Category Archives: Firearms

L.A.’s Arms Race of the Affluent

H/T Last Refuge

L.A.’s Arms Race of the Affluent

 

Since opening in July 2020, the store has seen upscale residents from Santa Monica to the Hollywood Hills increasingly in a panic following several high-profile smash-and-grab and violent home invasion robberies. The apparent siege has brought in a daily stream of anxious business owners and prominent actors, real estate moguls and film execs, says owner Russell Stuart. Most are arming themselves for the first time.

“This morning I sold six shotguns in about an hour to people that say, ‘I want a home defense shotgun,’” says Stuart, whose store is discreetly located in a Beverly Hills office building, with no sign on the doors, down the hall from a diamond dealer. “Everyone has a general sense of constant fear, which is very sad. We’re used to this being like Mayberry.”

Opened in July 2020???

Concealed Carry Shoot In Chicago………………

Man Shot During Quarrel Outside Jewel-Osco In West Elsdon

Police said a 54-year-old man was leaving the store when he got into a fight with a 32-year-old man in the parking lot. The older man then pulled a gun and shot the younger man in the head.

The victim was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where at last check, he was in serious condition, police said. The man who shot – who police said has a Firearm Owners Identification Card a concealed carry license – was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in good condition with an injury to the hand.

“I guess the guy – he tried to bite him in his finger or something, and he pulled out the gun and shot him in the face,” said Luis Chavez, who talked with a witness who was leaving the Jewel-Osco store at the time.

I tooled around the interwebs the day after this shooting and there was a lot of high fiving and back slapping that an older gentleman in Chicago was able to protect himself from an attack.

Lots and lots of mindless speculation that this was a carjacking or a robbery or the such.

Well, the shooter has ALLEGEDLY been charged with aggravated battery with a fire arm.

What ALLEGEDLY started the confrontation?

 

Two people literally tried to go through the same door at the same time and bumped into each other.

There is no video of the actual confrontation outside or of the shooting so it is only the witness statements that provide the details.

From the time the two made first contact, to the shooting, was 60 seconds.

One minute.

Again, there are only witness statements to describe the confrontation, but this shooting by a valid CCL might be an example of “the old West shootout” that CCL opposers in Illinois claimed would happen.  This is one of the few times that a CCL holder won’t be able to make a self defense claim.

This story is several years old, but is still germane:

Almost nothing is known about dozens of concealed carry shootings in Illinois. Why?

 

 

Tragedy Shows Hollywood’s Gun Ignorance…….

A person is dead.  That is horrible for their friends and family.

Alec Baldwin shoots two on movie set in bizarre prop gun mishap, one dead

According to Variety, Alec Baldwin fired the prop gun on the set of Rust in New Mexico Thursday, accidentally killing Halyna Hutchins and wounding Souza.

Deadline previously reported that “…a principal castmember cocked a gun during a rehearsal, unaware that there were live rounds in it, hitting two people, a man and a woman. The man was hit in the shoulder, while the woman was airlifted to the hospital for stomach surgery.”

A Rust Movie Productions LLC production spokesperson told the outlet, “There was an accident today on the New Mexico set of Rust involving the misfire of a prop gun with blanks. Two crew members have been taken to the hospital and are receiving care. Production has been halted for the time being. The safety of our cast and crew remains our top priority.”

No, there were NOT blanks in the gun and it was not a misfire.

It was negligence.

Range Time …….

Got a chance to stop at the range (indoor) for some quick shooting:

9 rounds of 380 on the right at 7 yards and 9 rounds at 5 yards on the left.

I was using some bulk ammo I bought last year.  Seems to be “ok”.

The paper is 12×18 and the circles are 4″.

 

60 rounds of 22LR from the Beretta M9 22 at 7 yards.

I was at the gunshop all of about 30 minutes !!

Tippmann M-4 Full Auto 22LR

Plinkster22 demos the  Tippmann M-4 Full Auto 22 LR.

“Giggle Switch” indeed !

