TX: Homeowner Shoots a Man Attempting Break-in

The homeowner told police around 3:30 am, he heard someone breaking into his home on the 137000 block of Hillwood Trial. He says the burglar was breaking in through a second story window. So, he shot at the burglar twice who then ran off into nearby brush.

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FL: Armed homeowner Shoots 1 of 3 Intruders

The homeowner spotted the burglars and shot one of them, but the other two got away. They were later found and arrested, the station reported.

Police did not identify any of the burglars by Monday evening.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article117639058.html#storylink=cpy

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NM: Teen Shot by Armed Victim During Attempted Carjacking

There, they learned that three young men, who may have been armed, tried to carjack the victims who were in a car in a parking lot.

“Apparently they were on a date, doing their nightly thing just like any other couple in Albuquerque would be doing, and then these guys attacked them,” Duran said.

The driver of the vehicle fired one shot at them, hitting Gonzales. The other two suspects fled on foot.

Duran said detectives believe those other two suspects are also teens and were trying to track them down Tuesday.
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TX: Constitutional Carry Bill HB 375 Filed

Many people view Texas as an extremely gun friendly state. Texas has been becoming gun friendly, but the image has not been entirely deserved. The Texas Legislature only restored partial open carry rights last year, after banning most open carry for a hundred and thirty years after Reconstruction.  Open carry still requires a permit from the state. The permit fee is $140, putting it out of the reach of many people.  State Representative Jonathan Stickland wants to change that. From caller.com:

“It’s time in Texas to restore our Second Amendment rights to their originally intended level,” said state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, a Fort Worth-area Republican who last year spearheaded the successful open-carry bill.

This time, Stickland is the chief author of legislation supporters call “constitutional carry.” Unlike the open-carry bill, the new measure does not require a license — or the passing of a gun-safety test and the payment of a $140 fee for the license — to allow a handgun to be carried either openly or concealed.

Stickland, who will begin his third two-year term when the Legislature convenes Jan. 10, pushed hard for a similar bill in 2015 but lawmakers were unwilling to go that far. This year, Stickland has a well-placed ally for at least addressing the license fee.

That ally is Lt. Governor Daniel Patrick. Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has been a staunch Second Amendment supporter in Texas.  He is enthusiastically pushing to reduce the fee for the Texas Concealed Handgun License.

 “Texas has one of the highest license-to-carry fees in the country,” Patrick said. “No Texan should be deprived of their right to self-protection because of onerous licensing fees imposed by the state.”

There is a lot of Texas legal code concerning the carrying of handguns and weapons. Strickland's bill has to deal with that, so it is fairly long. The bill is H.B. 375.  Here is one of the key provisions of Stickland's bill.  From state.tx.us:

Subsection (k) to read as follows:

(k) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, a person who is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing a firearm shall not be required to obtain any license to carry a handgun as a condition for carrying a handgun.

Eleven other states already have permitless or "Constitutional" carry. Texas is not breaking any new ground. Constitutional carry is already working well in other states.  Strickland's bill has a shot.  Four states passed Constitutional carry last year, in 2016. Those states were Idaho, Mississippi, West Virginia, and Missouri. Several other states are considering removing infringements on the carry of arms in 2017.

It is not clear if there is sufficient public pressure in Texas to remove the infringement of a license to carry in 2017.  In 2015, I predicted that open carry would pass, and that campus carry might pass. The Texas legislature passed both.

Here is a prediction for 2017. Constitutional carry may not pass, but the license fee will be reduced.  It is an incremental step toward "Constitutional" or permitless carry.  Before Reconstruction, Texas had the strongest right to bear arms amendment of any state in the United States.  In Texas, even slaves had the right to keep and bear arms, as affirmed by the Texas Supreme Court in 1859.  The decision was Cockrum v. State.  (added) An expanded explanation of this is given in Stephen Halbrook's article on The Right to Bear Arms in Texas, Section II C.

High permit fees chill the right to keep and bear arms.  John Lott has noted that the more a permits costs to acquire, the lower the percentage of people who acquire them.  A lowered permit fee is a move toward removing an infringement on the Second Amendment. 


©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

GA: Black Man Shoots One, Protected by Sheriff

It was Saturday afternoon, the 26th of November, on Highway 138  in Georgia. The traffic was heavy after the college football game between Georgia and Georgia tech. The game had been a nail biter.  Georgia Tech  beat Georgia 28-27 in the last 30 seconds of the game.  In the heavy traffic after the close game, emotions may have been running high.

That was when Dontavious Chancy pulled in ahead of four men in a pickup truck. Chancy said that they tried to run him off the road. All the vehicles ended up stuck in traffic near Forrester Cemetery Road. The four men approached Chancy's vehicle, a large, late model, silver grey van. They were yelling.  Chancy said they called him a monkey, and one of them had a knife. From ajc.com:

The men got out of the truck and confronted the driver, Chapman said. One of the men swang at the driver multiple times through the car’s window. At this point, the driver got a pistol and shot the man who was trying to hit him.

Eric Levett, Rockdale County Sheriff happened to be stuck in the traffic, several cars back from the shooting. Immediately after the shooting, he left his vehicle and took control of the scene.  From wsbtv.com:

“They began yelling, ‘this guy just shot my brother, he just shot my brother,’" Levett told Artz.

Levett said he was headed home Saturday, when he witnessed the end of the road-rage incident on Georgia 138 in Walton County.

He said he heard men yelling and then gunfire rang out seconds later.

"I can tell you the one gentleman was in the car by himself, he was solo, alone. And you have four guys approaching you yelling, it appeared to me he feared for his life," Levett said.

Chancy had a concealed carry permit. Sheriff Levett said that he cooperated fully.

 Chancy has not been charged with any crime. It's unclear if the four men are going to be charged.

Some interesting things are not mentioned in the news reporting.  It is likely that the four men who approached Chancy are white. In the video taken directly after the incident, three white men are standing near the man who was shot. They are moved away by local law enforcement.  We have a likely interracial incident where a single black man shoots a white man. The sheriff, who is on the scene within seconds, protects the black man, does not shoot him, and gives interviews saying that he was probably justified. Chancy is not arrested. From 11alive.com:

 Police believe heavy traffic and high emotions from the game contributed to the incident.

Investigators on Sunday updated that the shooter was acting in self defense and will not face charges.

It blows apart the whole Black Lives Matter narrative.

Sheriff Levett is black. But as shown by the recent Crime Prevention Research Center study, black police officers are slightly more likely to shoot black suspects than are white police officers.

From my experience, it is unlikely that the individual shot will be charged with a crime. The wounding and hospitalization will be considered sufficient punishment.

This shooting will not be considered a "justified shooting" in the FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR).  The FBI UCR definition of a justifiable homicide is that it has to happen during the commission of a related felony.  If no felony is reported, there can be no justified shooting, according to the FBI UCR definition. In addition, no one was killed. The FBI UCR does not have a category for justified shooting, only justified homicide.

Because of this and other problems, the FBI UCR grossly under-reports justified homicides.  The UCR may catch about one in five.

A black man with a concealed carry permit shoots a white man who was assaulting him.  Law enforcement on the scene protects the black shooter.

It will not be reported that way.  It does not fit the establishment media's narrative.


©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

GA: Armed Victims Stops Road Rage Attack

Chancy said when the cars came to a stop near Forrester Cemetery Road, the men jumped out and rushed his vehicle. He said one man had a knife.

