County Constable Precinct 4 said it was because he chased the suspected thief down and then shot him.
The arrest was posted to the Pct. 4's Facebook page and people are divided. They say this was either someone rightfully protecting his property or someone who took it too far.
The MPD responded to a shooting in the area of 31 South McLean Boulevard at around 5:45 a.m. A man on the scene told police that someone tried to rob him when he got home.
Police say the man pulled out a gun and he and the suspect began to physically fight. The man then shot the suspect, who was taken to Regional One in critical condition.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court had taken two cases where non-residents had been arrested and prosecuted for possessing firearms and ammunition in Massachusetts. Both cases involved residents of New Hampshire, where the defendants could legally carry firearms without permits. The cases were combined for the Massachusetts Supreme Court. The decisions were rendered on March 11, 2025. The decisions were opposite for the two cases.
In the decision for the earlier case, Commonwealth v. Donnell, the Court found the Massachusetts firearm licensing scheme at the time of Donnell's arrest, to be unconstitutional, because the law was a "may issue" law which allowed discretion on the part of the issuing official.From findlaw.com:
Our holding today does not, as the Commonwealth suggests, preclude it from requiring firearm licenses for persons within its borders. See Marquis, 495 Mass. at ––––, ––– N.E.3d ––––. To be consistent with the Second Amendment, the Commonwealth's nonresident firearm licensing scheme cannot vest an official with the discretion to deny a license to a qualified applicant. The defendant was charged under a firearm licensing scheme that did just that. This manner of firearm restriction is no longer permissible. Bruen, supra. Accordingly, the allowance of the defendant's motion to dismiss is affirmed.
In the second case, Commonwealth v. Philip J. Marquis, the court upheld the law as constitutional. They found Marquis did not have standing because he had not applied for a nonresident permit under the new Massachusetts law. From findlaw.com, Commonwealth v. Philip J. Marquis:
This is one of two cases we decide today in which we determine the constitutionality of the Commonwealth's nonresident firearm licensing scheme.1 See Commonwealth v. Donnell, 495 Mass. (2025). While we consider a prior version of the nonresident firearm licensing scheme in Donnell, here we consider the current version of that scheme. See St. 2022, c. 175, §§ 17B-22 (effective Aug. 10, 2022). Specifically, we address whether the current nonresident firearm licensing scheme violates the right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution or the rights to travel and to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. We hold that it does not.
Analysis: The Massachusetts court refused to consider the thrust of the argument against requiring non-residents to obtain a separate permit from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in order to exercise rights protected by the Second Amendment. They did this by claiming the defendant had no standing because he had not applied for a non-resident permit. The argument ignores the fact it is much more difficult for a non-resident to obtain a non-resident permit than it is for a resident to obtain a resident permit. From the opinion:
Because that scheme does not penalize nonresidents' right to travel, and because differences in how that scheme operates for residents versus nonresidents are rationally related to legitimate State interests, the Commonwealth's nonresident firearm licensing scheme is also facially consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment rights to travel and to equal protection.
The Court dismisses those crucial arguments by citing precedents from more than a decade before the Supreme Court case in Bruen. The court goes on to make extensive arguments, which it says are not necessary. In the opinion of this correspondent, the arguments are weak. The Commonwealth treats non-residents substantially differently than it does residents when it comes to non-resident permits. The Court glosses over these differences as not relevant.
A non-resident permit is only valid for a year, while a resident permit is valid for 4-5 years. The non-refundable fee is $100 for both. A Massachusetts official can take up to 90 days to issue a non-resident permit, while they are only allowed 40 days to issue or deny a resident permit. Residents are allowed a sixty day grace period to renew their permit; non-residents have no grace period. The concept that a citizen would have to apply for a permit up to 90 days before they can exercise a fundamental, Constitutional right after a decision to cross a state line, is absurd. Those decisions are often made momentarily, on the spot. For the First Amendment, any delay of exercise of the right has been found to cause irreparable harm. The same standard should apply to the Second Amendment, which is not a Second Class right.
The Massachusetts court then reaches into fish and game law to claim there is no requirement for state permits to treat residents and non-residents alike. It claims the state permit system need only meet rational basis. Both claims are highly problematic.
Hunting and fishing are not rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution. The Court is playing games when it says the Massachusetts non-resident permit scheme does not violate the Second Amendment, and then claims the permit scheme can treat non-residents and residents differently, because the Court said it does not violate the Second Amendment. This is circular reasoning.
Massachusetts is one of the jurisdictions in the United States most hostile to the Second Amendment. The judges on the Commonwealth's high court are clever wordsmiths. This does not mean they are correct.
It is unclear if the Marquis case will be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.
©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
Interesting things are happening in the Fifth Circuit case involving silencers, USA v Peterson. A three judge panel ruled that silencers were not "arms" as defined by the text of the Second Amendment. Peterson and his attorneys have asked the case be reheard in an en banc review. The Fifth Circuit has been reasonably diligent in its Second Amendment cases, so an en banc (review by the whole court) has a good chance of reversing the three judge panel. The Peterson case appears to be seriously considered by the Fifth Circuit. The court has sent a request to the parties involved to send a response on to the Appellant's Petition. The request for response was sent on March 7, 2025.
The Trump Administration issued a executive order to the Department of Justice (DOJ) headed by Attorney General Pam Bondi to present a plan to review all legal actions and regulations affecting rights protected by the Second Amendment. The plan is due by March 10th. The Fifth Circuit request is a golden opportunity for the DOJ to present a clear and effective response in the USA v. Peterson case. In the case, the US Attorney made the claim that silencers were not arms covered by the text of the Second Amendment. This is what was used by the three judge panel to claim silencers are not protected arms. The Trump administration could easily reverse the claim and state silencer are clearly arms protected by the Second Amendment. The US Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Louisiana has until the 17 of March to send its response to the Fifth Circuit.
The Assistant US Attorney assigned to this case is David Berman. His history is makes him an unlikely Second Amendment advocate. He spent time in venues hostile to the Second Amendment before coming to Louisiana. He was a Law clerk for the US District court in Massachusetts, then a year and a month in Louisiana, then in the District of Columbia for a year and seven months; then in the Greater New York City Area for two years and eleven months; then in the Southern District of California for one year and eight months, then back to Louisiana as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana. His law degree is from the University of Oxford, in Oxfordshire, England. He appears to be an up and coming, talented and ambitious attorney. As a skilled attorney, he should be able to argue either side of a case.
The Department of Justice oversees the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. The Attorney General could issue instructions on the official position of the Executive branch to the Eastern District of Louisiana. An executive order has been issued by President Trump. This is a clear situation to show execution of his order. Silencers are the weakest part of the National Firearms Act. They should never have been banned with excessive taxes and regulations. They should be protected under the text of the Second Amendment. The Bruen and Caetano decisions make this clear.