My apologies for using a Screwutube link.  This post has been in my queue for quite sometime and before my promise of not using Screwutube videos.

I have never fired a full auto and there are several classic machine guns I would like to shoot just because !!

Personally, the full auto 22 looks like a blast to shoot, but at some point it would get to be just wasting ammo.

 

 

I’m Sorry We Have To Have This Conversation……………

There have been a lot of “mass shootings” in the news lately and the Fake administration is pushing some very serious anti Second Amendment laws.

Like I said, there has been a lot of “mass shootings” in the news lately.

If you really think that the Fake administration actually has a hand in these shootings, you need to replace the tinfoil and get a CAT scan.

The depths that The Swamp and Liberals can go is almost bottomless, but you have to seriously consider how  utterly unpossible it would be to be behind a series of “mass shootings.”

Todays Second Amendment Educational Challenge……..

During German class in college, a classmate read a passage from a text that included the “Danube River.”

Instead of correctly pronouncing it as “dan-yoob”, he said “da-new-be.”

Herr Himmler corrected the student and the student replied, “I guess I’m just dumb.”

Herr Himmler replied, “You are not dumb, but you are ignorant and that is something you can change.”

That’s always stuck with me.

Now, ignorance is the only unlimited matter in the universe and there is flat out almost limitless ignorance about the Second Amendment and guns.

 

The below post is a perfect example of that:

The United States And Guns ‹ Views and Observations ‹ Reader — WordPress.com

When the Constitution was created in the 18th century, it was a different time. There were no smartphones, communication was slow, the standing army was tiny, and many people lived in small rural communities or farms that were isolated and far away from help if something occurred. If you lived on a small farm in the 1700s, you couldn’t jump in the car and go to the grocery store. Small farmers frequently had to be much more self-reliant growing a significant amount of their own food and sometimes hunting for meat. Also if a criminal came to the farm, they couldn’t call 911. In many ways, they were on their own because it could take hours or longer to alert the authorities and get help. Something else to consider is that the muskets of the 18th century were much slower to reload and much less accurate than weapons today. Someone with significant practice could get off maybe three shots in a minute, give or take. In real world circumstances, it was likely often less than three a minute. And finally, the United States of the 18th century and early 19th centuries relied heavily on militias for defense because the standing army was tiny.
In other words, the Second Amendment was written in another time when the circumstances were vastly different than today

Your assignment today is to visit that site and correct the ignorant soul.

BUT !!!

Please be nice and respectful.

 

Shoot/Don’t Shoot?

My conceal carry insurance is with USCCA.  I get a very good monthly magazine that has really good information and this month, there was also the below email about a shooting situation to discuss.

At an Enterprise, Alabama, Waffle House, one customer knocked a veteran with PTSD to the floor, the Southeast Sun reported. Management asked the attacker to leave. When the veteran arose, he asked the clerk to call the police.

He then went outside and told his attacker that the police were on the way. The attacker said he had a gun and appeared to reach into his truck. He came at the victim, slamming the veteran’s head against the wall.

The veteran then drew his lawfully carried firearm and shot the attacker in the leg. The state charged the veteran with aggravated assault, but a judge dismissed the case.

As usual, there’s information missing that I would like to know.

But, I will agree that this was a good shoot and I would say it wasn’t really a “stand your ground” case as the attacker had slammed the victim into a wall so the person would be acting in legal self defense (since the attacker stated he had a gun) and the victim would still be in mortal danger.

The mistake was following the attacker outside.

Nothing good ever comes from doing that.

 

Bad Decision, Bad Shoot………………… Update

UPDATED

Four shell casings were recovered, Scheller said, adding that they were spread out on a southbound path near Route 12, proving Glover followed the teens as he fired shots.

Police later recovered a 9mm Ruger that belongs to Glover’s girlfriend in a nearby sewer grate, Scheller said.

Glover has been charged with two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm. More serious charges could be filed at a later date while police continue to gather cellphone video, surveillance video and other evidence, Scheller said.

YEP !!!!

Criminal activity, a bad shoot and he’s boned.

=====================================================================

 

Volo shooting: 2 teens shot, 1 fatally after fight over stolen vehicle

Two teenage boys from Carol Stream were shot, one of them fatally, Sunday after getting into a fight with a Round Lake Beach man who allegedly found them in his stolen vehicle in northwest suburban Volo.

The 35-year-old man saw the boys, both 17, in his vehicle about 2:45 a.m. near Route 12 and Route 120 after it had been stolen several days earlier, according to the Lake County sheriff’s office.

The boys fled south in the vehicle on Route 12 but ran out of gas after about a mile, and pulled into a parking lot in the 30400 block of Route 12, the sheriff’s office said.

A fight ensued and at some point, someone pulled out a gun and fired shots, the sheriff’s office said. Both 17-year-olds were struck, leaving one dead and the other seriously wounded.

It’s unclear who pulled the gun and shot, but since both of the teens were shot, I will for now jump to the conclusion that the man that had his car stolen was the shooter.

Two 17 year olds from Carol Stream in Volo at 2:45 am.  Carol Stream to Volo is over 30 miles. The car was stolen several days earlier. (Round Lake Beach is 5 miles from Volo)

It will be interesting to here “The Rest Of The Story.”

Bad Decision, Bad Shoot…………………

 

Volo shooting: 2 teens shot, 1 fatally after fight over stolen vehicle

Two teenage boys from Carol Stream were shot, one of them fatally, Sunday after getting into a fight with a Round Lake Beach man who allegedly found them in his stolen vehicle in northwest suburban Volo.

The 35-year-old man saw the boys, both 17, in his vehicle about 2:45 a.m. near Route 12 and Route 120 after it had been stolen several days earlier, according to the Lake County sheriff’s office.

The boys fled south in the vehicle on Route 12 but ran out of gas after about a mile, and pulled into a parking lot in the 30400 block of Route 12, the sheriff’s office said.

A fight ensued and at some point, someone pulled out a gun and fired shots, the sheriff’s office said. Both 17-year-olds were struck, leaving one dead and the other seriously wounded.

It’s unclear who pulled the gun and shot, but since both of the teens were shot, I will for now jump to the conclusion that the man that had his car stolen was the shooter.

Two 17 year olds from Carol Stream in Volo at 2:45 am.  Carol Stream to Volo is over 30 miles. The car was stolen several days earlier. (Round Lake Beach is 5 miles from Volo)

It will be interesting to here “The Rest Of The Story.”

Shooting Pigeons Is “Unpatriotic”?

From a local 1918 newspaper:

Pigeons Needed For War Work: Don’t Shoot Them

Don’t shoot pigeons, warns Uncle Sam, It isn’t patriotic.

The birds are used on the war fronts to carry messages and the signal corps is training thousands of the Antwerp or Homing variety.

Many persons have impaired this branch of the service by shooting the birds, being innocent of that fact that they are being trained for the army.

A law was passed April 19 making it unlawful to “entrap, capture, shoot, kill, possess or detain the carrier pigeon, which is owned by the United States.  Each bird bears on its leg a metal bank marked “U.S.A”  A maximum penalty of $100 fine, or imprisonment for six months, or both, is provided under the law.

It is considered unpatriotic to shoot pigeons of any kind as the person indulging in this pastime cannot differentiate between the ordinary and the homing pigeons.

 

When I was a kid, I unknowingly shot a banded pigeon.

 

 

Shoot/Don’t Shoot?

My conceal carry insurance is with USCCA.  I get a very good monthly magazine that has really good information and this month, there was also the below email about a shooting situation to discuss.

Friendly Fire Isn’t
According to WFMZ News, 27-year-old Darrell J. Mussa robbed an Allentown, Pennsylvania, beer store at gunpoint. Moments later, he robbed a pizza store in the same shopping center.