Chancy told Artz that’s when his family flashed before him.

"Will I be able to go home to my family? That was the only thing going through my head. I was trying to get home," Chancy told Artz.

Chancy said that's when he pulled his weapon and shot one of the men in the stomach.

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OH: 68-Year-Old Shoots, Kills 1 of 2 Home Invaders

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 68-year-old man shot and killed one of two home invasion suspects who broke into his home late Sunday.

A man died in the shooting, but police and the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner have not released any information on the man who died. The medical examiner confirmed the man died but will wait to release his name until his family is notified.
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ME: Amed Victim Drives off two Home Invaders

 

Police officers said they were called to a home on Lincoln Street at approximately 12:37 a.m., for an attempted home invasion.  Police say two males forced their way through the door of the apartment.  The suspects ran away after the victim called 9-1-1 and confronted the suspects with a weapon.

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IN: "Meet Me" app Lured Armed Victim who Shot, Killed Teen Attacker

Detectives investigating the circumstances of the shooting believe Johnson and a 14-year old male used a social media “Meet Me” app to make the man think he was coming to the house to meet a young female. The shooting happened in the garage when police say Johnson pointed a gun at the man and began to search him. Police say the man pulled his own gun and shot Johnson. The man ran away from the house and called police to turn himself in, according to IMPD.

Police interviewed the 21-year-old man and later released him. Police say it appears the man was acting in self defense when he shot Johnson.

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OH: Cheap gun/profit Opportunity in Cleveland, 4 December 2016

 

There will be a gun turn in event in Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday, 4 December,  2016.  While these events are commonly labeled with the propaganda term "buyback" the guns were never owned by the people attempting to buy them.
Private sales of firearms in Ohio are legal, and Cleveland cannot override state law.  The location has changed from 2014. That year, the location was on Payne Avenue. This year it will be on Chester Avenue.  From patch.com:

CLEVELAND, OH — Mayor Frank G. Jackson and Chief of Police Calvin D. Williams proudly announce that the 2016 City of Cleveland Gun Buy-Back will be held on Sunday, December 4, 2016, at the Third District Headquarters at 4501 Chester Avenue. In exchange for operable handguns or semi-automatic weapons, citizens will be given a either a $100 (handguns) or $200 (semi-automatic weapons) gas or food gift card.

The event is scheduled for only four hours, from noon to 4 p.m., according to cleveland.com. The short notice given for the event may reduce the number of respondents.

Here are the guidelines for people who wish to turn in a firearm at the "buy back".  From clevelandpolicefoundation.org:

1. Bring a working handgun or semi-automatic rifle to the Third District Headquarters located at 4501 Chester Avenue on Sunday, December 4, 2016, between the hours of 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
2. The weapon must be unloaded in a clear plastic bag inside a second container (gym bag, backpack, etc.).
3. Transport the unloaded and properly bagged weapon locked in the trunk of your vehicle.
4. Pack ammunition separately. Non semi-automatic rifles and shotguns can be turned in but NO incentive will be given.
5. Cleveland Police Officers will inspect the weapon to ensure that it is operable.
6. After the officers determine that the weapon is operable a $100 gift card will be given to those who turn in a handgun and a $200 gift card to those who turn in a semi-automatic rifle.

There are many semi-automatic rifles that cost considerably less than $200 at retail.  A Marlin model 60 today can be had, brand new, for $150.   A Savage model 64 can be had for $116, and the Mossberg semi-auto for $109.

It is unknown if Cleveland police will honor the terms shown at the Cleveland Police Foundation website.

In 2014, there were plenty of private buyers.

From ohioccwforums.org:

You are spot on. I was there and never heard any "choice words" or saw any frenzied buyers. It was all fairly well organized and most every buyer had a change to approach any vehicle. If it was something they really wanted, nobody was there keeping them from paying a fair price for it. Many sellers received well over their expected $100/$200 in value, and I wouldn't have it any other way. If people want to be completely "fair" about things they should hold an open auction for every item that shows up instead of handing out numbers to take advantage of the sellers. All in all it was a very good showing from well-meaning and respectably dressed firearms rights supporters. Many innocent firearms were saved from a fiery demise

 In 2013 some private buyers were very successful.   From the ohioccwforums.org, :

I bought a Colt Agent revolver last year in almost new condition. I believe a Python was purchased also.

After some initial friction in 2013, the police recognized the right of private buyers to be there.

Yup, a bit of an interaction in the morning as they got their crap together, then we were free to operate. One of the officers was actually reassuring citizens bringing in guns that they could sell to us without issue. 

You might want to read the insider story by private buyers in Jacksonville Florida to see how things were handled there.

Be prepared for a percentage of people who refuse to talk to anyone but police. All the private buyers that I saw at gun turn ins were polite and let ideologically driven people turn in their guns for a fraction of what they would be worth on the open market.

Signs are helpful, as are good grooming, cash, and a friendly attitude. Dale Carnegie's advise for dealing with people works very well. Risks of purchasing stolen guns are small. You can read about them at this article.

Across the country, communities, police departments and churches are sponsoring gun turn-ins to get "guns off the street". At many of these events, private buyers are showing up, offering cash for the more valuable guns. These private additions to the public turn-in are effective, no doubt, in getting more guns off the street, because they add to the resources that are available to those who want to get rid of guns for something of value, be it a grocery card or a number of twenty dollar bills.

You can help make the turn-in in your area more effective by standing on the curb with your "Cash for Guns" sign, or at a folding table, willing to offer more than the gift card for firearms that are more valuable. It would be best if numerous private parties were available, as more good guns could then be transferred into responsible hands.

This action serves many useful purposes. It stretches the turn-in budget so that more guns can be taken off the street. It helps keep fearful widows from being defrauded of most of the market value of the gun they are turning in. It prevents valuable assets from being destroyed by bureaucratic inflexibility. It is a win-win-win situation. The ideal situation for those organizing the turn in would be to allow private buyers to purchase the valuable guns, while having the organizers take the cheap guns "off the streets". As these events are ideologically driven, that seems unlikely, but it might be worth an attempt at outreach. All parties would benefit.

Private buyers dispel the pernicious message that guns are bad and should be destroyed.

Link to potential legal risk of buying a gun at one of these events

Link to article with numerous examples of private sales at gun turn in events

Link to an article about private buyers at Detroit event

Link to Phoenix Article: pictures of private buyers

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

Campus Carry Reform is Advancing. This is Why.

Image from ballotpedia.org

Campus carry reform is likely to advance in Arkansas in 2017. I expect it to continue to advance in the following years, across the nation. From kasu.org:

The ever-increasing Republican majority in Arkansas has a shot a passing some legislation that a toehold of Democrats managed to hold-off, or at least mitigate on occasion in the last session.

Member station KUAR reports, Arkansas State Representative Charlie Collins (R-Fayetteville) has plans to expand the scope of second amendment rights on college campuses. It comes amid renewed discussion because of an incident Monday at Ohio State University.

While the incident was initially reported as an active shooter, it turned out the man was armed with a knife, injuring eight people.

Campus carry is one of several fronts where Second Amendment supporters are advancing. As is common in the struggle to restore Second Amendment rights, the two sides have dramatically different assumptions about reality.

Second Amendment supporters use straightforward logic and premises. 

Adults have the right to bear arms.