We should know what the position of the administration is on this issue by the 17th of March, but it is possible the US Attorney could ask for time to study the issue further.
©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
The identity of the deceased male is pending verification by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
The adult male shooter was not injured.
HPD Homicide Division Sergeant C. Lamont and Detectives M. Providence and J. Robles reported:
HPD patrol officers responded to a shooting at a residence at the above address and found an unresponsive male lying on the driveway. Houston Fire Department paramedics pronounced the male deceased.
A preliminary investigation determined the male was burglarizing the residence while the home was unoccupied. When the homeowners returned and saw the male suspect on the property, one of them produced a firearm and shot the suspect.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office was contacted and it was determined the case would be reviewed by a grand jury.
According to police, a 28-year-old woman told officers she was assaulted by a 33-year-old man she knew in the 500 block of Eiler around 4 a.m. The man fired a shot at the woman, who fired shots back. The man then ran off.
On February 5, 2025, an officer responded to a "suspicious person with a weapon" call near a Jack in the Box located on the 5900 block of Gulf Freeway. The video does not say what department the officer was with. The address is in downtown Houston, so the officer is probably from the Houston Police Department. The officer noticed a young man and started questioning him. The young man stated he had been inside the Jack-in-the-Box watching his brothers sell "waters" outside. A man, with a knife in hand, had rushed at his brothers. The young man said he had pulled out a pistol, then moved between his brothers and the man, and told his brothers to run.
The officer searched the young man and found a loaded Glock 19. The young man said he had purchased the pistol from a friend for $150. The young man told the officer he was 17 years old. The officer arrested the 17-year-old for criminal possession of a handgun.
This is the information brought to the court in the initial hearing before Judge David Fleisher, an elected Harris County Criminal Court Judge. Houston, Texas occupies much of Harris County. Judge Fleisher has gained a reputation across the nation for including a hearing on probable cause with the initial court appearance.
The response from Judge Fleisher is interesting. He says: "He [the young man] is going to the defense of others".
At this point, a lawyer in the back of the courtroom stands up and rushes to the defense of the young man. Judge Fleisher and the lawyer tend to talk over each other, but the lawyer lays out several documents. The documents are a memo from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), saying possession under the age of 21 is not a crime, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruling the limitation of carry to people under 21 is unconstitutional, the United States District Court, Northern District holding the prohibition on carrying under the age of 21 is unconstitutional, and a motion to quash the indictment. Judge Fleisher laughs at the level of preparation, and rules there was no probable cause to search. Judge Fleisher says he was going to rule no probable cause existed, in any case.
The lawyer may have been stretching the law. The DPS memo limits the exemption from the law to 18-20 year old people. The youth in this case was 17 years old.
This case shows the sea change in the respect for the Second Amendment in the seventeen years since the Heller decision and particularly the 32 months since the Bruen decision. Heller clarified the Second Amendment as a fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms. Bruen reinforced the Heller decision and clarified the right to bear arms a right to carry arms routinely in case of confrontation, including outside the home.
When this correspondent received initial law enforcement training in the 1970's, an instructor said: don't worry about searching someone for weapons. The instructor claimed they had never had a case, where they found a weapon, where the judge had dismissed the case for lack of probable cause.
Times have changed for the better. If the young man had been 18, carrying a Glock would not have been a crime, as the founders intended when they wrote the Second Amendment.
Given the circumstances, the Glock will not be returned. This correspondent's first impression, given the price of $150 cited, was the Glock was probably stolen. Many people do not bother to report stolen guns. If the Glock had been on the official list of stolen firearms, the young man might have been charged with possession of stolen property.
Judge Fleisher has heard another case involving a 17-year-old and an illegal possession charge. Because there was evidence of the pistol being fired, the other 17-year-old was treated much differently. In that case, the officer did not make an illegal search. The pistol was seen in plain sight inside a car.
Link to second case on youtube
Those who wish for the population to be disarmed claim more guns = more crime. There is no conclusive evidence of this. Most of the evidence indicates more guns = no difference, or a drop in violent crime, with a slight increase in property crime.
For those interested, here is a link where Judge David Fleisher explains his mission on an ABC news interview.
©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
The National Instant background Check System (NICS) for February 2025 shows a drop in both Firearm sales and in overall background checks. Firearm sales are down about nine percent from 2024. NICS background checks are down about five percent from February of 2024. Handgun and "multiple" sales moved up a bit from January to February while long gun and "other" sales dropped a bit. In the graphic below, the lines are for 2024. The bars are for 2025.
President Trump has been in his second term in office for over a month. The rapid pace of corrections produced by the Trump administration signals a strong turn away from the destructive and radical policies of the Biden administration. During the first Trump term, firearms sales dropped a bit, largely because prospective gun buyers believed President Trump was not nearly as hostile to the Second Amendment as a President Hillary Clinton would have been. In President Trump's Second term the contrast is even greater.
This month is another month where over 1 million firearms were sold, according to the NSSF adjusted figures based on the FBI NICS numbers. According to the NSSF numbers, February 2025 is the 67th consecutive month where over 1 million firearms were sold. Sales of firearms generally slump a bit in January, after the Christmas sales in December. While February is three days shorter than January or December (except for leap years), February sales track higher than January, on average. February NICS checks have been higher than those in January in 20 of the 26 years recorded in NICS.
Significant change tends to disrupt existing systems and markets. It takes time for them to readjust. The significant reforms desired by President Trump and called for during his campaign will create some disruption and pain as they are implemented. It is best to implement the changes at the start of an administration, so the pain will be felt earlier and the beneficial effects can start to be observed before the next election. President Trump and his cabinet are working to move members of the workforce from unproductive jobs in the Federal government to productive jobs in the private sector.
During the last 16 years, about 210 million firearms have been added to the stock of private firearms in the United States. Firearms are very durable goods. With modest care they can last for hundreds of years. Improvements in ammunition and firearms metallurgy have added to the potential useful life of firearms. Smokeless powder makes the maintenance of firearm bores easier, as has the transition from corrosive primers to non-corrosive primers. Those improvement occurred at about 1900 and 1950, as rough markers. Since the 1960's stainless steel has taken an increasing portion of the firearms market. Surface treatments which are tougher and more protective than blueing or controlled rusting, such as cerakoting, more durable plating technologies, parkerizing and black nitride are likely to increase longevity. Composite stocks tend to be stronger than wood stocks, per pound. It is not as clear composite stocks will last longer, but it seems plausible.
Longer lives for firearms would be expected to dampen demand. To counter that trend, firearms are cheaper, on a constant dollar basis than every before.
©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
Jacksonville, Fla. — An early-morning shooting on Jacksonville’s Westside sent a man to the hospital.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was called to a home on Dylan Michael Drive around 4 a.m. Sunday.
