From Insty, with my response:
I once had a chance to pick up one of these from a private collection, but the owner never turned his back on me, the cad.
Category: The Gun Thing
Not just the guns, but all the stuff that goes with them
Step Up To The Plate, Mr. President
A lot of the time, politics is all about action: doing things that will make a difference, one hopes with a positive or good outcome.
But a positive or good outcome can also come from doing nothing, as Jenny Sensiba points out:
ATF just took a big hit in federal court. U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix has ruled in Jensen v. ATF that the government can no longer enforce the National Firearms Act registry for things like suppressors and short-barreled rifles.
The legal logic is pretty straightforward, even in a world where case law often treats the Second Amendment like a second-class right. Last year, Congress zeroed out the $200 transfer tax in the One Big Beautiful Bill. Back in 1937, the Supreme Court only allowed the National Firearms Act to exist because it was a tax framework, barely keeping it within the theoretical powers of Congress.
With the tax now gone, the constitutional justification that anti-gun courts have had for fingerprinting you and making you wait months for a piece of paper is no longer there, leaving the court with no choice but to rule the NFA unconstitutional.
Don’t go out and assemble that SBR yet, though. Judge Hendrix put a seven-day hold on his ruling so the Department of Justice can appeal. And the ruling will only apply to the plaintiffs and their members.
But, here’s the part you might not know: The DOJ doesn’t actually have to defend the NFA. They’re under no obligation at all to appeal the ruling.
And as Sensiba points out:
Sure, career government lawyers usually file appeals automatically to defend federal laws. They see it as their job. But, the DOJ is part of the executive branch, and President Trump is the guy at the top. He’s the one who signed the One Big Beautiful Bill into law that zeroed out the tax in the first place. Just as President Obama chose to have his DOJ decline to defend laws banning gay marriage, Trump can just as easily leave the NFA out in the legal cold and let it starve to death.
All it takes is one phone call to the [now confirmed] Attorney General telling the DOJ to stand down and decline to appeal.
With this satisfactory outcome:
In a week, if you’re a member or customer of one of the plaintiffs, you can order a suppressor or build that SBR or SBS. In two months, the ruling will become permanent and future administrations can’t appeal.
I guess now we’ll see whether DJT actually does believe in the Second Amendment — part of that pesky Constitution thing he swore to uphold and defend, twice. Just one email (a phone call doesn’t cut it) to the DoJ to say: “Stand back and do nothing.” (One thought: if our new USAG is the man Trump has suggested he is, he wouldn’t need any assistance from POTUS — that would be an even better outcome.)
Of course, there’s going to be weeping and wailing, gnashing of teeth and rending of garments from the Usual Suspects in the Gun Control Industry. But hell, every time Trump does anything, there’s weeping and wailing, gnashing of teeth and rending of garments from some bunch of Lefties or other — so why should this be any different?
It’s time to get the “F” out of the ATF.
When It Absolutely, Positively
…has to work every time it’s used, and not break, not ever.
I speak here of the dangerous game rifle — that final guarantee that the hunter won’t turn into his prey’s prey.
Now before I go any further, I need to back up a little. In the recent past, I’ve been somewhat scornful of “luxury brands” — you know what I mean: $100,000 watches, $2million Ferraris, and, in our gunny world, $200,000 (secondhand) Purdey shotguns… the list goes on and on.
Then you get a gun manufacturer who creates a piece that is admittedly expensive – horrendously expensive — but that expense is somewhat mitigated by the fact that what their product promises is actual infallibility. I speak here of J. Rigby’s “Rising Bite” double rifle, which is generally available only in super-manly chamberings like .416 Rigby Magnum, .470 NE (Nitro Express) and still larger diameters. (Excuse me, I need to go and pop an ibuprofen tab because my shoulder is starting to ache, just by thinking of these massive projectiles.)
Here’s what it looks like:
And here’s the “Rising Bite” itself:
Here’s an explanation of how it works, and why it’s necessary.
Here’s one in .470 NE that recently sold for about $35,000:
Note the Rising Bite:
Excuse me… .470 Nitro? I need another ibuprofen.
I should also point out that any proper double rifle is expensive (see this Karl Ferlach beauty here).
There is one last thing to be said, however.
While I yield to no man in my admiration for Rigby’s guns, I should point out that while their double rifles may well be worth the cost of ownership, I don’t think that’s necessarily true of their bolt-action rifles. Why?
Because Rigby’s bolt actions are built on that of the venerable Mauser 98 (link in pic):
It’s lovely, but honestly: at $25,000 secondhand? You’re paying for the brand. Me, I’d rather get a brand-new Mauser 98 for just over half the price (link ditto):
Same action, same durability and reliability… absent the desire to impress your hunting buddies when you uncase it at the hunting camp, it’s not really even a question. (And yeah, I’m a sucker for just about any Mauser over some fancy English trinket; go ahead and sue my ancient Boer ass.)
Honestly, no experienced PH is going to curl his lip when you take that bad boy out of the case to sight it in. (Incidentally,”sighting in” at a hunting camp is not only about sighting in your rifle to check that it hasn’t been damaged in transit, it’s also to reassure the PH that you know what the hell you’re doing.)
And finally: if anyone is thinking of doing an African safari anytime soon, let me know. I do have some small knowledge of the topic in question, but by now that knowledge is severely out of date (although I do know a couple of good Seffrican hunting outfitters.). Rather let me get the latest scoop from Mr. Free Market and Doc Russia, who are very experienced at the thing. Also, you may want to be on good terms with your bank manager… the cost of a decent rifle is not the greatest expense you’ll incur.
Undersea Solution
I see that this has happened yet again in the Bay of Biscay:
Orcas have sunk a yacht off Spain‘s north-west coast after ramming another three in the same area. Two people on board the pleasure craft called Idem had to be rescued after their rudder was destroyed and their boat began to sink.
This is not the first time I’ve commented on this phenomenon, but I think the time has come for us to explore the topic more thoroughly.
It seems to me that these orcas are getting a little too big for their boots, so to speak, attacking humans at will and endangering lives. So it’s time we reminded these assholes just who is at the top of the predator scale, with a little massive retaliation.
I know, I know: there aren’t many problems that can’t be solved with a sufficient quantity of high explosives.
Of course, that would end the problem right there. But there are admittedly a few problems when it comes to arming pleasure craft with high-explosive devices of this type.
First and foremost, of course, is that for some reason Teh Orthoriteez — especially of the Euro type — seem to look askance at private citizens exercising their right to self defense. If there’s any depth-charging to be done, they would say, then we’re the ones who are going to do it. Except they won’t, as we all know, because the Usual Suspects in the Pore Likkul Animules Support Group might get upset.
Second comes the problem of supply. Because of said Gummint reluctance, depth charges are not just things you can buy off the rack at your friendly Merchant Of Death’s establishment — not even in Florida or Texas, let alone in Spain.
Third is that the delivery device of said things can spoil the looks of one’s pleasure craft / yacht:
Finally [sic], while depth charges are unquestionably a worthy solution to the orca problem, one has to admit that it’s something of an overkill solution, like using C4 to rid yourself of that fire-ant nest in your backyard. In both cases there is likely a chance of some collateral damage — in the Bay of Biscay, for example, a whole bunch of otherwise-edible fishies are going to get pulverized, as would your neighbor’s foundations in the fire-ant scenario.
There is at least one solution.
…or, seeing that it’s Spain we’re talking about, I’m sure there are a few of these still lying around:
Now granted, it may be difficult to lay one’s hands on either of the above, but it would be easier than getting both depth charges and their delivery device. And let’s be honest, they don’t take up a lot of storage room.
No, I think that a box of these would be a perfect solution to the problem, especially as they require only a Mark I launch mechanism:
or 
And should some nautical federales show up, wanting to search the boat for any reason, the said devices are easily disposed of just by dropping them over the other side of the boat. (It may not be advisable to get rid of them by tossing them at the fuzz, though.)
Anyway, those are my thoughts. Any comments?
Quote Of The Day
From these guys, talking about the response of Virginians to the latest round of socialist-inspired gun restrictions:
“When government signals that it wants to restrict a constitutional right, people often become more determined to exercise it.”
Which is what happened in Virginia. Somewhere out there, I can hear the chuckles of native Virginians Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.
Quote Of The Day
From Reader Mike S.:
“Bloody High Standard pistols require as much fiddling as a Jaguar with SU carburetors.”
Made me giggle, that did.
But he speaketh da troof. I once had a Supermatic Trophy, like this one:
…and it was absolute mustard. But it was like an Alfa Romeo: it was a dream to run, until it stopped working. Which was often.
I’d just had it tweaked by Richard The Gunsmith, and took it to the range to see if it worked. I set up in the lane, and was taking it out of the bag when another shooter came up to me.
“You wanna sell that High Power?”
“Not really.”
“I’ll give you $600, cash, right now.”
“You collect High Powers?”
“Uh-huh. And that’s the purtiest one I’ve seen in years.”
So we settled on $700, and I used the money to buy something else — memory fails as to what gun, exactly.