The subset of adults who have gone though the trouble and hoops of obtaining carry permits are extraordinarily responsible, as shown by the statistics of their actions. They are more responsible than police officers.

Therefore, there is no reason to prevent them from exercising their right to bear arms on college campuses. They have shown how responsible they are in bearing arms.

There is no practical difference between bearing arms a couple of feet across the invisible line that demarcates the campus, compared to bearing them in the rest of society.

Guns in the hands of people who have demonstrated that they are more responsible than police enhance the security of people on campus.

The logic and premises of campus administrators are straightforward as well.  They advance a completely different argument based on their assumptions about reality.  It is:

Guns are bad and dangerous.

The Second Amendment does not apply on Campus.

People having guns on campus make life on campus more dangerous. They do not increase security or protection.

Campus administrators have had the power to determine who should have guns on campus. They should continue to have that power, because they are wise.

Wise administrators have decided that guns on campus, must be under the control of the administrators. (campus police)

The above is correct, because campuses have lower crime rates than places outside of campus.

The assumptions are testable. There are current ongoing natural experiments that have been set up by state statutes and state supreme court decisions.  Those statutes and decisions have removed the power of administrators to place legal restrictions on campus carry. There are dozens of institutes of higher learning across the nation where this change has been enacted.

Those promoting campus carry do not claim that crime rates on campus will decrease with campus carry. They claim there is no logical or legal reason to restrict their rights.  If the permit carriers do not commit crimes on campus with their legal guns, their arguments are shown to be superior.

The administrators bear the burden of showing that concealed carry permit holders commit crimes with their legal guns on campus, once the administrators' power has been removed.

The administrator's argument is essentially an "appeal to authority".  They are saying "We are wise. We should make the decision, not legislators."

If permit holders do not commit crimes with their legal guns, administrators' rational for preventing campus carry is shown to be false. It was based on the assumption of increased danger.  The assumption of danger is based on the assumption of the administrators' superior wisdom.

The results of the natural experiments support the premises and logic of those promoting campus carry.

There have been no crimes committed by permit holders where administrators' power has been removed. An occasional crime would not prove the administrators logic. Police commit occasional crimes.

The argument has never been about safety or security. It has been about control.  It is a basic argument about how society should be organized.

The campus administrator position is that society should be controlled by wise philosopher kings, which they conveniently, and not so modestly, proclaim and believe is their proper position, at least on campus. 

Second Amendment supporters' position is that government should be limited so as to preserve the freedom of individuals against people who would control them by force.  Individuals should control a limited government, subject to the rule of law.

Administrators gained their power over students on campus through two theories. In private institutions,  there is contract theory.  If a student is going to attend a private institution, the institution can place constraints on student behavior by means of restrictions agreed to in a contract.

In public institutions, contract theory does not apply, because public institutions  are constrained by the rules of limited government, including the bill of rights.

In public institutions, the theory was based on students primarily being minors. Administrators of public institutions assumed the status of parent of the minors because they were the ones on the spot.  The theory is called in loco parentis. In loco parentis fails when talking about adults.

In loco parentis has been discredited for institutes of higher education in the United States. Most students have become legal adults. The courts have held that students may not be disciplined for merely exercising their Constitutional rights.

The administrators of institutes of higher learning have had the theoretical base for their power removed by those two changes. Their attempt to use an appeal to authority is failing.

Republican legislators find the arguments of campus carry supporters persuasive. The theory of government that put them in power is supported. The "philosopher king" argument is debunked. It is not surprising that Democrat legislators support the "Wise Philosopher King" theory of power.  It is the basis of the "progressive" or "statist" movement.

With Republicans in complete control of 25 state governments, Campus carry reforms will continue to expand. Democrats have complete control in only six states.  Those states do not allow campus carry and are unlikely to pass reforms in the near future.

 ©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

CO: Armed Man busts Car Burglary Ring after Shots Fired

Mark Plaskett.  Image from krdo.com

It was before dawn on Sunday morning , 27 November, 2016, in Fountain, Colorado. Mark Plaskett was wakened by his garage door opening. It was 5 a.m. He grabbed his pistol and a flashlight and responded.

Three strange cars were parked in the quiet, residential neighborhood. Plaskett believes that he had forgotten to lock his van.  That is likely how they accessed his garage door opener.

As Plaskett entered the street with flashlight and pistol, one of the cars immediately took off.  Plaskett attempted to capture people in the second car, but both the second and third cars took off. People in one car fired a couple of shots at Plaskett. From krdo.com:

"I saw the cars, I came out to the street with the flashlight on the first car and he took off. Then I ran across to the next car across the street and they didn't even know I was there at their window with a gun in their face," Plaskett said.

Three cars that were parked outside all fled the scene."I heard them shoot a couple of rounds in my direction so I hopped in my car with my gun and took off after them," Plaskett said.

He jumped into his vehicle, and manged to corner one of the cars in a cul de sack. He was able to capture the driver and hold the 16 year old for police.

Police say a juvenile gang has been operating in this manner for over a year.

They have been breaking into and stealing cars.

It is likely that Plaskett will have provided the break needed to put an end to the depredations of this group of young criminals.

Mark never had to fire a shot. He showed admirable restraint in the use of deadly force.

Many will say that Mark should never have gotten involved. They will say that he should have left the job to the "professionals".

But consider the situation. The "professionals" had been on the job for over a year. The criminals had not been caught. The modus operandi was to victimize several car owners in one nights operation. It is likely that their victims, over a year, numbered over a hundred. There were 56 as of November 25th, last year.

We do not know how many future crimes Mark has prevented. It could be a large number. Given our lenient treatment of juvenile criminals, it could be few.

Citizens are the first line of defense. Armed citizens have a good chance of capturing criminals.  The people involved showed themselves to be dangerous criminals. They attempted to murder Mark.

You may not wish to take the risks Mark did, but his actions benefited the rest of society a significant amount. He should be applauded and encouraged.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Link to Gun Watch

CO: Armed Citizen Captures Teen Criminal from Group that Shot at Him

"I got out of my car and I yelled at them, 'get on the ground, get on the ground, get out of the car!'," Plaskett said.

He held the 16-year-old suspect at gunpoint until police arrived.

Fountain Police Department says at least seven other cars were broken into Sunday night.

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NC: Man Attempting Break in Shot by Homeowner

While deputies were on the way, the suspect busted one of the home's window and tried to enter. He was shot by the homeowner and taken to Wake Med, according to authorities.
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Fl: Two Homes, Armed Defenders, Two Intruders Shot, 1 Dead

“They were sleeping at the time. I believe two shots were fired,” said family attorney Michael Grieco. “They did not recognize this guy. They both have concealed weapons permits.”

Police haven’t named the would-be intruder. They said the 22-year-old man is in critical condition after being taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital.

“The subject arrived in a vehicle and began forcing his way into the residence when he was shot by the homeowner,” Miami-Dade police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta said.

On Monday morning, three men broke into a Sunrise home at 4380 NW 103rd St. and were greeted by another resident with a gun. Before they were able to ransack the place, the resident, Warren Darlow, fired.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article117653498.html#storylink=cpy

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WA: Gun Beats Car on Whidbey Island

OAK HARBOR, Wash. - A 63-year-old Oak Harbor man was shot Sunday after hitting his neighbor with a car and trying to run over him, sheriff's officials and witnesses report.

