TX: Clerk Shoots Robber in Butt

The clerk shot the suspect in the buttocks as he tried to exit the store. Police were called and a description of the suspect was given.

When Terrell police officers arrived they saw the suspect get into a 4-door sedan

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SC: Armed Homeowner Fights, Shoots 1 of 3 Invaders

AIKEN, SC – An Aiken man shot one of the men who broke into his home early Tuesday earning support from Sheriff Michael Hunt. According to investigators, three men broke into Emilio Rojas’ home demanding money. They also hit him several times with their weapon. During the altercation, Rojas was able to grab a weapon and shoot one of the suspects. The others grabbed the gun, money and a cell phone.

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TX: Man Drives off Car Burglar with Gunfire

Friendswood police said the unidentified man is a car burglar, scared off by a homeowner who fired a couple of rounds after he caught him standing in a neighbor’s yard.

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Fl: Victim Fights, Disarms and Shoots one Robber, is Wounded by Another on Video

Detectives released chilling surveillance video on Tuesday that captured the exchange of gunfire after two gunmen attacked a shop owner who fought back during a robbery attempt in Oakland Park.




(snip)

Bloomfield screamed for his accomplice's help as Hepburn managed to take the gun from him. Authorities say Hepburn shot at Bloomfield five times in the chest. Bloomfield's accomplice shot Hepburn once on the right side of his chest, the report said.

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CA: Father Shoots Son to Stop Knife Attack

The father claimed that he and his son got into a heated argument, and during that argument, Flores came at him with a knife. It was at that point that the man says he shot his son to stop an attack.

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WA: Armed Homeowner Holds Burglars and Tresspasser for Police

A homeowner held two burglars and a trespasser at gunpoint in two separate incidents within hours of one another over the weekend, Yakima police said.

(snip)

Police also found a stolen car outside the house, which they tied to the suspected burglars.

Two hours later, police were again summoned to the house, where the homeowner was holding a 34-year-old man at gunpoint.

The homeowner said he had just dropped off his girlfriend and returned to find a man in his yard looking in the windows of his house.

According to the homeowner, the man said he was just cutting across the yard, which the homeowner noted is completely fenced, the affidavit said.

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AZ: Open Carrier in Yuma Walmart

I walked up to a checkout line at the Wal-Mart, and was pleased to see another open carrier ahead of me.  I asked if I could take his picture.  He was pleasant and accommodating.

I heard him joking with the checkout lady.  It was obvious that he was a regular customer.  It looks like a real working outfit to me, not one worn just for style. 

He agreed to have another picture taken in the entrance, to show the pistol a bit more clearly.

We talked for a bit about the few locations that still ban guns in Yuma.

He is carrying an Israeli made Jerico pistol in 9mm.  The Jerico is a clone of the world famous CZ-75.  The pistol is made in Israel and has a good reputation.

I did not catch the open carrier's name, but he said that he carried a .45 on duty with the Sheriff's Posse.    He picked up the holster at a gun show, and did not have a brand for it.  He carried a spare mag in a leather mag carrier on the left side.

His whole outfit practically shouted "Every Day Carry".   I doubt that there are many places that he goes unarmed.

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

Followup OH: Man who shot Armed Invader, outside of Home, Charged with Manslaughter

 An armed man who is running is still a threat.  He can easily turn and fire.  It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

AKRON, Ohio — Police have charged an Akron man with voluntary manslaughter after he allegedly shot and killed a home invasion suspect earlier this month.
(snip)

Police say Glover and Tart forced their way into Hillis’ home and threatened Hillis at gunpoint.

Hillis then pulled a gun, and fired shots as Glover and Tart were running away, police say. Glover was killed.

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TX: Clerk Fires at Fleeing Thief

This may be justified in Texas.

A liquor store clerk opened fire on a fleeing thief Saturday evening as the man ran from the store.

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John Lott CRPC: Rebuttal to Fraudulent Study linking Guns and Police Murders

The end of last week a study in the American Journal of Public Health claimed that there were more police feloniously killed in states that had more guns. The study got extensive news coverage at the TV networks such as NBC News, newspapers such as the Chicago Sun-Times, and international coverage such the UK Guardian. Yet, it took just a couple of minutes to read the paper and realize that the empirical work was done in a very non-standard way. There is a big benefit to using so-called panel data, where you can more accurately account for differences in crime rates across states or over time. This method is called “fixed effects.” Strangely the authors, David Swedler, Molly M. Simmons, Francesca Dominici, and David Hemenway, only control for the differences across states and not over time.