Investigators said the victim was followed home from a nightclub. When he got home, the suspect showed a gun. The victim, who was also armed, fired several shots, hitting the suspect in the arm.
The Iowa Legislature has advanced House Study Bill 262 out of committee, by a vote of 17 -4. The bill repeals legislative bans on the possession, acquisition, or carrying of handguns or handgun ammunition by adults aged 18-20. Several appellate court decisions have made clear young adults, 18-20 years old, are members of the people who have a right to keep and bear arms protected by the Second Amendment.
Iowa falls under the jurisdiction of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. On July 16, 2024, a three judge panel of the Eighth circuit unanimously confirmed the rights protected by the Second Amendment apply to young adults 18-20 years old. The case is Kristin Worth v. Bob Jacobson, challenging the Minnesota law banning the carry of firearms by all people under the age of 21. On August 21, 2024, a petition to rehear the case by an enbanc panel of the Eighth Circuit was denied. A petition appealing the case to the Supreme Court of the United States was filed on January 23, 2025.
The Minnesota law remains in effect until the end of the appeals process.
The Iowa legislature can read the arguments presented in Worth v Jacobsen. The are proposing changes which will bring them into conformity with the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. From HSB 262:
Current law generally prohibits a person under the age of 21 from acquiring a permit to carry weapons, acquiring pistols and revolvers, and carrying dangerous weapons. This bill lowers the minimum age to 18 and makes conforming changes, including toscope of liability provisions.
Two decades ago, Iowa was a state where infringements on rights protected by the Second Amendment were routinely accepted. As the ability to communicate and organize became easier and less expensive, gun owners in Iowa communicated more and organized. Iowa became a leader in restoring rights protected by the Second Amendment. On November 8, 2022, Iowa reformed their constitution to explicitly and strictly protect the right to keep and bear arms by a 2-1 margin.
Analysis:
Those who want to have the people disarmed are losing more court cases than they are winning. The inferior courts seem to be taking the Bruen decision more seriously than they did the Heller decision. Now that President Trump has won his second term, expect more judges who take the Constitution seriously to be appointed to the bench.
As experience with 18-year-old people carrying guns, Constitutional Carry, guns in schools and guns in churches all continue into decades without ill effect, judges will become more and more skeptical of the false narrative "guns are bad". Law schools will be teaching the Second Amendment as a fundamental right, instead of an embarrassing mistake. The nation has already restored more rights protected by the Second Amendment than this correspondent thought possible, 50 years ago.
©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
Houston police said the mechanic shop off W. 18th Street and Ella Boulevard was broken into a few days ago. The suspect wasn't caught, and the owners had allegedly been keeping an eye out.
Around 2 a.m. Friday, police said the business owners spotted someone on their surveillance cameras and rushed to the business to confront him.
Some sort of a fight broke out, and that's when the owners shot the man, HPD said.
Link to youtube video of State of the State address, 2025
On March 4, 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis gave his State of the State address to the Florida legislature. In the address Governor DeSantis vocalized his support for restoring Second Amendment rights. Second Amendment statements start about minute 24 into the speech:
The free state of Florida has not exactly led the way on protecting Second Amendment rights. We have some of the more "weak" laws on the country compared to our other states who consider themselves conservative. I would ask you to protect peoples Second Amendment Rights. Look back in instances where legislation may have been passed in recent years, such as shifting the burden on red flag laws, such as taking away the rights of young adults to be able to purchase firearms, such as limiting somebody's ability to both keep and bear arms.
Governor DeSantis asked the legislature to protect peoples Second Amendment Rights. He particularly mentioned Red Flag laws, pointing out those laws do not provide proper due process. He stated Florida should not ban young adults from being able to purchase long guns.
In this video on the Florida channel, Governor DeSantis was speaking with reporters, directly after the State of the State address. Governor DeSantis discusses open carry, starting at 8:25. An abbreviated clip can be seen on X.
In the press session, after the speech, Governor DeSantis expounds on Second Amendment issues. Governor DeSantis makes arguments often made by Second Amendment supporters. He stresses the Second Amendment protects open carry. He believes most gun owners will not open carry very often, but they want to have the right to open carry to be recognized and protected.
"We see other states that have laws that respect that - I'm for it, I've always been for it. If you talk to most gun owners - very few will actually open carry. They just want to know they can, it's a constitutional right. I'm for open carry."
"Reevaluate recent legislation [things] like red flag law[s] [...] You can go in and say, 'this person's a danger, they should have their firearms taken away...' then the burden shifts, where you have to prove to a court you are not a menace or a threat. That's not the way due process works... I think it's a huge due process violation."
If Florida restores open carry to the state, beyond the very limited legal open carry now allowed, only three states will effectively ban open carry. They will be California, Illinois, and New York. Governor DeSantis notes most states have open carry and problems with it are, essentially, non-existent.
Analysis: The movement to restore limited, Constitutional government has long been intertwined with the restoration of Second Amendment rights. This correspondent recalls a conversation on an Internet discussion and news aggregation site, about 15 years ago. One of the participants wrote, essentially:
I have often wondered if the Second Amendment would be the key to restoring the Constitution, not in a bloody revolution, but because the violation of Second Amendment rights is so blatant it cannot be denied.
The comment has proved to be prescient. Second Amendment supporters have been a key faction of the coalition to restore Constitutional government. The struggle to preserve the Republic will never be over. There is a long, long way to go. In the roughly 60 years this correspondent has been aware and involved, public awareness of the issue has never been more informed.
©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
Link to video on Youtube of State of the State by Governor Ron DeSantis.
On 3-13-25, Delta Junction AST received a report of an assault from a residence Delta AST responds to regularly near Artic Grayling. It was reported two males were in an active physical altercation. Delta AST responded and contacted one of the males on the road who advised he had gotten shot. He was transported to FMH. Based off of the parties involved statements, it appeared one male shot the other in self defense.
he Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has posted a "history" of the botched service of a search warrant on the residence and buildings of the Branch Davidian religious sect, on unincorporated property near Waco, Texas on February 28, 1993.
This correspondent closely followed news of the botched raid and siege as current events. The research on this assignment refreshed emotions from three decades ago, when the nation reeled under a situation which exposed the Clinton administration's use of naked force and its disdain for the Constitution and the rule of law. The events of the raid, its planning, botched execution, and the horrific handling of the aftermath by the FBI, have come to be known, as "Waco".
Many books have been written about the events which resulted in over 84 deaths, most caused by a combination of governmental agency arrogance, incompetence, and lies, with heaping helpings of coverup in the aftermath.
The botched FBI response lead directly to an FBI armored assault on the Branch Davidian buildings after a 51 day siege. The assault resulted in the destruction by fire of the buildings and the death of 76 Branch Davidians, including 25 children. There is ample evidence the FBI deliberately used tear gas grenades which were notorious for their incendiary effects, and which had been banned from use because of the danger. The public was shown footage of armored vehicles battering the buildings as they blocked escape routes, while FBI loudspeakers bizarrely broadcast "THIS IS NOT an ASSAULT."
"History" was placed in quotes because the timeline of events is hotly disputed. The ATF, FBI, and the Clinton administration Department of Justice were far from transparent about the events which occurred at the ATF warrant service/raid. To further complicate the situation, the FBI took over the standoff from the ATF. The FBI Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) actively interfered with and sabotaged the FBI hostage negotiators, or, possibly, the FBI management was so incompetent they had different factions who failed to coordinate and work with each other. The FBI and ATF actively refused to cooperate with investigators. Enormous amounts of evidence was destroyed during the siege, the assault and after the fire.
The ATF "history" timeline includes unproven assertions and leaves out uncomfortable facts, while including unrelated events to demonize the Branch Davidian sect. Some examples:
The ATF warrant application is full of mistakes in law and in facts.
The Davidians had co-operated with local authorities.
The ATF "history" includes complaints of child abuse, but the ATF had no authority to investigate or prosecute child abuse. Child abuse is a state matter.
The ATF was widely regarded as a "rogue agency". The motive for the Waco raid is highly suspect. The ATF's reputation had suffered significantly during the Ruby Ridge episode. Congressional budget hearing were to commence shortly. The code selected for the beginning of the raid was "Showtime". From davekopel.org:
A BATF memo written two days before the February 28, 1993 raid explained "this operation will generate considerable media attention, both locally [Texas] and nationally." [14] The BATF public relations director, Sharon Wheeler, called reporters to ask them for their weekend phone numbers. The reporters contend, and Wheeler denies, that she asked them if they would be interested in covering a weapons raid on a "cult." Wheeler, on the other hand, states that she merely told them, "We have something going down." [15] After the raid, the BATF at first denied there had been any media contacts. [16] Journalist Ronald Kessler reports that the BATF told eleven media outlets that the raid was coming. [17] The Department of the Treasury has refused to release the pre-raid memos which deal with publicity, asserting that they are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. [18]
The ATF asserts the Davidians fired on them first. This has been hotly contested by the surviving Davidians. Considerable evidence supports the Davidian version of events. At the ATF timeline, it is said the shooting started with Davidians firing at the helicopters used during the raid. (9:47). At the ATF "remembering Waco" page, it is asserted that David Koresh was waiting outside the double doors. The first shots were supposedly fired by Davidians, through the doors, at the ATF agents. This may seem a small contradiction by the ATF. Questions of who fired first and where, become critical in law.
ATF agents, after the disaster of the botched raid, were interviewed by Texas Rangers. Only a fraction of those interviews have been released to the public.
The double human and public affairs disasters of Ruby Ridge and Waco crystallized a building movement to restore Constitutional restraints on governmental agencies. The two obvious bungled disasters led to a significant drop in trust for the FBI and the ATF. The ability to easily transmit information was rapidly building. Ruby Ridge and Waco might have remained narratives controlled by the deep state and Media complex if email, Internet discussion groups, and talk radio did not exist.
This correspondent's limited second hand information comes from a friend who talked to one of the high level FBI agents involved in the siege. When questioned about the siege tactics, the agent said all of the Davidians deserved to die because they "defied the government".
As seems common in federal political prosecutions, numerous charges were brought against Davidian survivors on relatively flimsy evidence. This has been confirmed in the lawfare used against President Trump.
At the trial of the Davidian survivors, nine members of the jury wanted to dismiss all charges. Three members of the jury want to convict all eleven defendants of conspiracy. They settled on a compromise they believed would result in minimum sentences, including time served. The jurors were not lawyers. The judge used their decision, including some dubious interpretations of law, to impose very harsh sentences on the eight defendants who had been found guilty of what the jurors believed were minor charges. (The Ashes of Waco, P.297). In 2000, the Supreme Court found Judge Smith had acted in error. The sentences of five Davidians on firearms charges were reduced by Judge Smith from 30 years to five years. The sentence of Graeme Craddock was reduced from 20 years to 15 years. Craddock was deported to Australia after 13 years in a Texas prison.
The founding of the United States is based on legitimate defense against a government. Many states have provisions which allow citizens to use deadly force against police who they believe are illegitimately placing them in deadly peril.
There is no such direct provision in federal law, although it is implied.
The premises in the initial warrants for Waco were suspect from the beginning. The lack of any credible investigation into claims of justifiable defense by the Davidians was obvious to anyone watching the proceedings. The nightmarish behavior of the FBI, including deliberate destruction of evidence, called the legitimacy of the agency into question. The Clinton administration was well on its way to becoming a one-term presidency. The Republicans won control of the House and the Senate in 1994, the first time in 40 years.
In 1995, the Oklahoma City bombing was seized by the Clinton administration and the old media as a way to discredit complaints about Waco and Ruby Ridge. The investigation of the Oklahoma City bombing has its own set of difficulties, muddled evidence, and weird circumstances. President Clinton, with massive amounts of aid from the deep state and media, won another term as President. o
In the trial of the surviving Davidians, Judge Smith essentially ruled, if federal agents are shooting at you, your only option is to lay down your arms and surrender.
Today, over thirty years later, with the second election of Donald Trump, the credibility of the ATF and the FBI lie in shreds.
©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
"When we arrived there, we did in fact locate a stabbing victim with one stab wound. Throughout the investigation, he indicated that he had shot the person that attacked him," said Reading Police Patrol Captain Aaron Demko.
Demko says officers found the other person involved at Reading Hospital. He's been identified as 32-year-old Jerry Santos. Police say he had a gunshot wound to his legs.
"The suspect (Santos) in this has been charged currently," said Demko. "No other charges were filed at this time, just against the suspect that stabbed the victim."
We have learned that a violent carjacking near Montgomery Park turned deadly when a suspect crashed his Subaru inside Montgomery Park then he ran through the park and attempted to steal a brightly colored car which was occupied by a homeless TikToker named TophiaChu, her mother, and her brother. The carjacker fatally shot her brother, and critically wounded her mother who was in the backseat of the car before taking off in the vehicle with the dead victim and shot mother still inside.
While on scene, we observed the famous colorful sedan of TikToker TophiaChu within the crime scene perimeter as APD was investigating the scene.
The suspect sped towards Montgomery Blvd and crashed into a Jeep near Marla NE. The Jeep’s driver, realizing there were injured and deceased people in the stolen car, panicked and began screaming for help. A security guard from a nearby apartment complex witnessed the chaos and heard the pleas for help, intervened, and fatally shot the suspect, bringing the violent ordeal to an end.
On February 27, 2025, the Kansas Senate voted 39 to 1 to pass a police and firearms sales reform bill. The bill allows police to sell/transfer (trade) forfeited firearms to a federally licensed firearms dealer. From legiscan.com:
Session of 2025 SENATE BILL No. 137
AN ACT concerning the Kansas standard asset seizure and forfeiture act;
relating to the disposition of forfeited property; authorizing the sale or
transfer of forfeited firearms to a licensed federal firearms dealer;
The Kansas legislature appears to be correcting a weird quirk in Kansas law, K.S.A 60-4117 (5)(b) allowed for four ways to dispose of forfeited firearms:
1. Destroy them
2. Used for official purposes in the agency which seized the firearms
3. Traded to another law enforcement agency for use withing the agency
4. Given to the Kansas bureau of investigation for law enforcement, testing, comparison, or destruction by the Kansas bureau of investigation forensic laboratory.
Senate Bill No. 137 adds the option of selling or transferring the forfeited firearms to a properly licensed federal firearms dealer, as shown below, bold added:
b) When firearms are forfeited under this act, the firearms, in the
discretion of the seizing agency, shall be destroyed, used within the seizing agency for official purposes, traded to another law enforcement agency for use within such agency, sold or transferred to a properly licensed federal firearms dealer or given to the Kansas bureau of investigation for law enforcement, testing, comparison or destruction by the Kansas bureau of investigation forensic laboratory.
In 2014, Kansas enacted a law requiring police to auction off guns which had been used in crimes. In the first six years of the law, in Wichita, Kansas, the police department received $196,000, as reported in the Wichita Eagle in 2021:
Since 2015, Wichita’s gun sales, totaling 2,082 weapons, have generated $196,000 for a fund that pays for miscellaneous police equipment. However, the middlemen who transact the sales got more than half of the $425,000 in total sale proceeds, according to an analysis of records that The Wichita Eagle obtained through the Kansas Open Records Act.
It is unknown how exactly how many firearms are seized under forfeiture laws in Kansas. Indications are more firearms are seized through forfeiture than are seized when used in crimes. The number could be significant.
The United States Department of Justice has published numbers which distinguish administrative and civil forfeitures from criminal forfeitures. Over the years FY19 to FY23, there were 157,788 total forfeitures of firearms to the federal government. Only 31% of the total were Judicial-Criminal forfeitures. 69% were for civil forfeitures. There are differences between the way the federal government confiscates/seizes firearms and the way it is done in Kansas. Kansas passed a forfeiture reform bill, SB 458, in April of 2024, about a year ago. The reforms limit police power to seize property through civil forfeiture. The reform could reduce the number of firearms seized under civil forfeiture in Kansas.
Although the number of firearms seized by Kansas police through civil forfeiture may drop, none of those firearms are currently allowed to be sold/transferred back into the normal stream of firearms commerce. The number of firearms sold by police in Kansas could rise substantially, along with the amount of money provided to the police budget. The police have good reasons to approve of SB 137. The bill increases the amount of money available for police equipment and simplifies the administration of police sales of firearms.
©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
According to Det. Samuel Marullo with LAPD's West Bureau Homicide division, the security guard, who was employed by the dispensary, was working inside the business when the suspect deliberately drove his vehicle through the entrance inside the store.
A preliminary investigation revealed the security guard saw the driver, wearing a ski mask, and believed a robbery was about to occur. That's when he shot at the suspect, striking him at least one time before officers arrived and took the suspect into custody. He was taken to the hospital where he died from his injuries.
The shooting was reported just before 1:30 p.m. Friday near Alfred Street and Oakwood Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The 61-year-old suspect used a baseball bat to break into his mother's home and then attacked her, police said.
The suspect's brother arrived at the scene and witnessed the attack, police said.
"When he arrived, he saw his mother on the floor. He saw his 61-year-old brother on top of her, choking her," LAPD Detective Samuel Marullo said.
At that point, the suspect's brother fired a warning shot and later fatally shot his sibling with a shotgun.
Officers with APD’s University Area Command responded to reports of a shooting Friday just before 11 p.m. at 1333 Columbia Dr., S.E. An adult male was located inside a vehicle with a fatal gunshot wound. He was determined to be deceased at the scene.
A second adult male was located with several gunshot wounds. That man was transported to the hospital and is expected to survive his wounds.
Homicide detectives interviewed several witnesses as they work to determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting. The preliminary investigation suggests a justifiable homicide, but detectives are exploring all evidence.
On February 27, 2025, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon allowed Wyoming Bill 172, the "Wyoming Repeal Gun Free Zones Act", to become law without his signature. Governor Godon objected to the bill, but said it would become law.
The Wyoming Repeal Gun Free Zones Act does essentially what the name implies. It repeals most of the areas where the legislature has allowed local political entities to infringing on rights protected by the Second Amendment. From a previous AmmoLand article:
Section 1 W.S. 6-8-105 is created to read:6-8-105. Exceptions for state issued concealed carry permits; penalty.
(a)This section shall be known as and may be cited as the “Wyoming Repeal Gun Free Zones Act.”
(b) Persons lawfully carrying concealed weapons in Wyoming under
W.S. 6‑8-104(a)(ii) through (iv) may carry a concealed weapon in the
following places:(i) Any meeting of a governmental entity;
(ii) Any meeting of the legislature or a committee thereof;
(iii) Any public building not otherwise prohibited under W.S. 6-8-104(t) or regulated under this section.
(c) Persons lawfully carrying concealed weapons in Wyoming with
a permit issued under W.S. 6-8-104(a)(ii) may carry a concealed weapon
in the following places:(i) Any public school, public college or university
athletic event taking place on public property that does not sell
alcoholic beverages;(ii) Any public elementary or secondary school facility;
(iii) Any public college or university facility.
Wyoming’s proposed bill explains how a local board of trustees in a school district may adopt rules for employees to carry concealed weapons in schools. The bill leaves certain restrictions in place. It only applies to concealed carry, not open carry.
Over the last century local governmental units have been allowed to flaunt unconstitutional laws infringing on the exercise of Second Amendment rights. Local governments are not sovereign entities inside state borders. State governments create them and allow them to have certain powers derived from state law.
With the landmark Second Amendment cases in Heller and McDonald, the Supreme Court of the United States, started the process to bring these unconstitutional infringements to an end. There is no constitutional power granted to state and local governments to infringe on rights protected by the Second Amendment.
Following the clear direction of the US Supreme Court, the Wyoming legislature has restricted the ability of local governmental entities to infringe on rights protected by the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Wyoming legislature is also doing their job to follow the limitations enshrined in the Wyoming State Constitution. From the Wyoming Constitution:
The right of citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and of the state shall not be denied.