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TX: Domestic Dispute, Husband Assaults Good Samaritan, is Shot, Killed

“The couple had had a dispute and she had gotten out of a vehicle,” Alford said, noting that the couple lived about 2 miles from the scene. He said the neighbor didn’t know the couple.

A fight broke out between Livingston and the armed man and punches were thrown, authorities said. At some point during the brawl, the handgun discharged, striking Livingston in the upper chest, authorities said.

Investigators with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and a Texas Ranger are investigating. No arrest had been made as of Sunday.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article117373573.html#storylink=cpy

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IL: Employee with Carry Permit Wins Gunfight, Shoots Two

At 12:55 a.m., two armed men walked into the store in the 7400 block of North Western Avenue and announced a robbery, police said. A 21-year-old employee then pulled out a gun and shot both men, police said.

An 18-year-old was shot in his right forearm and was taken to Swedish Covenant Hospital, where his condition was not released but police were considering him to be stable.

A 20-year-old robber was shot in his right shoulder and was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital, where his condition was not released but police were considering him to be stable.

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Silly Carry Permit Requirements

Carry permits do not have to be expensive and complex. The New Hampshire permit has been fairly easy to obtain for many years, if you already had a permit from your state of residence.

During the last few months I have renewed a couple of carry permits.  It is not intensely difficult, but when you have better things to do, it can be irritating.

Some of the requirements make no sense. Others were obviously put in as poison pills during the passage of the original bill. Many seem designed to discourage people from obtaining a permit.

As John Lott has noted, the more expense, in time or money, or both, that it takes to obtain a permit, the smaller the percentage of people who will make the effort to obtain one.  It is not a straight slope.  The smaller the percentage of people become, the willingness to jump through hoops grows exponentially.  At the end of that scale are people who choose their career so that they can carry the means to protect themselves and their family.

Here are some silly requirements I have noted to obtain a carry permit.

Fingerprints. Silly. Not needed. Several states do not require them. An unnecessary expense and expenditure of time. Florida adds another $42 to "process finger prints". May be it is a cash cow for them. Arizona recommends two fingerprint cards for their permit, doubling the printing expenditure on the applicant's part.  For Arizona, it is a way to try to assure a good set of prints.  They only submit one copy, and one copy will (if it is legible) be enough for a permit.

Taking of fingerprints by the police. Most people do not have the equipment or training to take their own prints. I do and did.  Florida requires that the prints be done by a police agency.

Pictures. Several states do not require pictures. More time and expense. States that do not require pictures usually say that it is a good idea to have a picture ID with your permit.  An old friend in Wisconsin just tapes a copy of an expired driver's license to his Wisconsin permit.

Notary signature to show that you signed the application.  I had to do this for the Florida permit.  It is not required in most states.

Payment by a restricted method.  Arizona, when they passed their law,  required that payment be in the form of money orders or certified checks.  I suspect that could be overturned by a court.  No one has bothered to try.  It is another minor inconvenience that has to be overcome.  Several states allow you to pay by credit card online.

Difficult and costly training. When Arizona started its shall issue permit system, it had the longest training requirement of any state. 16 hours of training was required. I enjoyed training those classes.  You could fit them into a weekend.  The instructor did not have much time left over.  But it cut down the number of people willing to obtain a permit substantially.  Taking a whole weekend to attend a class is difficult for people with busy lives.

These requirements are small potatoes compared to some that are in place in the states that still have the archaic "may issue" system of permits. I consider it a "feudal" system, in that it gives significant power to some authority, often a police chief or sheriff, sometimes a committee, to arbitrarily grant or deprive individual  permits.  The "may issue" system is invariable corrupted as officials, being human, are swayed into granting permits to people with political clout and money, and who find mechanisms and reasons to not grant permits to those who they dislike or are simply inclined to ignore.

John Stossel, who has money and clout, was denied a permit in New York City.  He produced a TV segment on it.  The bureaucratic obstacles that he faced were daunting.

I can relate. When I entered Panama, I had a number of firearms with me. Through misinformation I had been given about protocols, I did not have a permit. That is a story for another time.  The Panamanian authorities impounded my firearms. After six months of diligent effort, and the help of a secretary fluent in spoken and written Spanish, I obtained the desired permit.

It involved several solo trips on foot into a disreputable part of Panama City, as parking there was virtually impossible.  On one occasion two Guardia, aghast at the idea that I was entering the area alone, insisted on accompanying me. A confident attitude and looking as if you had every right to be where you are, goes a long way, as my old First Sargent had taught me. Teniente Puga, who was in charge of issuing permits, did not like Americans.  I had to have the permit to recover the firearms; so I had considerable incentive to obtain it. The status of forces agreement helped, as well.  When I retrieved my firearms, they were in excellent condition.

Many people say that "The Second Amendment is my permit!" It is an admirable attitude. Unfortunately, in many parts of America, people who carry without big daddy government's permission, take a serious risk of being arrested, convicted, fined, jailed,and having many rights taken away, including voting.  I wish it were not so. Second Amendment activists work toward the day when the Second Amendment is fully enforced in all American territories.

The incremental approach with permits is working. In Arizona, we started with no permit. Then we passed shall issue with 16 hours of training. The 16 hours were intensely enjoyable for me as an instructor.  With prep, I could fit it into a weekend of two long days. But many busy people find an entire weekend difficult to make time for.  Exercise of Second Amendment rights was chilled.

We reduced the training requirement to 8 hours, then 4, then we added numerous substitutes, such as having served in the Military (a DD214 is sufficient), a hunters safety course, or having had training for another state's permit.  We reduced training for renewal from 8 hours to 4 hours to no hours.
Eventually, we passed "Constitutional" carry, while keeping the much simpler and easier permit system.

Simplifying and making the permit system easier to navigate, moves the system toward "Constitutional" carry. When obtaining a permit is easier, the number of people with permits increases. This increases political clout with the legislature, and reinforces the belief that carry and self defense are widely supported, mainstream activities. It increases the number of Second Amendment activists.

The Arizona permit system can be improved considerably beyond what it is. But once you obtain "Constitutional" carry, the incentive to improve the permit system is diminished.

An intermediate step toward "Constitutional" carry nationwide, would be competition among the states for a cheap, easy, permit that is recognized nationwide.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

1958 Surplus Guns; Cheap for Good Reasons

The above ad is from 1958 Guns magazine(pdf).  In constant dollars, one dollar in 1958 would be worth about $8.36 today. Let's see how the 1958 prices look in 2016 dollars. 

Group A

Total of prices listed for the four rifles, $41.76.  If you bought all four at once, they only cost $27.84 total. The equivalent in 2016 calculates at $232.74.

These rifles were far from "excellent" or "like new", which is why they were so cheap.   Some excerpts from Group A, top to bottom: "All guns practically complete", "You can see light through the bore", "worn, but serviceable", and  "fantastically inaccurate".

You can understand that rifle buyers of the time were less than impressed. I recall two things when thinking about buying such a rifle during that era.
First,  putting a scope on these "treasures" would have cost more than the rifle. Second, finding sporting ammunition would be difficult.

The rifles were shipped COD, Railroad Express, which, in much of the country, could increase the cost 50% or more.

The best lever action rifle of the time, the Savage 99, was going for $113 in 1958.   A new Model 94 Winchester cost $80.  As late as 1965, your could buy excellent condition Model 03A3 surplus rifles for $29.95.  That was "your pick" out of a barrel at the hardware store. They had much nicer peep sights, with lots of after market stocks available. They were chambered in .30-06. I still have one that was sporterized. 