A couple of simple examples show why other studies on crime take into account these factors

Take the differences across places. Many people point out that the UK has both a lower gun ownership rate and a lower homicide rate than the US. Some use this to claim that gun control causes crime rates to fall. But the homicide rate actually went up by 50 percent in the eight years after the 1997 handgun ban went into effect. The homicide rate was still lower than that in the US, but there were lots of reasons it was lower to begin with, not the handgun ban.

The same point applies over time. Suppose a state passes a gun control law at the same time that crime rates are falling nationally. It would be a mistake to attribute the overall drop in national crime rates to the law that got passed. To account for that concern, researchers normally see whether the drop in crime rate for the state that had the change is greater or less than the overall national change.

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Donald Trump on the Second Amendment over the Years

Donald Trump is unquestionably the frontrunner in the Republican field of presidential contenders at this time.  He says that he is for the second amendment.  All candidates say that they are for the Second Amendment, but many of them are lying.  President Obama, for example, seems to thing that the Second Amendment is about hunting.    John Lott has written that while at the University of Chicago, Barrack Obama told him that he thought that people should not be allowed to have guns.   

In the year 2000, Donald Trump wrote a book about his solutions to America's problems.  In it, he made his most controversial statements about gun control. 

 He wrote in The America We Deserve, p. 102.  From on the issues:

It’s often argued that the American murder rate is high because guns are more available here than in other countries. Democrats want to confiscate all guns, which is a dumb idea because only the law-abiding citizens would turn in their guns and the bad guys would be the only ones left armed. The Republicans walk the NRA line and refuse even limited restrictions.

 and this statement:

I generally oppose gun control, but I support the ban on assault weapons and I support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun. With today’s Internet technology we should be able to tell within 72-hours if a potential gun owner has a record.

To Second Amendment supporters, that does not look good.  It seems to waffle.   But this was 15 years ago.  The assault weapon ban was law, so Trump was only supporting what already existed.  Even George W. Bush said that he would sign an assault weapon ban if it came to his desk for renewal.   A "slightly longer waiting period" is also problematical, but again, it is in the context of what existed at the time.  

Donald Trump wrote that statement 15 years ago.  What has changed to educate him or to change his views?   

15 years ago, Donald Trump's two oldest sons were 22 and 16.  Both of them are ardent hunters and second amendment supporters.  Donald Trump says that they have become his most trusted source for information on gun issues.  It seems that they have educated him on some of the finer details of the gun control debate.  In 2012, Donald defended their right to hunt, even though he is not a hunter.   From the dailymail.co.uk in March of 2012:

 Their father does not share the views of his sons, and the elder Donald told TMZ that 'My sons love hunting. They're hunters and they've become good at it. I am not a believer in hunting and I'm surprised they like it.'

'I know that anything they did was 100% OK in terms of the hunting community,' Mr Trump continued.

Emily Miller interviewed Donald Trump in 2012 from washingtontimes.com, November 14, 2012

The star of “Celebrity Apprentice” said he owns a “H&K .45 and a .38 Smith & Wesson.”

Asked about the gun-control measures being pushed by people like New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Mr. Trump said that, “The way I view it, if nobody has guns, then only the bad guys have them. And they aren’t giving up their guns.”

I mentioned the dangers of gun-free zones like Washington, D.C. and, largely, Manhattan because of all the red tape it takes to exercise the right to bear arms.

Mr. Trump said an example of this was seen in the Aurora, Colo. shooting. “If some of the people in the movie theater had a gun, they’d have been shooting at him. Nobody had a gun so they were totally defenseless.”

The Donald is a true Second Amendment enthusiast.

In January of 2014, Donald was considering a run for Governor of New York.  He invited some Second Amendment supporters to his penthouse.  From politicsny.net:

I was pleased to discover Mr. Trump is a strong defender of our Second Amendment rights – and his two boys are firearms enthusiasts.

