The Blag Switch

Well, I’m off to try my hand at IPSC-style practical shooting for the first time. Wish me luck. It’s not an actual competition, just friendly practice at my local range. But still, I have to admit, I’m kinda nervous.

UPDATE: I’m really happy with how I did.  I did two runs and got a 1.86 and a 1.91.  (The runs are scored as the ratio of accuracy to time.  So the better you shoot and the less time you take, the better your score.)  I didn’t hit any of the no-shoots and all the guys there who had done it before said my muzzle control was excellent. 

Sorry, couldn’t resist the Myth Busters reference. Anywho: take a look at this slick video of a guy shooting a sealing-breach 1895 Nagant Revolver with a silencer.

Yes, it does in fact silence the gun. With conventional revolvers this isn’t possible. The gas escaping out of the gap between the cylinder and the barrel will still have a significant report. The Nagant can only be silenced because of an amazingly clever mechanism by which the cylinder, cartridge, and barrel conspire to make a totally enclosed breech. Pretty cool stuff.

It’s interesting to me that here in the States we have our own pantheon of firearms innovators.  Samuel Colt, Christian Sharps, John Moses Browning, et al.  But we don’t much hear about all the amazing innovators and innovations abroad.  I mean, the above is a product of the Nagant brothers, originally of Belgium, and it’s a brilliant design.  Mikhail Kalashnikov is the father of the assault rifle in the same way that Browning is the father of the semi-auto pistol.

Not to denigrate the works of domestic firearms designers, but I just think it’s interesting that the revolutions in firearms design abroad are so often either ignored or adopted quietly and that their designers so seldom get the credit they deserve here in the States.  My Sig 556 uses a gas-piston system which is, in concept, identical to the one which Kalashnikov invented for the AK-47 and yet I’ve met many people who treat the notion with a “gee what will they think of next” sense of novelty.

My friend Mike linked me to this photo the other day, and I’ve been meaning to blog it since. File it in the “Nice Guns, Poor Safety” file:

Remeber: no matter how badass you long with your finger all over the bang switch, Rules violations make baby Jeff Cooper cry. They also make negligent discharges possible. Both are excellent reasons to make sure they’re obeyed at all times.

The final product are actually pretty cool-looking. Still, I think I’d rather be the artist than the art-owner as far as these are concerned:

(h/t to Sebastian for linking to this video.)

Turns out the artist’s name is Matthew Stromberg.  He’s a professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design.  Here’s one where he attempts to “sculpt” using a sub-gun:

Turns out he also does work with incendiary and high explosive substances.  Sounds like interesting (and highly entertaining) stuff.  Here’s an interesting article on professor Stromberg’s work.

Looks like suits are already in progress to overturn other handgun bans around the country.  Case in point: ChicagoGunCase.com

(via View from the Porch)

D.C vs. Heller is in. It’s 5-4 in favor of the 2nd Amendment being an actual right (as opposed to some sort of mythical “collective right” whatever the hell that might mean). Narrower than I was hoping and in more tepid language. Money quote from the opinion:

“The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.”

So we won, though narrowly. Within the next 21 days, the people of DC will be able to register a handgun and keep it in their home for protection. No provisions, of course, for carry or anything like that, but as Robb Allen says:

Now is not the time to relax. Enjoy your day, hit the range, buy some ammo or a new gun, but get ready for the upcoming battles. The(sic) will be small, but numerous.

This isn’t the end it’s the beginning. This opens the door for folks to strike down some of the more odious local anti-gun laws in the country, but it’s a victory which just allows us to fight more legal battles down the road.

Special thanks to Alan Gura who, in my totally-not-a-lawyer opinion, did a fantastic job arguing our side of it. I would congratulate my one very dear D.C. friend on getting some of her liberty back, but I have the sneaking suspicion that she doesn’t see it that way.

…

Aw, what the hell: Congrats, Heather! If you ever want to learn how to shoot, the offer I made you lo those many years ago to take you to the range is still open.