Group B

Total for four rifles in group B, purchased separately, was $48.80. If you bought all four at once, the price was $32.50. That would be $271.70 in 2016. Here are some excerpts from Group B, above: "complete in every detail and fully functional" tempered by "horrible condition"; "complete firing condition"; "magnificently fair condition".

The Mosin Nagant was going for $9.95 in 1958, in only "fair" condition. That, according to the calculator translates to $83 in 2016.

Mosin Nagants are fun rifles, and generally accurate.  Most people can remember the last big imports of Mosin Nagants.  There may be more to come, with a Trump administration.

I have seen a smattering of surplus rifles out in the woods. They tend to be used for a few years until the owner could afford something better. A next door neighbor took a big buck a quarter mile from my brother's house. He used a Mosin Nagant. He was 12, the rifle about 50.

I have bought and sold lots of rifles over the years. I have enjoyed it immensely. They are a cheaper hobby than automobiles, scuba diving, or skiing.   Guns values tend to keep up with inflation. They are a store of value, but not a great investment.

If you are considering them as an investment, an index fund on the stock market does better, does not take up storage space, and is not as subject to theft. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was about 580 at the end  of 1958.  It hit 19,000 in 2016, a 32X increase.

As with most collectibles, the best reason to buy old guns is the enjoyment you get from them, seeing how they work, shooting them, and thinking of the history involved.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

OH: CCW Reform on the Move in Ohio Senate

A year ago, the House of the 131st Ohio General Assembly voted to pass HB 48.  It passed the House 68 to 29. It has been languishing there ever since.  

House Bill 48 is the prominent gun law reform bill pending in Ohio.  It is a modest bill that makes only a few reforms.  It removes silly prohibitions on permit holders from carrying concealed guns in day care centers, in the unsecured areas of airports, and other "gun free zones".   It passed the House by over 2-1 (68-29) on 17 November,  and has 42 cosponsors in the house, including the Speaker.  Here is a summation of HB48(pdf):

To amend sections 311.42, 2923.12, 2923.122, and 2923.126 of the Revised Code to modify the prohibition against carrying a concealed handgun  onto institutions of higher education, day-care facilities, aircraft, certain government facilities, public areas of airport terminals and police stations, and school safety zones and to allow a sheriff to use concealed handgun  license fee revenue to purchase ammunition and firearms.

In the 2016 election, Republicans gained a seat in the Senate, going from 23 to 24, and Democrats lost a seat, droping from 10 to 9. In the House, the Republicans gained two seats, one of them a vacancy, going from 64-34 to 66-33 for the 132nd General Assembly that will be seated in 2017. The lame duck session is a good time to pass bills that may be considered controversial. Second Amendment supporters won big on election day. The State Senators of Ohio may be taking notice. An Ohio Senate committee will hear HB48 on Tuesday, 28 November. From wlwt.com:

A concealed-carry bill dormant since last year will be heard again Tuesday.

It would reduce penalties for certain concealed-carry violations and expand the list of premises where permit holders can carry their weapons to include day care centers and public areas of airports and police stations. It would also allow concealed guns within government buildings under specific circumstances.

From buckeyefirearms.org:

Chairman William Coley II has announced that the Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee will be hearing proponent testimony on HB 48 (Eliminate many 'no-guns' victim zones) on Tuesday, November 29 at 8:30 a.m. in the North Hearing Room., and proponent/opponent/interested party testimony on Wednesday, November 30 at 8:45 a.m. in the Finance Hearing Room. The chairman has indicated that amendments may be offered at the Wednesday hearing.

As passed by the House, HB 48 seeks to restore Ohioans' right to carry in day-care facilities (unless they post "no-guns"), private airplanes, school safety zones, and in non-secure areas of police stations and airports.

The bill also contains "opt-in" language which would to allow authorities governing college campuses and certain government buildings the ability to allow concealed carry.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

Grouse Hunting with the Village Gun

The Village Gun is my name for an old Springfield 84-C.  My father acquired the rifle and a state of the art Weaver 3/4 inch straight tube scope for $7.50 during the Depression. I have written in previous articles that the Village Gun was used by my father and the neighbors for deer hunting.

The Village Gun wasn't primarily used for deer hunting. There are dozens of things a .22 rifle is used for on a farm at the edge of wild country.  The Village gun was probably used for most of them, over the roughly 60 years of its Wisconsin existence.  One of those things was hunting ruffed grouse. It was illegal to hunt ruffed grouse with a rifle in Wisconsin. It is one of those laws that had good intentions. It is a bad idea to fire a rifle randomly into the air. A high powered rifle, shot into the body of a grouse, results in a bloody, inedible mess. But a .22 rimfire rifle, used judiciously, can take grouse regularly and safely, and produce edible results. I know. I did a lot of it, even though it was technically illegal at the time. I never exceeded the set limit for grouse.

Hunting grouse with a .22 takes more skill than hunting them with a shotgun. A good dog helps immensely.  The hard part is seeing the grouse, within rifle range, before they fly away.  People have shot grouse on the fly, with a rifle, but I am not one of them. I do not recommend it.

The grouse pictured above is fairly typical. When they are on the alert, the head is held high, the neck stretched up. This is a picture taken during January, and the feathers are fluffed up. Don't shoot for the neck! Inside those feathers the neck is very thin, and easy to miss. The head is a good target. Head shots are fairly common.  The eye is a good place to aim. Remember to consider your target three dimensionally. When you are dressing out your first couple of grouse, examine them closely to understand their anatomy. It will help in knowing where to aim.

I have missed a fair number.  The nice thing about a .22 in the woods is that it is relatively quiet.  The grouse often fell on the second shot.

Pick a hole between the twigs and branches.  It is surprising how much a twig can deflect a bullet. When you are shooting at a small target, hitting a twig means a probable miss. A scope makes it easier to miss twigs and branches that can be masked by iron sights.

If you are hunting with a rifle, and shooting into the air, you need to know the country and the direction you are shooting.  You do not want to accidentally shoot someone or break a neighbors window. It doesn't apply only to grouse. Squirrels are shot out of trees as well.  I knew where the neighbor houses were, and how far a bullet would travel.  The warnings on .22 LR boxes today say they can travel a mile and a half.  That is under optimum conditions with a lot of safety factor thrown in.

It is very hard to get a .22 LR to travel more than a mile.  A mile was the standard warning for many years. At the end of the mile a .22 LR bullet will be traveling at about 200- 240 feet per second. It could put your eye out, but is unlikely to be fatal.  For common .22 LR ammo, a mile is the max range. At angles higher than 35 degrees, the range decreases.  Fired at higher angles, the terminal velocity will likely be less than 200 fps.

I did not know that when I was 12.  I knew a bit about trajectories from firing countless pebbles from slingshots. The .22 cartridge box said 1 mile, so I was careful to avoid shooting in the air toward neighbors houses. It was easy. There were only three within a mile, all of them on one side of the Namekagon River, and South of where I lived. So all shots aimed toward Northeast or around the compass, toward North, or West, toward South were good. .22 LR bullets fired at above 60 degrees are likely to fall within a half mile, at velocities under 200 fps.  You would not want to get hit by one, but they are unlikely to penetrate a hat or jacket.