 Here is Donald Trump on the S.A.F.E. act March 12, 2014, from auburnpub.com:

 "You have the SAFE Act, which is a total catastrophe. It's hard to believe it even got passed. Look, you're sitting at home and a bad guy walks in with a gun. At least you want to have a shot at it, right? You don't want to be defenseless... But this SAFE Act is a disaster. Whoever ultimately is going to be the nominee for the Republicans, they better bring it up very loud and clear because that act is a catastrophe. I call it the unSAFE Act."

From an Albany rally in April 2014, against the S.A.F.E. act: From nydailynews.com:

“You have the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. You have that right and they want to take it away,” Trump said. “And they are taking it away, slowly but surely, they are taking it away."

Polls showed that gun owners hated the S.A.F.E. act in New York, but that overall NY voters approved of it:

Although the law is wildly unpopular with gun enthusiasts, it is supported by a majority of New Yorkers, polls show. A recent Siena Poll found that 63% of state voters back the SAFE Act and 32% oppose it.

Trump did not follow the polls.  He spoke at rallies and condemned the S.A.F.E. act at every turn.  The S.A.F.E. act severely restricted so-called "assault weapons".   The federal "assault weapon ban had sunset 9 years earlier.

Trump's thinking seems to have changed.  15 years of exposure to two respected sons that are Second Amendment enthusiasts might do that. 

DB Productions has put together a YouTube montage of what Donald Trump has said about the Second Amendment over the years.

Link to the video

There are several themes that are clear from Donald Trump's statements on the Second Amendment.

First, he strongly associates the Second Amendment with self defense.  This is in opposition to nearly all disarmists.   In the Heller decision in 2008, the Supreme Court Decision held that the Second Amendment applied to self defense.
 Disarmists dismiss Heller as nonsense.  Trump  held that the Second Amendment applies to self defense before the Heller decision.

Second, Trump has always said that gun control laws will only disarm the good guys.  The bad guys will then be the ones with the guns.  Again, this is an enormous departure from disarmists.  They *never* make this statement, because it undermines their whole argument.

Third, Trump now understands that the disarmist game is incremental degradation of the right to keep and bear arms.  This shows much greater understanding than he had in the year 2000.   From the video, starting about 6:10:

What does the Second Amendment mean to you?


"Above all, Protection, and these people that want to chop it down, knock it down, decapitate it, it shouldn't be allowed  should never be allowed.  Let me tell you, if I run, if I win it is protected."

 In this video from the NRA meeting, Trump introduces his sons and repeats the themes that he has since built on about the Second Amendment, the Iranian nuclear deal, ISIS, and Immigration.

Link to NRA meeting video

Ammoland did an interview with Donald Trump in July of 2015.  From Ammoland.com:

AmmoLand:

The deceptive term “Assault Weapons” has proven to be a buzz word among the anti-gun media. Back in 2000 in your book “The America We Deserve” you wrote “The Republicans walk the NRA line and refuse to even limited restrictions. I generally oppose gun control, but I support the ban on assault weapons and I also support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun.” Since that time the AR15 rifle, what the media calls an “assault weapons“, has become America’s most popular firearm with millions and millions of them owned by good people.

Do you still stand by this quote or has your thinking evolved over the 15 years since you wrote that line?

Donald Trump:

“I certainly stand by my opposition to Gun Control when it comes to taking guns from law-abiding citizens. You mention that the media describes the AR-15 as an “assault rifle,” which is one example of the many distortions they use to sell their agenda. However, the AR-15 does not fall under this category. Gun-banners are unfortunately preoccupied with the AR-15, magazine capacity, grips, and other aesthetics, precisely because of its popularity.”
“To the Left every gun is an assault weapon.”

“Gun control does not reduce crime. It has consistently failed to stop violence. Americans are entitled to protect their families, their property and themselves. In fact, in right-to-carry states the violent crime rate is 24% lower than the rest of the United States and the murder rate is 28% lower. This should not be up for debate.”

Trump has clearly changed his views on "assault weapons" and "waiting periods" Here is what he told Ammoland about "background checks":

Donald Trump:

“I do not support expanding background checks. The current background checks do not work.”

“They make it more difficult for law abiding citizens to acquire firearms while consistently failing to stop criminals from getting guns. We should re-examine our policy to make sure that these prohibitions do not impede law abiding citizens from exercising their Second Amendment rights.”

The entire interview is well worth reading.

Has Donald Trump changed his views about the Second Amendment? It seems that his views have been refined through education. Fifteen years ago, he likely had a murkier understanding of what "assault weapons" were.  He did not know how ineffective the current "background check" system is. 