The pizza store clerk saw Mussa’s gun, gave up the money, then ran for the back of the store. The robber scooped up the cash and turned to leave. Turning, he saw the owner of the beer store he just robbed. Mussa raised his gun.

The beer store owner shot first, fatally wounding Mussa. The clerk, who fled, was hit in his buttocks by a stray round from the beer store owner. The district attorney did not file charges.

In Review:

Every situation is different, but here are the key takeaways:

• Legal: When the robber left the beer store, the threat to the store owner terminated. There was no need for self-defense. The owner’s pursuit could be attributed to a desire for revenge.
While the DA declined to prosecute the store owner — ruling it self-defense — pursuing the robber was outside the bounds of self-defense. He inserted himself in a different situation.

He is very lucky he was not charged. However, the injured clerk could easily file a personal injury lawsuit against him.
• Tactical: Private citizens do not have police powers. There is no right way to chase a felon unless you have a badge. Had police encountered the store owner armed with a weapon and pursuing the suspect, he could have been shot or killed.

What did the person in this incident do right? What would you have done differently?

The DA probably made the prudent decision.

There is not enough information given to know what the beer store owner was doing when the robber saw and fired his gun.  If the beer store owner had his weapon up and was a threatening the robber, I might go with charges against him.  But if his weapon was down and the robber drew on him, then I wouldn’t agree with criminal charges.  The DA might have thought he would have a hard time getting a conviction with a dead bad guy and two robbery victims.

BUT !!!

I certainly would not have pursued the robber out.

You are a civilian, it is not your job or responsibility to chase a bad guy.

You do not have the legal protections that a LEO has.

DON’T DO IT !!!

A “New” Holster………

A short time ago, I purchased a second holster, this one from “We The People Holsters”.  They are advertisers on the Dan Bongino show and I thought I would give them a try.

I have had my “Alien Gear” holster for about three years and it is mostly good.

“Alien Gear” of the left, “We The People” on the right

Both of these holsters are inside the waistband and right-handed, but worn on my left. It’s on my left mostly because on my right side, it hits the seatbelt buckle in my car when I drive.

I have liked the Alien Gear but there is a problem when I kneel down (I kneel because I can’t bend !!), sometimes the back unhooks from my belt and rides up and is loose !!!  Now, It may just be because I wear a crappy walmartium belt.  Yes, as Phil suggests, we should pay the money and get a great belt that last a long time instead of replacing them with cheap crap every few years.

The WTP holster clips on very well.  A bad thing is that I was not able to get a holster for my S&W 380 EZ, so I got the S&W Compact 9mm which is very, very close to size/shape etc of the 380. BUT !!!!!!!!!!!!  There is a tendency for the holster to hit the mag release button and the mag pops out.  Some people look at you funny in the grocery store when that happens !!  This holster is very good on the shorts I usually wear when I do my yard work and I wear it at my 6 o’clock.

This holster is all hard plastic and the top of it really digs into my side.

The Alien Gear Holster has two clips.  You can see in the photo that the clips pivot and move and don’t always clip on very tight.

The best part is the Kydex that is much softer than the hard plastic and really does not bother my side like the hard plastic holster.

I think my best bet is to get a much better belt.

I would also like to be able to have the gun be lower so the grip is just about belt level.

 

John Wick 3

I finally saw “John Wick 3.”

Actually, I should say “I eventually saw John Wick 3.” If I use the word “Finally”, I think that it implies that I had wanted to see the movie at some time.
Why would I not want to see JW3?  Because I saw JW2 !!!
I think I’m being kind by saying that JW2 was a cinematic piece of crap.

“John Wick” was almost a perfect movie.
Great story
Great action
Great characters
GREAT ORIGINAL PREMISE

And then they shit all over that when they went for the franchise money grab and made JW2.

Seriously, John Wick has a bullet proof suit and shoots everyone in the head, but no one else has a bullet proof suit and never shoots John Wick in the head.

Now, let’s move on to JW3.

WOW !!!

The number of times that John got the literal shit beat out of him (but still won the fight).

He looked old and tired while he was getting beat. (and yet he still beat the younger and more skilled fighters)

The best part of the original movie was that the fighting and shooting scenes were entertaining without going over the top to laughably ridiculous.

In JW3, every person John Wick fights is better, younger ,faster, healthier and yet John wins every fight.  My wife was impressed with the fight in the glass room. What a turd !!! At that point John should have been dead 30 plus times, completely crippled and yet HE WINS AGAIN !!!!!

The shooting scenes.

One tip for the director:

LONGER DOESN’T MEAN BETTER !!!!!

For crying out loud !!

The  Casablanca shootout (with the absolutely horrible Halle Berry character) went on way too long  at about 5 1/2 minutes!!

The the great “Vigo has Mayhem task a crew shootout” in John Wick, lasts about 2 1/2 minutes including substantial amounts of most excellent hand to hand combat.

At some point in JW3, all of the shooting feels like range practice.

More shooting, more action did not make JW3 a good movie nor did it make up for the ridiculous plot.

Is there a lack of opportunity for Keanu Reeves to work and do quality projects that’s he’s forced to be involved in horrible sequels? (I’m looking at you Matrix and John Wick!)

12 Gauge Brass Shell

My dad has been cleaning out the last of his old barns and he dropped off a small box of old brass “stuff.”  One of the items was a brass shotgun shell:

(Click image to embiggen)

(Click image to embiggen)

Unless the value of this item is in the $1.1 million range, I don’t care about the value.

Not sure what I want to do to clean it up or just leave it as is.

 

 

I think this photo may be from about 1920.

My brother has the pump shotgun on the left.  Don’t know the make/model, haven’t looked at it in a long time.

I shot it about 5 times when I was probably 10-12 years old and that’s the last time I fired a shotgun.

I shot many,many,many,many sparrows, pigeons, starlings and other feathered vermin with the .22 lr when I was a kid and regretted never getting a .410 for blasting pests.

(Click image to embiggen)

 

I transcribe newspaper articles from microfilm (1875-1920) about the little town I grew up in and it was common for a lot of people to carry a pistol with them.  A few gun accidents as well.  But there were far more buggy accidents and deaths due to farm machinery than the guns. 

 

 

Price Gouging The Ammo

I fully understand supply and demand and am fully aware of the current guns/ammo situation, but holy &$%@ with the prices:


$1.50 a round for 380???

I bought this back in January for 33 cents a round !!
I have "enough" ammo for my guns but it will certainly put a limit on training.

Vacation: Day 6

Today I shot some shit (and drank a beer)

Checking the log book, I hadn’t shot ANYTHING since the first week of February !!

Went out for a quick shoot at my brother’s range on a nice hot summer day.

I went out a few days earlier to find some 380 ammo and what I was able to find was not what I wanted.  I wanted to do a quick test and see if it was accurate for my gun (Smith & Wesson 380 EZ)

10 rounds on the left for “Winchester 95 grain full metal jacket flat nose”.  On the right, “Browning 95 grain full metal jacket flat nose”.  If you know who Paul Harrell is, you’ll know that when he lists ammo specs, it’s just a single line !!!

380_7_Yards

OK, other than I need to adjust my sights a little, it looks like both brands of ammo are consistent.  The black circles are 4″s.

I need to do this test with my hollow points that’s my carry ammo but those are about $1.00 each !! But it needs to be done.

Everyone can stand at a firing line and shoot little groups.  Let’s kick up the training a little and try shooting while advancing on your target.  I only do this once in a while but it’s good to do and it’s fun.  You can explore my yootube channel if you want to see shooting in the woods which is lots of fun and I would hope it helps with the training too !  4 rounds in the first mag and 8 in the reload.

380_Forward

I goofed up and shot the target with a mag from my Beretta M9 22 so there are some extra holes.  The paper size is 11X17 for perspective.  I think I will do this drill more often.