I recall the first grouse that I shot. It was fall and grouse season, late afternoon. One of my brothers came running into the house, saying that there was a grouse behind the log cabin (a shed we used for storage, sided with slab wood).

I grabbed the Village Gun, and loaded a couple of cartridges into the magazine. I was out the door in a few seconds. Grouse, once flushed, will not sit in a tree forever. I carefully approached the referenced spot. I used the shed for cover. Then, very stealthily, moving behind it, searched the trees for the bird. There it was! Sitting in birch tree about 20 feet off the ground.  I picked the base of the neck for the shot. The Village Gun was dead on at 15 yards, and the bird fell when the little rifle spat.

The bullet was headed North Northwest, and I knew there were no houses in that direction for miles. Once a .22 bullet hits something, it is almost certainly de-stablized.  The max range is dramatically reduced.

Where grouse have not been hunted hard, a dog is just another four legged predator. My dog and I hunted as a team. A Labrador, he was a natural hunter and retriever. He would range ahead, find a grouse, and tree it. My job was to creep up and shoot it.  It is common for a grouse to fly into a nearby tree and sit there, confident of its invulnerability to the predator on the ground.

My dog quickly taught his boy that he barked differently for grouse or squirrels. His barking would lead me to the spot, even in dense cover.  Grouse had to be approached with more care than squirrels. Knowing what you are looking for makes them easier to spot.

I learned that a .22 does not spoil much meat, even if the grouse is shot through the breast. The point of a folded wing is a good aiming spot, as is a little below the base of the neck from any angle. Head shots make for better bragging rights, but the base of the neck is an easier target. I would not use hypervelocity .22 cartridges for this sort of hunting. Standard velocity is enough, and quieter.

A good dog will quickly retrieve a grouse knocked to the ground, and bring the bird to you.

The bird above is in a crabapple tree.  Crabapples are a favorite food for grouse.  I regularly checked out crabapple locations when grouse hunting.

Much of my grouse hunting was along old logging roads. In many spots, clover had taken root. Clover is another favored grouse food.  The old logging roads had areas of exposed gravel, where grouse would obtain the grit they need to grind up their food. I spent far more time on foot, traveling those old logging roads, than I did on pavement on a bicycle.

Growing up on the edge of semi-wilderness spoiled me for a lot of hunting. Being able to grab your rifle and be hunting once you step out the door, is a wonderful thing.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

MO: Will Governor Greitens sign Campus Carry in 2017?

Elections have consequences. The presidential election of Donald Trump has been occupying most of the news space. The gun culture did very well in state and local elections.  In Missouri, a Republican, Eric Greitens, replaces former Governor Nixon.  Governor Nixon was decidedly anti-Second Amendment.  An omnibus gun law reform bill was passed over his veto in Missouri last year. That bill included permitless or "Consititutional" carry.

Originally the bill contained a watered down provision for the exercise of Second Amendment rights at public institutions of higher learning. Current Missouri law allows campus administrations to ban weapons on campus.  All 13 institutions that offer a four year degree in Missouri have banned carry on campus. From gopusa.com:

Missouri law currently prohibits concealed firearms at higher education institutions “without the consent of the governing body” of that college, the exception to the rule being university law enforcement officers.

At least four bills introduced between the Missouri House and Senate in 2016 would have changed that statute. One version, sponsored by Rep. Jered Taylor, R-Nixa, that would have allowed full-time employees and faculty, but not students, to have firearms on campus, was later attached to a wide-ranging gun bill. The measure was removed just before the bill passed.

Republicans kept their 3 to 1 margins in the Missouri Senate, 26 to 8. In the House the Republican majority is nearly the same as last year, 115 to 45, with 1 independent.  In 2016, the numbers were 117 to 46, no independents.

Permitless, or "Constitutional" carry reform was passed with overwhelming majorities of 112 to 41 in the House and 24 to 6 in the Senate.  You might expect campus carry to  pass and be signed into law, now that a Republican governor will be in office.

But Greitens is a political outsider.  He was not endorsed by the NRA. The NRA endorsed Koster, the Democrat candidate for Governor, who used to be a Republican. Greitens is a recent GOP convert who used to be a Democrat.  He talked about supporting Second Amendment rights during the election. He was a Navy Seal. He is a best selling author. I hope that he does well.

Once Greitens is in office, we will see if his actions match his words.  I have watched numerous efforts to pass campus carry, several successful, many not. I have been amazed at the clout the higher education lobby has.  They hold power far beyond what you would expect. They control no media. They are consumers of tax dollars. Yet politicians give them enormous credibility and tend to bow to their whims.

Campus carry of some form will likely pass the legislature in Missouri in 2017.  I do not know if it will be signed by Governor Greitens.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

KS: No Charges in Domestic Defense Homicide

Because the use of deadly force was legally justified, charges will not be filed in a September shooting that left a 42-year-old Lawrence man dead, the Douglas County District Attorney's Office has announced in a news release.

An investigation by Lawrence detectives, crime scene analysts and the county coroner has concluded that an incident of severe domestic violence led a woman to shoot Lenny Morrison to death at an apartment at 433 Ohio St.

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FL: Clerk wins Gunfight with Drug Addict Robber

A clerk shot and killed a man who pulled a gun on him during an attempted robbery at an Orange Park food store Saturday, deputies said.

Clay County deputies said the clerk at Prime Stop Food Store on Peoria Road was suspicious after a man walked into the store wearing sunglasses around midnight.

Deputies said William Smith, 29, pulled out a gun and tried to rob the store.

The clerk, who had a concealed carry permit, grabbed his own gun and shot the man, deputies said.
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Yoga Instructor uses Taurus .38 to Kill 2 of 4 Home Invaders

On Friday night, 25 November, 2016, the well known and successful yoga instructor Hari Nam Kaur Khalsa, was assaulted by two robbers in her bedroom. Her home and school are 20 miles north of Santiago, Chile.  The robbers were half of a gang of four that invaded her home and school. She, her partner, and two students were in the house when the night time invasion occurred. Khalsa was born in Texas. From dallasnews.com:

Officials said a pair of the robbers found the yoga instructor in her bedroom. Despite them hitting her in the head with a gun and trying to tie her up, she was able to get free and grab a revolver hidden beneath her pillow.

Khalsa shot the two men, killing one instantly. The other, badly wounded, died in the yard after running outside. Neither man has been identified.

The two other robbers ran off.

The Dallas News reports misses some interesting details.  The Yoga instructor owned two Taurus .38 Special revolvers, one of which she kept under her pillow. It is likely the revolver used was a six or seven shot model. Both are popular and common. The robber killed in her bedroom was shot five times. The robber found outside the home was shot at least once. She probably emptied her Taurus.  This is a google translation:

Soto added that one of the two antisocials received five shots in his body, falling dejected in the same place, whereas the second subject, was badly wounded and ended up prostrate and passing away in the patio of the property. Meanwhile, his two other accomplices who were in the kitchen and were preparing to steal, hearing the shots fled quickly without achieving their purpose. Until this morning, the two deceased delinquents were still not identified and according to the persecutor, in the case the grounds exist to estimate that the teacher acted in self-defense. "

The .38 Special was sufficiently powerful. In spite of the somewhat mangled translation, it appears that Hari Nam Kaur Khalsa will not be charged.

Yoga Instructor's Home and School

The lack of bars on the windows and door show this area, about 20 miles north of Santiago, has been fairly crime free. A wall surrounds the property.

A wall is common practice for most well to do estates throughout the world. It would be common in the United States, but is banned by most zoning codes. The estate appears to be several acres.  The picture is taken from a video of the school made in 2009. The gate to the property is directly behind the camera.

Link to Video

A revolver under the pillow is a technique with a long tradition. A few stories have been written of people accidentally shooting themselves because of the practice.  Some have claimed a befuddled person picked up the firearm instead of a telephone, then shot themselves in the head while fumbling with the gun. I am skeptical of such accounts.  How do you differentiate such a situation from a normal suicide, which happen thousands of time a year?

To prevent accidental discharges,  the firearm can be kept holstered.  This requires a little more thinking, and slows access very little.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Link to Gun Watch

PA: Armed 42-Year-Old Victim Shoots two 16-Year-Old Armed Robbers

PITTSBURGH - A man shot two would-be robbers early Thursday an ATM in Homewood, according to Pittsburgh police.

 

The 42-year-old man told police he was using an ATM on North Homewood Avenue shortly after 1 a.m., when two masked 16-year-olds with guns approached him and tried to rob him.

 

Police said he pulled out his own gun and shot one of the would-be robbers in the leg and the other in the stomach.

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AR: Armed Resident Shoot Thieves; two Wounded

Two suspected thieves were shot by a Fort Smith homeowner early Wednesday while breaking into a vehicle in the Rye Hill area of Tennessee Circle.

According to a news release from the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office, the two suspected thieves were hit in the legs with pellets from a shotgun and are being treated at local hospitals. Their suspected getaway car with bullet holes was found abandoned on Interstate 549, the release adds.
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MI: 75-Year-Old Shoots, Kills Teen Invader

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Detroit police are investigating after a 75-year-old man shot and killed a home invader early Friday morning.

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AL: Man Shoots Intruder in Chest

A shooting in Decatur leaves one person hurt, with a single gunshot wound to the chest. This, after authorities say Sam Everett Elliott forced his way inside a home, Wednesday night.
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Followup AK: Two Men Face Charges in Home Invasion

The husband said he was asleep at the time of the initial break-in while his wife was elsewhere in the house. Troopers stated the man told them he heard his wife scream, jumped out of bed, and once he realized what was happening, grabbed a handgun off the headboard. The victim said as he turned back, he was shot by one of the robbers who ran into another room, but returned fire. The culprit then jumped through a window.

The wife reported she had heard something earlier while working in an outdoor workshop. She told police she came into the house around 12:15 a.m. and was on the couch when she spotted a dark-skinned, slender male standing in front of her pointing a black semi-automatic pistol in her face. According to court records, the victim grabbed the gun with both hands wrestling it away from her face while screaming.
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Kathleen Troia McFarland: Who is She?

Who is Kathleen Troia McFarland.  She is a policy wonk who appears to be well grounded in real world power structure.  She served under Nixon, Ford, and Reagan.  She grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, and is within a month of my age. She has four children and two step children, so she has real skin in the game.  She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

She doesn't seen to be a limited govenment Constitutionalist, but that is not her job.  I found some interesting quotes. From quotesgram.com:

"Russia does not have a modern economy: it's a petro-power. The only thing it sells that the world wants to buy is oil and natural gas. When was the last time anyone bought a Russian computer? A Russian car? A Russian cell phone? Russia is so dependent on high energy prices that if oil falls below $100 a barrel, the Kremlin can't meet payroll."

 "As long as the United States - and the world - gets its oil from the Middle East, we will be drawn into the endless crises that seem endemic to the region. American energy independence would not only liberate us, it would also drive down the worldwide price of oil."

"One of the lessons of Vietnam, which we failed to heed in the Iraq war and the Afghanistan surge, is that before you commit U.S. military forces to aid or assist, it is essential to know what you want them to achieve."

 "The problem with people who live in a world of speeches and books and theories is they don't know how to fix things in the real world when they go wrong. They feign ignorance, blame others, and make another eloquent speech."

She was abused quite a bit as a child. In my limited experience, and reading, abused kids, who are bright, tend to make excellent spies. They tend to have a good grasp of reality. They learn to read people and to manipulate them.  This should make them good at politics.  She seems very, very smart.

She should make a good Deputy National Security Advisor.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

Marines Considering Silencing All Small Arms

The Marine Corps is considering suppressing all small arms. Military organizations have historically been slow to adopt new technologies. They have been slow to adopt optical sights, which were overwhelmingly adopted by sportsmen long before they become common for ordinary soldiers. In the U.S. that was during the first Gulf War.

Suppressors have been commonly used by sportsmen around the world for decades long before widespread adoption by any military. The United States is the exception, due to irrational regulation.

The Marine Corp is in the process of equipping an entire battalion with suppressed small arms. From ameriforce.net:

In a series of experiments this year, units from 2nd Marine Division will be silencing every element of an infantry battalion — from M4 rifles to .50 caliber machine guns.

The commanding general of 2nd Marine Division, Maj. Gen. John Love, described these plans during a speech to Marines at the Marine Corps Association Ground Dinner this month near Washington, D.C.

The proof-of-concept tests, he said, included Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, which began an Integrated Training Exercise pre-deployment last month at Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms.

“What we’ve found so far is it revolutionizes the way we fight,” Love told Military.com. “It used to be a squad would be dispersed out over maybe 100 yards, so the squad leader couldn’t really communicate with the members at the far end because of all the noise of the weapons. Now they can actually just communicate, and be able to command and control and effectively direct those fires.”

I have often thought that widespread suppressor use would be positive for the military.  A common reason for not having suppressors has been the idea of suppressive fire.  Suppressive fire is not guns using suppressors.  It is the idea that if people are shooting at you, you will keep your head down and not shoot back.  If the people shooting at you are using suppressors, you will not be as aware that they are shooting at you, or so goes the argument.

The theory of suppressive fire as a doctrine never appealed to me.  It seemed too much based on psychology, and not enough on deadly force.  Wouldn't it be better to conserve ammunition, and actually hit what you were aiming at?  Wouldn't it be better to have the enemy unable to locate your positions, and be unaware of your presence, until they were hit? The Marines are considering these possibilities.

A bonus is the reduction of hearing loss and the increase in communication effectiveness.

The silencers/suppressors or gun mufflers to be installed were first used by the Marine Corps Special Operations Group. SOF operators have long used suppressors. The cost is expected to be $700,000 for an infantry battalion.  A fully staffed infantry battalion is close to 1,000 people.

Suppressors are reported in common use in the Chinese and Russian militaries. I believe they are particularly well suited to insurgencies and low level warfare.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

Are Guns Legal in Your Town, but Not Next Door? by Rob Morse

New York won’t recognize the licenses from Connecticut or Massachusetts. New Jersey won’t recognize New York or Pennsylvania. California cops won’t recognize your license from Arizona, Nevada or Oregon.

I’m talking about the license to carry a concealed weapon in public, and with over 15 million licensed concealed carriers in the U.S., recognition between states is a study in contrasts. Some 15 states say a law-abiding adult can legally carry a loaded firearm in public without any permit at all. In contrast, a visitor carrying without a recognized license in California is usually charged with a felony and faces years in jail. Welcome to the bizarre nightmare endured by honest gun owners every day.