However, he always believed that the Second Amendment applied to self defense, and that disarming "good guys" would leave the "bad guys" armed.




That makes him a bit different from most of the political pack.

Definition of disarmist

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

Shameless Plug for Montactical

At the Shot Show, I met an old friend that had started up a business that was doing well, but he needed more exposure.  I cannot do a review of an item that I have not actually used, so this is a shameless plug for Montactical.

Montactical does not just put standard patterns on firearms.  They create original art.   They can put nearly any image or pattern that you want as a durable finish on your firearms or other items.  From Montactical.com:

Why Montactical?

We make all of our own custom stencils giving us the ability to create any design, pattern, camouflage, or artwork you can think of.  We are not just gunsmiths, we are artists.  If you can envision it, we can create it!

How We Do It…

For every finish we: disassemble, degrease, blast, clean, parkerize, DuraCoat, bake, clean, reassemble, lubricate, function check, and return back to you!  The complete custom coating process can take several days.  Typical turnaround time is 1-2 weeks.

People have adorned their weapons with exquisite art as long as Homo Sapiens has existed.

If you have a look that you want on one of your firearms, Give Monotactical consideration.  They can create it for you.

Link to Montactical

 ©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

Alan Korwin Interview on Leftwing OZY.com (Why Second Amendmnet supporters are winning)

Alan Korwin is an old and close friend of mine.  The picture above is of him at  from the Gun Rights Policy Conference.  He hit a home run with the article below, published in a leftwing publication.  They did a good job as well.


Deep into an Arizona summer, it’s 113 degrees outside. The sweat beads on my neck as I fumble to press the copper-colored cartridges into the magazine. Once loaded, I slam the magazine into place with the palm of my hand. I chamber the round and assume the proper position: feet shoulder-width apart, arms in an A-formation, dominant hand gripping the 9 mm pistol. One eye closed, I narrow in on my target. Steady, steady, pop. There’s a burst of light and a casing clanks against the cement floor. Bull’s-eye, baby.

Granted, the target was only 7 feet away. But as we stand inside the shooting range, it’s still a different story when my teacher, one of the country’s most infamous gun advocates, takes his turn. Alan Korwin is a mediocre shot. It’s a little embarrassing — in fact, you feel bad for the guy. But that doesn’t stop him from offering another quick tutorial to a friend.

At 65, Korwin, with his professorial white beard and bushy eyebrows, may not be a familiar face. But you’ve likely heard his message. He’s the man millions of gun owners count on to fight for their right to bear arms. By his own count, he’s logged more than a thousand interviews with the press. Behind the scenes, he makes the rounds talking to tea partyers, state legislators and even the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, helping to shape the argument for Second Amendment rights. “He’s utterly changed the paradigm for the right-to-bear-arms community,” says Charles Heller, former executive director of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership. Korwin has even changed the vocabulary. Instead of gun control, it’s crime control; assault weapons are household firearms; and they’re not gun rights, they’re civil and human rights.

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AZ: .50 BMG Ammunition at Wal-Mart

To any fair minded observer, gun ownership, the familiarity with and acceptance of guns, and the embracing of guns by American society, has been in a decades long resurgence.

I spotted an indicator of this reality in a local Wal-Mart a few days ago.  I often stop by the Wal-Mart ammunition counter to see what is happening.  While .22 ammunition is starting to appear on the shelves of dedicated gun stores, it is absent from Wal-Mart in Yuma, Arizona.

But .50 Browning Machine Gun ammunition is there.  The .50 BMG has been gaining popularity with American shooters for decades.  It offers long range potential at just about the limit of easily carried ordnance.  A few people have hunted with the caliber.   It makes most "elephant" guns look anemic in comparison.  But it is primarily used for ultra-long range target shooting, and of course, has military potential.  It is precisely the sort of thing the Second Amendment was written to protect.

.50 BMG, 9mm for comparison

It is tremendously fun to shoot.

I have often thought of purchasing a .50.  I have property where it could be shot at range without having to worry about bothering other shooters.  I have managed to resist the urge so far.

Seeing .50 BMG in the Wal-Mart ammunition section shows how far the celebration of American gun culture has advanced.  It is a speciality product that is hated by disarmists who wish to ban it, even though it is virtually never used in crime.  .50 caliber rifles are so large, long, and unwieldy that they would be relatively hard to commit suicide with.  I have never heard of it being done with one.

Why do the disarmists hate the .50 BMG?  Simple, really.  It is a symbol of freedom, a symbol of power in the hands of the citizen.  It is refreshing to see it prospering.

Definition of  disarmist

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

Weaponsman: 3D semi-auto 9mm and updates

3D-Printed 9MM Semiauto (video rich); 3D Guns Update

As we have expected to happen for some time, and as the initial Cody Wilson “Liberator” first demonstrated, 3D-printed firearms made of common addititive-manufacturing plastics like ABS or PLA inevitably had to diverge from common steel firearms practice to take advantage of those plastics’ strength — and overcome their weaknesses.

That means that, while early prints were nothing but, for example, a plastic version of an AR lower dimensionally identical to its aluminum forbear, but destined for a short life (especially in PLA), more and more designs are innovating in different directions.

This series of videos shows the Shuty, a 9mm pistol based on kitbashing the designs of British homemade gun pioneer P.A. Luty and the AR-15 together. It uses several metal parts, including the barrel (which comes from a Glock 17), the fire-control group (AR), and the bolt (home-made). On the other hand, the magazine, upper and lower receivers, and bolt carrier, are all printed from a polymer generally thought unsuitable for firearms parts. Turns out, you can design around materials deficiencies (as the Japanese did when they used chrome bores for strength, to offset the suboptimal alloys they had for rifle barrels, decades before other nations adopted them for durability, and when their aeronautical engineers designed assemblies built-up of 7075-equivalent alloy sheet where every other skyfaring nation would use a 7075 forging).

More Here including video of test fire

SC: Residents Return Fire at Masked Man

CONWAY, SC (WMBF) – Two residents grabbed firearms and shot at a man in a mask on Tuesday in Conway after he fired a shotgun into their home, according to a police report.

Police responded to a home on Robin Road in Conway at about 10:10 p.m., where one victim told police he was laying on his couch in the living room when he heard a gunshot, the report states. He looked up and saw a man dressed all in black, wearing a black mask, holding a shotgun.

The victim grabbed his firearm and returned fire, the report states. Another victim, who was in the bathroom and heard the gunshots, grabbed the first victim’s handgun and also shot at the suspect.
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AZ: Disturbed Invader Shot by Resident

Police say Kresowaty went to the house and got into some sort of confrontation with the people who lived there. During the argument, he reportedly started acting irrationally and was yelling at the residents when he was shot.


Authorities say residents at the home were not hurt.
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MI: Wounded Homeowner Returns Fire

The 55-year-old man was shot around 3:15 a.m. in his home on the 2000 block of Clairmount, west of the Lodge Freeway, Officer Dan Donakowski said. He heard noises outside and had opened the front door to investigate when the suspect opened fire.

“The victim, who is a (concealed pistol license) holder, returned fire,” Donakowski said. “But it is unknown if any shots took effect.

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VA: Enraged Ex who was shot Pleads Guilty

Chaney put the van in reverse to leave, but before he could leave the driveway, the Jeep Cherokee slammed into the driver’s side of the van, pushing the van almost all the way off of the driveway, according to the statement. Chaney, who was inside the van, "was thrown from one side of the van to the other and then back into the driver’s area again."


"Before Mr. Chaney could get out of the vehicle, he looked and Mr. Byrd had gotten out of his Jeep Cherokee, which was now a total loss, and started coming toward the van that Mr. Chaney was in. Mr. Chaney reached down between the seats of his van and recovered his .40-caliber pistol, put a round in the chamber, held it up and fired a shot and hit Mr. Byrd in the chest," according to the statement. "Luckily, Mr. Byrd was not killed as the bullet apparently hit his chest and then immediately turned and went downward. Mr. Byrd then ran to the next door neighbor’s house where he was screaming that he had been shot."

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IN: 73-Year-Old Homeowner Shoots, Kills, Intruder

Evidence from a second burglary was found in the dead man's car.

The investigation revealed that the homeowner returned to his home and found a person had entered his dwelling unlawfully, and was still in the home. When the homeowner confronted the uninvited trespasser (identified as Curtis Trent), a physical confrontation ensued. During the course of the encounter, a shot was fired. Mr. Trent subsequently died from his injuries.

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