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon objected to the bill, claiming it infringed on the powers of local governments. Governor Gordon is exactly correct about what the bill does. Local governments only have power within legitimate bounds. The US Constitution and the Wyoming Constitution create those bounds. Neither local governments or State governments can legitimately violated the limits on governments protected by the Bill of Rights, specifically, in this case, the Second Amendment.
Bill HB 172 will take effect on July 1, 2025.
Variations of this bill have been in the Wyoming legislature for the past ten years. In 2024, Governor Gordon vetoed a nearly identical bill.
Several states continue to defy the Supreme Court's clear guidance on the Second Amendment, including Hawaii, California, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island. Numerous court cases are in progress as a few courts of appeal join in the defiance.
©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
Police said the incident happened around 8 p.m. at O’Reilly Auto Parts in the 1900 block of South Third Street.
According to THPD, officers responded to a shots fired call and learned that a person had entered the store to dispute a trespass order against them. When the individual was told to leave, they refused, leading to a brief altercation.
The suspect then returned to their vehicle, allegedly grabbed a gun, and reentered the store, pointing the weapon at an employee. A nearby customer, who was legally armed, shot the suspect multiple times to defend the employee.
Officers were called to multiple reports of gunshots in an area of Rhode Island Drive around 8 p.m. Wednesday, and found Jonah Greenlee with a gunshot wound to the leg.
Investigators say they interviewed witnesses and victims at the scene, who told them they were packing up to move when a black SUV stopped in front of their house and began yelling about their moving truck blocking the roadway.
Victims told police that the man in the SUV yelled "I got something for you" before walking toward their house with another man and shooting.
One of the victims told police they drew their own gun and returned fire. Police say the description of the two suspects matched Jonah Greenlee and Christopher Greenlee.
Nunaga: Ten Years of Eskimo Life by Duncan Pryde 285 pages, 1971, Walker Publishing Company, Inc. New York, 1972 American edition.
Nunaga is extremely well written, a riveting story of a young man from Scotland who goes to Canada. He answers an ad for fur traders by the Hudson Bay Company.
In 1955, an eighteen year old Duncan Pryde was seeking fortune and adventure. He found both, and earned a reputation for genius with the Eskimo language. He lived the Eskimo life for years, becoming adept at survival in the arctic with dogsled, snow knife, rifle and harpoon, using Eskimo techniques. He fathered children with Eskimo women as part of Eskimo nomadic wife culture. The original version of the book is said to have been cut back considerably because of too much sexuality.
This correspondent does not recall exactly when he first read Nunaga. It was decades ago. The book includes an episode where Duncan Pryde shoots a polar bear, at very close quarters, in defense. He used a Savage model 99 in 250/3000 caliber, as I recall.
Studies of defenses against bears have come to occupy this correspondent's time. A copy of Nunaga was obtained to evaluate the polar bear shooting. It was worth the time to determine if the event was included in the Polar Bear/Human Information Management System (PBHIMS), obtained by AmmoLand with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The PBHIMS was created with taxpayer dollars to gain understanding of polar bear and human interactions, including conflicts in the Arctic. This famous event, from a credible source in a very popular and widespread title, was somehow missed.
After nearly dying in a canoe trip along a icebound shoreline, Duncan and his companion find a narrow access to shore in a dense fog. With great risk, they mange to enter and find a safe, but small beach. There is a steep, but climbable access to get off the beach. Duncan's companion goes up to see if he can observe a Dew Line outpost they had spotted earlier. Duncan decided to stay on the beach in a tent. Some time later, Duncan hears a sound. He thinks it is his companion. He speaks, then yells, expecting to be answered. He looks out of the tent, to see a large polar bear six feet away, next to the canoe. The polar bear sees him. Here is how Duncan Pryde described the event p. 264:
It pawed at the ground and I pawed at the inside of the tent, trying to locate my rifle. Finally my hand closed over it and I eased my shoulder back inside the tent so I could get both hands on the gun. I levered a cartridge into the chamber, and in the silence between me and the bear, the click was the loudest sound in the world.
The bear turned toward me and reared up. I still wasn't sure what it would do, but it was so close if it decided to come my way, there would be little time for me to do anything. I swung the rifle up and fired. I shot it right through the heart with a .250/3000, and it flopped over against the canoe with a high pitched scream like a woman's.
Nunaga is an epic biography of real life high adventure in the arctic, as it transitioned from dogsled to snowmobile. Duncan eventually was elected to the Northwest Territories council, as representative for the Eskimo's in the area, from 1966 to 1970. Nunaga is full of Duncan Pryde's ten years in Eskimo culture. It is foundational reading for anyone attempting to understand what has happened in the Canadian arctic. He is remembered as the foremost expert on the Eskimo language, pronunciation, and grammar.
One of the things this writer found of interest, is Duncan Pryde's evaluation of accounts by Farley Mowat, the widely debunked author of the fraudulent work: Never Cry Wolf. Pryde mentions Mowat on page 33:
When Farley Mowat claims in his books and articles that he went to the Arctic and in a matter of a month or two was able to speak a basic form of Eskimo and discuss shamanism and religion, I just can't believe him. I know that when he came to Baker Lake he didn't communicate at all in Eskimo.It was another data point about the lack of credibility of Farley Mowat, who said, "I never let facts get in the way of a good story."
Duncan Pryde has plenty of credibility. His credentials are legion. Pryde joins with numerous others who have impeccable reputations, to point out exaggerations and fabrications published by Mowat.
If you are interested in fact and real life Arctic adventure, Nunaga is a fascinating read.
©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
SUMMARY:
On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at about 9:18 p.m., Grand Terrace deputies
responded to a residence in the 23000 block of Grand Terrace Road, in
Grand Terrace. The victim reported approximately three suspects broke
into his home and he armed himself with a firearm. In fear for his
safety and in self-defense, the victim fired rounds at the suspects and
the suspects fled the location in a white sedan.
At approximately 9:28 p.m., Loma Linda deputies responded to the 76 Gas
Station on Redlands Boulevard, in Loma Linda, for the report of a man
who had been shot and was laying on the ground, accompanied by a
15-year-old male juvenile. Deputies detained the juvenile, and the
adult male was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced
deceased. Through investigation, deputies determined the decedent, and
the juvenile were involved in the residential robbery.
Later, at about 10:05 p.m., the San Bernardino Police Department
responded to another hospital where the third suspect, identified as
Marquez Jackson, was receiving treatment for a gunshot wound. Jackson
underwent surgery for his injuries and remains hospitalized. Jackson
will be booked for robbery and murder upon his discharge from the
hospital.
The Sheriff’s Specialized Investigations Division – Homicide Detail also
responded and assumed the investigation. The juvenile was also
arrested for robbery and murder and booked in at Juvenile Hall.
Detective Tommie Brown said the son of the 28-year-old resident went outside to walk his dog. The resident followed his son and noticed four individuals inside his vehicle.
Brown said gunfire was exchanged between the resident and the suspects. The resident was shot once and is expected to be okay.
According to Brown, an individual later arrived at the hospital with three gunshot wounds. The individual is believed to be one of the suspects.
Lake City Police Department officers say they found a 31-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound at a home on Southwest Leslie Glen around 11 p.m. Friends and family identified the man on social media as Langston Sykes, aka Lanko. He was an MMA fighter with the ring name “Blaze.”
Officers say he broke into the home while multiple people, including children, were inside. Friends and family say his ex-wife and children lived there.
When the man rushed toward the victims, officers say another adult fired multiple shots.
Image of 22-EZ
At the 2025 Shot Show, the Franklin Armory booth was displaying new products. The 22-EZ binary trigger group for Ruger 10/22 type rifles, pistols, and the Franklin Armory 10/22 type pistol and rifle, with the trigger group installed, caught my attention. Binary triggers offer an interesting choice for a fire control system. They offer the selection of a controlled rate of fire above the ordinary pull or release trigger while retaining the usual mode.
Franklin Armory patented the binary trigger. The reasoning was simple: triggers which functioned by pulling the trigger for a single shot were clearly legal. Triggers which functioned as a release trigger, by releasing the trigger for a single shot were clearly legal. Therefore a trigger which fired once by pulling the trigger, and once by releasing the trigger had to be legal. A Franklin Armory employee at the booth said the ATF admitted binary triggers were legal.
The binary trigger group offered by Franklin Armory for 10/22 type firearms is a sophisticated example of engineering. The beauty of the product is very little or no fitting is required. All the critical areas are in the trigger group and have been done in the manufacturing process. The binary 22-EZ trigger group for 10/22 type firearms is listed at $369.99.
When the lever is pointing to the back, the selector is on safe. When the lever is pointing straight down, the selector is in the normal, semi-auto pull trigger, one shot mode. When the lever is pointing forward, the trigger is in binary mode. It will fire one shot when pulled and one shot when released. An important point is: the user can exit binary mode or semi-auto mode when desired. If the trigger is pulled and a shot fired, but the trigger is not released, the selector can be moved to semi-auto and the trigger will not fire when released.
A binary trigger can be used to attain a significant rate of fire. Extremely fast shooters, such as Jerry Miculek can fire eight shots from a revolver in under a second. Because the timers start with the first shot, that rate of fire is about 420 shots per minute. Most people, shooting as fast as they can, can shoot four shots from a semi-auto in a second. A binary trigger would double that rate to about eight shots per second, or 480 shots per minute. This is at the low end of most full auto firearms. Here is a video from Franklin Armory which shows the binary trigger in use.
Shooting firearms with a high rate of fire can be fun at the range. In practical matters, full auto is a specialized tool. A shooter can burn through a lot of ammunition and money very quickly. This is where a binary trigger on a .22 rimfire makes sense. .22 Rimfire is the cheapest and most common ammunition on the planet. At the 2025 Shot Show, Franklin Armory showed two rimfire .22 firearms which will be on the market soon. Both are 10/22 type firearms. Pistol and rifle versions will be available. Both were shown at the Shot Show. The F22™ Pistol has an eight inch barrel and a pistol brace. It uses an SB Tactical Chassis and an SB Tactical 1913 brace. The barrel is threaded 1/2-28, which is standard for .22 caliber firearms.
The F22™ Rifle has a Hogue® OverMolded™ stock, an extended magazine release, and an enhanced firing pin.
The price listed for the F22™ Rifle is $809.99.
Besides fun at the range, the binary trigger may offer practical self defense possibilities. Ammunition is inexpensive enough that considerable practice is affordable. Practice would be essential to become proficient with the binary trigger. Effective use of the binary trigger could be a difficult transition for those whose trigger finger reflexes have been ingrained with decades of experience. The easiest transition might be firing two shots together, with a simple pull and release of the trigger, instead of only one shot.
For indoor use, the .22 rimfire offers a much lower sound signature and muzzle flash than most centerfire cartridges. Using high grade .22 rimfire cartridges, such as the CCI Velocitor or the Aguilla Interceptor would give 2 shot energy close to the energy of a single shot standard 9mm out of a pistol.
For hundreds of years, flintlock ignition was considered adequate, with first round failures in the 10-25% range. The percussion ignition system was found to be 26 times as reliable in British Board of Ordinance trials in 1832. The failure rate of percussion ignition was about .5% or one failure for two hundred shots. Repriming a percussion arm is a bit faster and simpler than repriming a flintlock.
Quality .22 rimfire, in a quality rifle or pistol, has achieved failure rates of 1 for several thousand rounds. It may not be as reliable as centerfire, but quality ammunition is reasonably reliable. Most failures of .22 rimfire are ignition failures. A quick pull and release of the charging handle on a semi-auto usually clears the malfunction.
©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
“Two males came inside the store and demanded money from my employee. They went behind the counter,” said the manager.
The employees were held at gunpoint. The one in red runs behind the counter, and the man in black starts to fill his pockets and bags with cash.
Suddenly, a third man comes from the drink refrigerators and starts shooting.
Shots rang out on Tuesday and a man came out of his house to find his car riddled with bullet holes. While the man was trying to figure out what happened he saw Jackie Hightower come out of his house with a gun and started shooting again in the man's direction.
The unnamed man ran in to his house to get his gun. When he came back out he saw Hightower aim the gun at him and he demanded that Hightower stop shooting. The man then fired a single shot at Hightower and Hightower went back in his house.
Shreveport Police were called and were able to get Hightower out of the house with few issues and he was placed under arrest. Hightower is behind bars for these charges:
Monday night, March 3, around 10:00 p.m., the Laredo Police Department responded to a call about a stabbing at the 3000 block of San Eduardo Ave.
When officers arrived, they found out that several people were involved in a fight, and shots had been fired. Police later identified one of the men as Jorge Diaz Jr., 21, who had gunshot wounds but his injuries were not life-threatening.
Police said the investigation revealed that Diaz Jr. tried to slash the tires of a car owned by Allias Alejandro Briones, 23. According to police, when Briones confronted Diaz Jr., he showed a knife. Briones then pulled out a gun. A third person stepped in between the two, but Diaz Jr. reached over and stabbed Briones twice in the shoulder and chest.
Bob Ringstad at his Wisconsin home since 1953.
Bob Ringstad never missed hunting deer in Wisconsin for 80 consecutive deer seasons, from 1945 to 2024.
This correspondent became friends with Bob Ringstad a few years ago. At 92 he is intellectually very sharp. His knowledge of history and North American archeology is impressive. His knowledge of hunting and firearms, accumulated over eight decades, is marvelous.
This correspondent has talked with Bob a number of times and interviewed him about his long hunting experience in the Wisconsin deer habitat of the North Woods.
Bob's father was a veteran of WWI and the first state forester in the North District of Wisconsin. At a point in his career, he shared an office at the ranger station in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, with the district game warden. The game warden confiscated many guns. Accountability was less formal in those days. The Warden's boss in Madison told him he did not want inexpensive guns to be shipped to the headquarters in Madison. He told the Warden: If the gun is worth less than $15, just break off the stock and throw the rest in the trash. $15 in 1945 would be worth $250 - $1,800 today, depending on the method of calculation.
If you are a thrifty person, this would be a difficult assignment. It might have been borderline illegal, as a waste of official resources. Guns tended to accumulate in the office. Bob's father asked the Warden what he was going to do with all the guns cluttering up the office they shared. Bob was with his father at the time. Bob was 12 years old.
The Warden said: How many do you want? You can have them all! Bob chimed in: I'll take them! His father said: No, no, and no! The Warden said a deal is a deal. The compromise was Bob took home a lever action model 94 Winchester in .30-30.
The year was 1945. Bob shot his first deer, a forkhorn buck, that deer season. His father beamed with pride.
A few years later, Bob wounded a buck in the morning and followed the blood trail for miles, nearly all day. As sundown approached, Bob came across a master hunter and woodsman, Louie Surley. Surley asked him: What are you doing, kid?
Bob replied: "Following a wounded buck."
Louie replied: You are late. The buck went through here about 3 p.m. Louie took him back to his camp and sent him home. He told Bob: Come back before 8 a.m. I will show you where the deer went, and we will get him.
It snowed 8 inches that night. Louie knew the swampy area the buck was headed for. With 8 inches of fresh snow, they never found the deer. Louie became Bob's deer hunting mentor, as he had with several young hunters in the area.
Bob married at 20. His wife, Joan, was 19. Bob was running raccoons at night on the weekends with a pack of dogs. They had rented a house in town. When the moon came up, the hounds would bark and howl. Bob was working in Minnesota. Joan got the complaints. Joan told Bob the dogs had to go. Bob said he would find a solution.
Bob mentioned the problem to a friend. The friend knew an older couple who were thinking about selling their farm and moving into town. After a 65 hour week's work in Minnesota, Bob knocked on the farmhouse door, about suppertime on a Friday night.
He purchased the 80 acres and farm, for $7000 in 1953. He borrowed the money from a credit union. He could have had another 40 wooded acres for $200. He decided to take a tractor instead. He lives in the farmhouse on the farm today.
Bob always took deer season off from work. He was a highly skilled large crane operator, in demand. In 1960, he was hired by the firm he was with for 20 years. When he was hired, the agreement was, with the owner, he would always take off deer season.
Several times, the owner's sons tried to push him to work during deer season. He always told them no. Once, he understood he was fired, so he applied for unemployment after deer season. The owner called him and said: What is going on? When Bob explained the situation, the owner told him: Get back in here, and get back to work!
The evening before the start of the 2024 Wisconsin deer season, Bob was considering which rifle to use. His son suggested Bob use Bob's left handed Savage model 110 chambered in .243. Bob had used the rifle effectively for many years. Bob looked and looked for ammunition. He found ammunition for other rifles but not the .243. Bob went to his reloading set-up and reloaded five rounds of .243, using one of his favorite recipes for the rifle. He finished before midnight. In the morning, from a stand on his farm, he shot a buck between 300 and 325 yards away. It took one shot. This correspondent told him he has enough ammunition for another four deer seasons.
Bob estimates he shot 40-50 deer during his 80 Wisconsin deer seasons, all of them bucks. He says he could have shot many more deer, but limited himself to bucks with noticeable antlers.
Bob is a marvelous friend with a keen intellect. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of many subjects. He lives alone in his house, but actively mentors some of the neighbor children. He is an active supporter of the Second Amendment. He is often on the Internet, running a Linux system computer set-up, or talking to people on other continents with his HAM radio. He could easily shoot four more bucks in another four deer seasons, with the ever reliable and accurate Savage 110 chambered in .243.
©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
The sheriff's office said preliminary investigation revealed that the verbal altercation between the two men led to the security guard firing at the employee, who was struck.
The sheriff's office said the security guard remained at the scene and was cooperative with deputies.
There have been no arrests or charges filed in the case and it is still under investigation.
National Park Service image, public domain
According to the startribune.com, about five months ago, the Minnesota House-Senate conference committee inserted a ban on eating beaver into the 2024 omnibus environment and natural resources bill. The ban only applies to nuisance beavers which are taken because they are doing damage. Beaver which are taken as part of the normal trapping season may legally be consumed by humans.
Landowners who have beavers which are doing damage to their property do not need a permit to take beavers to stop the damage. From dnr.state.min.us:
You can take some animals which are normally protected by Minnesota Statute without a license or permit if they are doing damage. If you are the landowner, manager or occupant of the property where the animal is causing damage, you can take the following animals.
The list includes beavers. State Senator Grant Hauschild has introduced a bill to rectify the beaver eating ban, which has become the subject of considerable humor and jokes across the country. From kstp.com:
A bill introduced by DFL State Senator Grant Hauschild aims to answer at least one of those questions by once again allowing Minnesotans to eat any nuisance beavers they killed.
Here is the proposed legislation. The only change noticed by this correspondent is the proposed removal of the prohibition on human consumption of beaver at the end of the bill.
S.F. No. 811
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 97B.667, subdivision 3, is amended to read: Subd. 3. Permits and notice; requirements. (a) Before killing or arranging to kill a beaver under this section, the road authority or government unit must contact a conservation officer for a special beaver permit if the beaver will be killed within two weeks before or after the trapping season for beaver, and the conservation officer must issue the permit for any beaver subject to this section. A permit is not required:
(1) for a licensed trapper during the open trapping season for beaver; or
(2) when the trapping season for beaver is closed and it is not within two weeks before or after the trapping season for beaver.
(b) A road authority or government unit that kills or arranges to have killed a beaver under this section must notify a conservation officer or employee of the Fish and Wildlife Division within ten days after the animal is killed.
(c) Unless otherwise directed by a conservation officer, the road authority, local government unit, the landowner, or their agent may dispose of or retain beaver killed under this section. Human consumption of a retained beaver is prohibited.
In the change proposed for 2025, the prohibition on eating beaver (bold lettering) would be removed.
Analysis:
This is another situation where language was slipped into a large bill without a good explanation. It doesn't seem any single person is willing to take responsibility for placing the offending language in the omnibus bill. A similar case occurred in Wisconsin in 1999. An administrative change was put into the law, which made it illegal to possess a firearm on or near the waters of the state. It took 25 years for the absurd provision to be noted and removed from the Wisconsin administrative code.
©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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