Recognizing the permits and licenses issued by other states is broadly called reciprocity. Politicians say a number of factors are involved. The decision to recognize your carry permit from another state isn’t a matter of public safety. Concealed carry holders are the most law abiding segment of society. Concealed carry holders are more law abiding and less likely to commit a legal violation with a firearm than are the police.

Permit reciprocity isn’t a an issue of protecting the public from risks. For comparison, we recognize drivers licenses between states and territories. The licenses vary widely in the training, the age, and the levels of insurance required before you may legally operate a motor vehicle on public roads. The public risks are real since automobile accidents injure far more people than firearms accidents.

Recognizing out-of-state legal documents is nothing new. We recognize the legal certificates and decrees issued by other states every day. For example, we recognize death certificates, divorce decrees, and adoption certificates even though those laws vary widely from state to state. Federal judges mandated the recognition of marriage between states even though the states have significantly different marriage laws.
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Homebrewed .50 Cal from ISIS in Iraq

Jake Hamby has posted these photographs of a small shop manufactured .50 caliber single shot, scoped rifle.  It was captured from ISIS forces in Iraq. Many on the Internets are disparaging the rifle, characterizing it as a "face bomb" waiting to go off.  Several good views of the rifle are shown in the short Youtube montage below.

Link to Youtube

It is a mistake to judge a weapon by the exterior finish. Sure, the superb craftsmen at pre-1940 commercial Mauser, or Colt before 1970, are known for their excellent polish and bluing.  If you look at war production, you find perfectly useful and effective weapons with crude finishes. Webley put a stamp on some of their revolvers, "war finish", presumably because they were ashamed of putting out such a poor finish.  The interior of their revolvers was very effective.

You cannot get a better reason for a "war finish" than the conditions ISIS is operating under.  There are several interesting things about this rifle that tell me I do not want to be somewhere on the muzzle end of it.  I would be willing to test fire it, if I were allowed to disassemble and examine the mechanism first.  From an Internet examination, it seems to be a serviceable design.

Do not discount the ability of the rifle to get rounds downrange with useful accuracy. Most of the needed accuracy would be in the barrel, which may be a standard barrel from another weapon. I do not recognize it.  If the barrel is made in a shop, that is a significant achievement.  It may have been locally produced.  ISIS contains decent lathes and milling machines in the territory it has conquered.  The tack weld locking the barrel to the receiver is highly unconventional, but it works.

I suspect a Savage model 110 type of locking lug arrangement. Depending on the heat treatment of the receiver and locking lugs, the set up could last from a couple of hundred rounds to many thousands.  Given the rifle's environment, a couple of hundred rounds may be a realistic service life.

The scope looks to be a PU 3.5x22 Russian military rifle scope. It is pretty sturdy. It was used as a sniper scope for the Mosin Nagant. I have doubts that it could stand up to the pounding of a .50 BMG single shot.

The rifle's designers tackled this problem with two solutions.  First, the mounting system is extremely sturdy and welded directly to the receiver.  Integral scope mounting systems are the best way to avoid problems.  They have to be reasonably aligned with the bore. A simple bore sighting system used while welding on the mounts would allow for that alignment.

Second, the rubber bicycle innertube buffer between the scope and the mount. The oversized turnbuckle bolts used for tightening the mount to the scope use a lot of surface area to grip the scope. Whether the rubber buffer provides enough cushion to keep from battering the scope apart under the recoil of .50 BMG rounds would be a matter tested in practice.  Again, a couple of hundred rounds service life is likely enough.

The bipod is adjustable for height and ground irregularities.

Headspacing problems would probably show up on the brass before the rifle would allow brass rupture from case separation. If you examined the fired brass, you could figure out when you would need to adjust the headspace. If not, the horizontal bolt and loading slots vent high pressure gases and molten brass to the sides, away from the face.

The inline, straight recoil stock does much to soak up perceived recoil. The muzzle brake looks effective.

If the barrel is a standard .50 cal, a fixed 3.5 power scope should allow hits on man sized targets to 800 yards.  The scope does not have a rangefinding reticule. The vertical adjustments are calibrated out to 1300 meters for the 7.62x54 cartridge. It would not be hard to determine the range equivalents for the .50 BMG.

This rifle, while of crude finish, can likely put .50 BMG down range to good effect.  Those who want to outlaw .50 BMG in the United States should take notice.  It is up to us to bring it to their attention.

Kipling understood the value of cheap but effective weapons and manpower. From Arithmetic on the Frontier:

Two thousand pounds of education 

Drops to a ten-rupee jezail -- 

The Crammer's boast, the Squadron's pride,

 Shot like a rabbit in a ride!

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch

CA: Off Duty ICE Agent Wounds Carjacking Suspect

Notice the Reporter and the Witness contradict each other. One says the agent fired at the driver as the driver sped off. The Witness says he hear shots, then squealing tires.

He fired shots at a driver as she and a male passenger sped off, Homeland Security said.

“It sounded like six or seven shots – bang! bang! bang! Then I just heard a car step on the gas real quick,” Benjamin Rodriguez.

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MO: Home Invasion Gunfight, no Injuries

Residents of a home in the 1700 block of Highway AF reported about 8:25 p.m. Tuesday that two men and a woman wearing masks burst into their home and demanded money. One suspect was armed with a sawed off shotgun, according to the report.

The suspects took cash and a handgun, then left in a white Buick or Mercury, the sheriff’s office said. The homeowner got a weapon and fire shots at the suspects, who returned fire, according to the report.

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OH: Police Dog Shot in Self Defense?

No charges indicate that the self defense claim is plausible.
Investigators say they are sorting out conflicting stories, one of which alleges that the dog was acting in an aggressive manner and was shot in self defense.

Youngstown Police Chief Robin Lees tells 21 News that the K-9 "Goose" was with its handler, Officer Josh Kelly, when a neighbor shot the dog.

Coitsville Police do not anticipate that anyone will be charged.
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How not to fire a 12 Gauge Pistol or Sawed off Shotgun

This short video shows how not to fire a 12 gauge pistol/Sawed off shotgun. The link is below.

http://i.imgur.com/HXFJbBT.mp4

The video shows the person firing with a less than firm grip on the firearm.  Shotguns shells can develop considerable recoil.  Without a firm grip, and only using one hand, the firearm flies out of the shooter's hand and smacks him in the face.

It could have been worse. Occasionally a shooter with a weak grip will find that the firearm escapes his grasp while the trigger finger stays engaged. The firearm then may fire one or more shots as it flips around.  This is dangerous for any in the area.

It has resulted in the shooter's own death in a small number of cases.

You can see that this shooter is inexperienced and fearful by the body posture. Notice that he leans back away from the gun, attempting to put his body as far from it as possible. This moves his center of gravity back toward the edge of his base of support, making it easy for him to be tipped off balance to the rear.

Experienced shooters lean into the gun, so that recoil moves them onto their base instead of off of it.  With a firearm with significant recoil, use two hands to help control it. This is especially worthwhile if you have not fired it before, and do not know how much recoil will be generated.

Once you experience the recoil, you will have an idea of what to expect, and what might be necessary to control it.  Be wary of others who have fired guns and then give them to you to "try" if they may have significant recoil.

It is not unknown for pranksters to fire a gun with reduced loads, then to hand it to the unwary with full power loads.

This is a very bad practice, but it happens. Some people like to play "practical jokes". It is a deadly serious matter when firearms are involved.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

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