One thing everyone who intends to survive the Zombie Apocalypse will need is a good gun. For that truly personal undead-slaying touch, however, you don’t need A gun, you need YOUR gun. Something uniquely personal. Something, preferably, you made yourself. This, of course, will require you to fill out the proper BATFE paperwork:

Please note that the BATFE acknowledges the inevitability of the Zombocalypse and, as demonstrated by their approval of the above form, accept “Zombies” as an acceptable reason for the manufacture of one’s own firearm.

Of course, it’s not enough to just make ANY firearm for zombie-slaying. No no, one needs the RIGHT gun for zombie slaying. Fortunately for all of us, a couple of readers of The High Road have pushed the envelope in anti-zombie firearm technology to bring us the Remington 1740.

Yes, ladies and gentleman, you are looking at Remington 1740, made by the union in functional matrimony of a right-handed and a left-handed Remington 870 shotgun. The resulting scattergun is the first pump-action double-barrel shotgun of which I’m aware. (The one in the Phantasm movies doesn’t count, since it’s a movie prop. . . Besides, I’m pretty sure it had four barrels.) Though unwieldy (each Remington 870 is, after all, about 7 or 8 pounds unloaded), it is sure to deliver plenty of undead-slaying power, not to mention hours of entertainment and good, safe fun between now and the inevitable rise of the undead hordes.

(Hat tip to Traction Control and The LawDog Files for images.)

A few weeks ago, my friend Meagan and her friend Diana were up for the annual Sasquatch! Music Festival. (Which, by the way, was as amazing as ever.) We got back to Spokane afterwards and Meagan had an extra day to hang out. It’s a pity she only had a day, since a mere 24 hours is not enough time to get the full Spokane experience. But after a brief debate over what we wanted to do (Me: “Well, if you wanted, we could go to the range.” Her: “Okay!”) we grabbed eyes, ears, ammo, and guns and (after the obligatory safety lecture and mechanics lesson) headed off to Sharpshooter’s.

Turns out Meagan had never fired a gun before. Which is a bit of a pity, since she turned out to be a complete natural. I’ve had the pleasure now of introducing a half dozen people to shooting sports and she is by FAR the most capable of all the new shooters I’ve had the pleasure to work with.

Case in point (photo only shows 6 rounds, but 9 of 10 fired were on the target):

She got a chance to try my CZ-75 and my Marlin model 60. She definitely seemed to enjoy shooting both and did a fantastic job with them. She had no flinch to speak of. Well, that is to say, she didn’t have any when she wasn’t catching hot brass down her cleavage. (Note to self: next time with a female shooter, recommend high-collared shirts.) I will say, however, that she handled the hot-case-down-the-shirt situation admirably. Without being even having to be told, she display excellent muzzle control and guncraft. Finger went off the trigger and the muzzle stayed firmly downrange while she gyrated and picked at her shirt to get the case out.

Which was really sort of a theme for the afternoon; Meagan turned out to be a real natural. By the end of the afternoon, after having started at about 10 feet, we’d rolled the targets all the way out to the end of the 50ft lane and she was still putting the shots right where she wanted them more often then not.

A safe, fun time was had by all. Meagan seemed to thoroughly enjoy herself and she shot quite well. I hope to get the chance to take her out again some day. (Unfortunately, her prospects as a shooter are somewhat limited by her current state of residence. Meagan was up visiting from California. And with gun laws like those, I imagine getting into shooting sports in any serious sort of way must be significantly more difficult.)

…and possibly rule 2 as well, depending on how the officer felt about his ankle.

Those of you who have heard this rant before and/or are up on your firearm safety are free to skip the following.

Firearm Safety is not optional.  Jeff Cooper was right when he codified the Four Rules and when he said in his commentaries they were all we need and that we need all of them.  If you follow the four rules (and they ought ALWAYS be followed slavishly), things like this simply won’t happen.  Negligent Discharges like this can only happen if one or more of the rules are being violated.

Simply put, a shooter must strive to have the rules so ingrained in their minds when they’re doing anything with a firearm that to violate any of the rules is literally unthinkable and undoable.

I wish the officer mentioned in the story a full and speedy recovery, but I also hope that he’ll be more careful in the future.

Even though it isn’t stated explicitly in the Four Rules, using firearms under the effects of mind altering substances is a Bad Idea: