Virginia Flashpoint #1

From Reader Mike C comes this email:

Like many Virginia voters, the speed at which the combination of the legislators and governor moving to the Democrat side and the pending legislative session yielding draconian gun laws and possible door to door confiscation caught me by surprise. Politics up to this point has been a bit of a genteel affair, with the Dems and Reps making small changes one way or another and the pendulum swinging slowly this way and that.. until now. As I’m sure you have heard, it’s about to get real here.
So to summarize what I’m sure you already know, they are set to pass gun control laws outlawing evil black guns, any pistol that holds more than 9 rounds, any shotgun that holds more than 6, and similar magazine restrictions on rifles. Apparently it will be a felony to own any of these. Most counties including mine have passed resolutions saying they will not enforce such laws. However, for my purple county, the board of supervisors will turn into a Democrat majority in January and that resolution will be overturned. Since the new laws will not grandfather in previously purchased firearms, it will have the immediate effect of making millions of lawful gun owners instant felons. If that doesn’t make your blood run cold, nothing will.
How does this affect me personally? Well, as perhaps you may recall from previous discussions, I have never liked pistols much as I never was very good with one, even though I was a competitive rifle shooter as a young man and qualified and carried a 1911 in the army. That, coupled with living and working in the pastoral suburbs means I never felt the need to carry and don’t own a pistol, evil large mag or otherwise. I do own a few bolt action classics in various calibers and a few single shot shotguns that for now are safe from prosecution. Having carried and disliked the M16 during my Army days, I am not a fan of nor own any evil black rifles. However I do have what you would call a standard plinking tool, a semi-auto .22 whose round count in the tube capacity will run afoul of the new law and make me a felon.
While I can stow my felony-inducing .22 with relatives in another state, the question is, should I, and what should / can I do to protect myself and my family from this tyranny where millions of Virginians will now face a midnight knock on the door because some neighborhood informant has clued the Stasi in on our felony possession of a semi-auto .22 (which frankly doesn’t shoot that well, is a pain to clean, an antique, and frequently jams and misfires)?
The rebel in me wants to go to the final gun show of the year (or ever) this coming weekend and purchase a evil black rifle lower, just so I can show solidarity with the black rifle brethren. What if a lot of people did that? On one hand, it would definitely send a message. On the other hand prosecutors across the state would rejoice, because they would significantly increase their conviction rates due to better leverage in plea bargain negotiations.
A friend tells me there is going to be a rally on the 20th in Richmond to let the legislators know how we feel. Having gone that route with the tea party on the Mall and seen it have no real effect, and knowing the new legislators and governor are sufficiently bought and paid for, I know such demonstrations are really just pissing in the wind. I would not be surprised to see Antifa and even neo-Nazis show up just to make the legitimate protesters look like kooks for the media. Worse yet, just like the tea party and anti-abortion yearly protest, these demonstrations will probably be ignored by the media, no matter how many people show up.
The question still remains though, what is the right thing for an average guy to do? It’s all well and good to speak of pitchforks, ropes, and trees, but having faced down apartheid, you know better than most how quickly and devastatingly resistance can degenerate into Sarah Host’s dystopian “blood in the streets”. I fear for my state in this. Worse, the police here will be faced with millions of newly minted, hostile felons. What then? On top of that, with so many new “criminal class” citizens, what will be the real criminal class response against the weakened sheep and hunkered down police?
The best case here is that the police will take no positive action as a result of this new legislation. While there will be millions of new de facto felons, they will only be changed incidental to detainment for other reasons – traffic stops, self defense, 911 calls, divorce fights, and Swatting incidents among them. The only real recourse I see for us is to try to do something about our severely compromised voting system and hope that enough Virginians remain enraged enough to overcome the fraud factor in a year or two. Or move, and a few years after that pen a heart rendering ode entitled “Let Virginia Sink”.
Your thoughts?

Let’s address the low-hanging fruit here first.  My advice:  ditch the unreliable old .22 rifle and get yourself a new one — say a Ruger 10/22 — which has the advantage of being so popular, not to say ubiquitous and which means that (bet on it) that any future legislation will “grandfather” ownership of said rifles.  Also, get a boatload of spare 10-round mags (5-10 would be a good benchmark) in case your politicians ban future sales thereof.  Also, at least a couple thousand rounds of .22 LR in case the fuckers ban purchase of “large” quantities.

In that same vein, let’s talk about getting an Evil Black Rifle (EBR).  Don’t get an AR-15 lower, because these bastards will just include them in the ban and worse, you won’t have a usable gun.  Get a working gun — AR or AK — and if you want to circumvent a magazine ban, get an SKS.  I know, it only has a 5  10-round mag, but you would be surprised how quickly you can load 7.62x39mm rounds with a stripper clip.  Ordinarily, I’d recommend getting a Russian one (as below, with integrated eeeevil bayonet), and not the non-Chinese Type 56 SKS, but if needs must… [sigh]

What’s more important is to lay in not a boatload, but a Carnival Cruise liner-sized load of ammo.

Here’s why I want you to get an EBR:  the more EBRs that are out there in citizens’ hands, the more difficult it would be to pass legislation against them, and even greater the difficulty in confiscation thereof.

If you are worried about doing this (and I can quite understand your trepidation, btw), then you must  get a semi-auto 12- or 20-gauge shotgun, which are pretty much un-bannable because of their ubiquity.  I’ll leave the brand choice up to you, but if there’s a money constraint, Mossberg makes an excellent line of budget guns, such as the 930 or SA-20, for around $500.  (Get the wooden-stocked “sporting” model so it looks less scawwwy to the gun-grabbing assholes.)

Now all that said, I think the Bastard Gun Controllers [some redundancy]  may find it a little more difficult to start their little confiscation reindeer games, if people like this are to be believed (emphasis added):

If the Virginia legislators want to push this issue, it could get ugly. And oh, by the way, plan on seeing the vast majority of the Virginia National Guard become Conscientious Objectors. It will be really hard for them to arrest cops and confiscate guns when none of them will carry the necessary arms to enforce said arrests and confiscations.
How do I know this? I am one of them and will be one of the first to lay down my gun and walk away. I will not be a pawn in a tyrannical game of human chess. Neither will most of the men and women I serve with.

Bravo, my son.  Let’s hope it never gets this far.

And for the rest of us, who live in the United States and not Virginia, California, New York or Illinois, etc., we need to be on our guard, constantly, lest our own states start moving in this direction.  With the constant invasion of fucking socialists from so-called “liberal” states, what’s happened in Virginia could happen to any of us.

Let’s start talking to our local pols, and remind all of them exactly what they’re up against if they even begin  to think of cute little stunts like Virginia’s pols are planning to enact.  Start with the city and town politicians, move out to the county government, and make sure they and the state legislators know exactly where they stand.  Let’s get into their  faces first.

And FFS, join your local 2A organization like the TSRA and such, no matter how ineffectual you think they are, because if their numbers are suddenly swelled by a hundred thousand new (and more fervent) 2A supporters, they will have to change too.  Never mind the NRA for the moment — because this battleground is going to be in your area and in your face, not at the national level;  and to be honest, the NRA is often worse than useless in any kind of local activism.

Trust, Religion And Institutions

I like this post, especially this excerpt:

The soft, feminine authoritarianism we see in the West is a free rider. It is possible because of the inertia from the old high trust societies that came before it. If Finland faced a real crisis, one that threatened its existed, the first thing that happens is their pixie of prime minister is replaced with a serious person. The same would be true in Canada, where their gender fluid prime minister is mostly a luxury item.

Which leads me to a tangential point.  Generally speaking, if Z-man is correct, weak rulers are an indulgence during times of peace and/or prosperity in democratic societies.  Harsh times, as he indicates, call for strong leaders — Churchill in 1940, De Gaulle in 1959, Pinochet in 1973 and Reagan in 1981.  And taking Canada as an example, they have been able to elect essentially weakling prime minister pretty much forever  (e.g. Trudeau Mark I and II in the 1970s and 2010s, respectively), living as they do under the protection of the United States.  I refer to them (and that Millennial Finnish premier) as “dilettante” leaders because in good times, they are not really harmful and can play at being leaders.

Now ask yourself these two questions:

  • Is the United States in such a position of peace, prosperity and security that we can afford to indulge ourselves with a weak leader?
  • Is there a single  Democrat presidential candidate that can not be described as a dilettante leader?  To put the question into perspective:  in any negotiation with China’s Xi, Russia’s Putin or even Iran’s Khameini, would the putative Democrat president (i.e. from any of the current candidates) emerge as the victor?  Put another way:  can any of the above candidates be favorably compared to, say, a stronger Democrat president such as Harry Truman?

Every leader in the world knew who was the stronger adversary when faced with Eisenhower, Nixon and Reagan.  And they all likewise knew who was the stronger when the U.S. President was Jimmy Carter — who, by the way, is an absolute colossus compared to Buttigieg, Biden, Warren and the other socialist stooges.

I also think that most Americans who don’t believe in pixie dust, unicorns and Communism understand this concept absolutely;  which, by the way, explains why Republican voters chose Trump over the other Republican candidates in 2016, and why Ted Cruz — who is not a dilettante candidate — was their second choice, albeit a distant second.

Given the current state of the world and our position in it — and thus understanding that the United States cannot really ever indulge itself with a weak president — the choice facing us in Election 2020 is quite clear.  This is no time for a boutique president — it’s never a good time for a Marxist president — and I’m pretty sure that we Americans know it.

Monday Funnies

It’s the Monday before Christmas.  Try to contain your excitement.

So on to Christmas:

(just a little “historian” humor there)

(I know I’ve posted it before, but I still get a giggle from it)

And on that same topic:

And speaking of elves:

…thus combining two of my favorite themes:  Christmas and Train Smash Women.

Oh all right.  Just so we don’t make Monday even worse, here are a few real elves:

Good Shooting

Some guy has put together a video of the Best-Shooting Pistols.  Frankly, I’ll take his word for it, because I do not ever  want to get into a gunfight with him.  Watch the video to see why.

This, folks, is why one needs to practice a lot — although I will admit that having a little gun range in one’s backyard (as he does) without any discernible neighbors in the area doesn’t hurt.  If I had one of those, I’d be the world’s best .22 rifle shooter (and have the world’s largest collection of .22 rifles with burnt-out barrels).

Anyway, the pistols (from #5 to #1):

  • CZ P10-F (full-size version of the P10-C)
  • Walther PPQ Q5 Match (steel-frame)
  • Archon Type B (I’d heard of this German gun, but never actually seen one before)
  • CZ 75 Shadow 2 Black & Blue (finally, a decent and affordable DA/SA competition-ready pistol, and even the base 75B is hardly a slouch)
  • STI 2011 (beloved by competitive shooters;  also:  available in .45 ACP or 9mm — apparently, any caliber — but its 9mm mags hold 27 rounds).

Honorable mentions:  Browning P35 High Power;  S&W M&P 2.0 5″, Glock 34.

After watching the video a couple-three times, I came to realize two things:  1) I have got  to shoot more often, and 2) I need to look at the CZ Shadow 2.  (Forget about the STI;  I can’t even afford the “base” model Staccato P.)

Hell, at least I have a High Power.  Now all I have to do is ahem  practice a bit more.

Musketry

I have spoken often of my old high school, St. John’s College in Johannesburg, and of its rigorous academic- and sporting regimen.

What I haven’t talked much about was one of the extra-curricular activities called “cadets”.  This was a military course:  close-order drill, full dress uniforms and discipline.  It took place once a week during school hours, and would involve getting dressed into uniform before school started, then breaking from class, going to the armory, drawing our drill rifles (decommissioned SMLEs), then running in formation down the stairs you see in the above pic, and drilling on the “A” rugby field.  (pic is not of us, but another school)

At the end of the drill period, we would run back up the stairs to the school and to our houses, where we showered, changed back into school uniform and continued with regular classes.

Of course, discipline was harsh because private school duh (to the point where most private schoolboys, once drafted, would find actual Army boot camp not too onerous).  “Defaulters” was feared — boots not shiny enough?  uniform not pressed?  not drilling properly?  late for parade?  etc. — and Defaulters involved one hour after school or on Saturday morning spent running up and down said stairs (two hundred and twenty-seven, ask me how I know this), carrying the aforesaid rifles overhead and shouting “Coll-ege!  Coll-ege!”

Secretly, I loved cadets.  I loved the polishing of my boots (to where you could tell the time in their toecaps’ reflection), I loved the precision of the drill, I liked the camaraderie of the shared misery with my buddies;  but most of all, I loved Musketry.

Once a week, instead of drawing SMLEs, one lucky platoon would draw BSA-Martini falling-block single-shot .22 rifles from the armory and head off to the 50-yard shooting range for an hour and a half of target shooting.  Here’s the rifle we used:

…the rear aperture sights requiring adjustment (“side screw one click, top screw two clicks”) as we shot.  (The range master was a U.S. Marine Corps Korean veteran from Georgia, a.k.a. the school chaplain.)  We shot from prone, unsupported (“no dead-resting!”) and the greatest disappointment of the day was the final “Cease Fire!  Cease Fire!” command, delivered in Fr. Fitzhugh’s stentorian bellow (“Sayce Fahr!” was what it actually sounded like).

With my old and decrepit eyes, I probably couldn’t shoot this vintage thing for peanuts these days, but despite that I would head off to Collectors and get this beauty in a heartbeat, if I had the spare dollars.

Nostalgia is its own reward.

Comparison

Following my post about the Brno ZKM-611, Reader JohnF asks in an email:  “The 611 is a non-starter because it’s so expensive.  If you like CZ’s semi-auto rimfire rifles so much, why not just go for the newer 512 model?”  (I should add, for those who don’t know, that CZ eliminated the “Brno” brand, but the CZ/Brno labels are essentially the same gun, e.g. Brno 602 = CZ 550 Safari.)

Good question.  Here’s a look back at the 611, followed by the 512 (both in .22 WinMag):

 

Fact is, if I were looking to buy a semi-auto .22 WinMag rifle, I’d give the CZ 512 a long, hard look simply because it’s a CZ.  But if I wanted to add a beautiful  rifle to my meager collection, gimme the Brno any day of the week.  Is the 611 hundreds of dollars better  than its successor?  Nope, but that’s not the question.

And the 611 is a takedown rifle, whereas the 512 isn’t.  That feature also points to the ZKM-611 as the better choice.


Digression:

I should also point out that new  semi-auto .22 WinMag rifles other than the CZ 512 are like hen’s teeth, simply because Ruger stopped making their 10/22M line, the idiots.  Apparently they claimed unsolvable feeding issues for the decision, but I never had that problem, not once.  I wish I’d never sold mine.

As far as I can see, the only other manufacturer currently making a .22 WinMag semi-auto rifle is Savage, with their A22 Magnum.  Predictably, being Savage, it’s pig-ugly:

But on the other hand, the A22 features Savage’s excellent Accu-Trigger, so it should be a worthy alternative to the CZ 512.  (I’ve never fired the A22 before, so I can’t say.)  Savage also claims to have fixed the .22 WinMag’s alleged feeding problem by making it a delayed blowback action.  Typically, the A22 sells for just over $400 as I write this, compared to the CZ 512’s $500+ (although it’s discounted by $100 at Cabela’s).

And here’s a side-by-side comparison of the two.  The CZ 512 wins, hands down, in just about every department.  Clearly, the $100 premium is worth it.

Now where did I put that piggy bank?