Category: The Gun Thing

Not just the guns, but all the stuff that goes with them

Welcome To OUR World

Journalist Scum, The Gun Thing

In this report about a kid caught driving at some ridiculous speed, the article’s author complains:

Sadly, authorities did not provide a photo of or details on the specific make and model Corvette, but the teenager ran for approximately 20 miles (or 10 minutes), according to a release issued by state police.

Yeah, we gunnies have the same problem.  While we applaud and congratulate hero citizens for whacking some bad guy in the act of larceny, we are never told what gun was used to send the goblin to join the Choir Invisibule (/Monty Python).

Hell, all we are told is generic shit like “handgun” or occasionally “shotgun”, which is fine, but we would really like to know the important stuff like type of gun, caliber, ammo type (e.g. whether FMJ or hollowpoint), and even more accurately, what brand or type of bullet — Remington Gold Dot 200gr, Hornady Extreme Defense 185gr, SIG Elite V-Crown 124gr, etc.  This is important information, because then we can see for ourselves how well or otherwise the boolets affect the ungodly, instead of just having to rely on the usual “ballistic gel” so beloved of ammo testers.

Equally important is where said goblin was ventilated, along with pictures of said wound.  (Okay, maybe that’s a Pic Too Far, but you get my drift, right?)

If the Jackals Of The Press (JOTP) can’t be bothered to do any research, or even push the officials for details, what’s the point of even pretending to “inform” the public?

Alarming Comparisons

The Gun Thing

Saw these SOTI:


…which made me ROFL.  That’s a good reason right there where one should strive for excellence over average, and I’m proud to say that I am — although I must say that several if not most of my Readers are probably more excellenter than I am, if you get my drift.

The second thing, though, is somewhat more alarming:

I mean, WTF?  We Texans are beaten by those rednecks I mean our fine neighbors in Oklahoma and Louisiana?  Like Orwell’s Snowball, we Texans will just have to Try Harder, and although I would like to Do My Bit, I’m only one Pore Ole Man…

I would be embarrassed by the folks in Montana and Wyoming, except that only about fifty people live there in total so the sample skews the average.

And it must be said, speaking of rednecks and hillbillies, that I am mightily impressed by the good people of West Virginia.

And on a branch line in my train of thought, I wouldn’t mind one of these, in .357 Magnum:


…or, if I don’t want to be too show-offy:


…because that case-hardened receiver is just too purty for words.

Then again, the brass Henry Golden Boy is made in Murka, while the Cimarron isn’t.

And lastly:  that Citadel thing is just too fugly for words.


…I mean, I know that to sell anything these days to the Operator 5.11 crowd you have to make it all tactical ‘n stuff, but seriously?

“Dear Federal Ammunition”

Gun/Ammo Tests, Two-Minute Hate

To whom it may concern:

re:  This stuff

Contrary to what it says on the box, this “target grade performance” .22 ammo, supposedly “ideal for semi-auto” actually isn’t any of those things, as I discovered at my favorite (indoor) range yesterday.

Out of the 325 rounds contained in said box, I experienced no fewer than 28 failures to fire (FTF) — all, it should be said, did fire the second time around — and to be frank, the “target grade” accuracy wasn’t anything to write home about, either (more on that in a bit).

Now I know what comes next:  “Your rifle isn’t working properly!  Check the firing pin!”

Ahem.  I fired 100 rounds through each of the following (same range session, btw):

By rifle (top to bottom):

Taurus Mod 63 (Winchester ’63 clone):  7 FTF
Marlin Mod 60:  8 FTF
Ruger 10/22:  9 FTF

All three were meticulously maintained and cleaned, all are either fresh out of the box or nearly so, and none has had more than 100-odd rounds fired through them.  Sorry, but a 7-9% failure rate in ammo which is supposedly “target grade” sucks dick worse than Madonna on her last Saturday night drunken pub crawl.  Honestly, I get better results from the awful Remington Gold 500-round bulk ammo.

And by the way, all the rounds fed flawlessly, whether through a tube mag or the 10/22 magazine — the rifles, in other words, were without fault.

Now for that accuracy thing.

I will frankly admit that my old eyes do not engender the best accuracy in the world with iron sights, but I’ll also suggest that a 2.5″ (best) grouping at 20 yards is not really acceptable off the bench — at least, not to me it isn’t.

So I fired off the last 25 rounds (4 FTF, FFS) through something a little more accurate — a rifle which usually gets sub-1″ groups at the same distance.  Here’s a full picture of the rifles I took to the range:

I would humbly suggest that in my shaking old hands, that Marlin 880SQ (top) is as good as any “target” rifle for the price, and better than just about any other of that type that I’ve fired before.

The result:  1.75″ (best 5-round grouping of the five strings, the others were over 2″).  So I popped off five rounds of its usual feed (CCI MiniMag 40gr), and got a 0.72″ group with a called marginal “flier” — excluding that, it was a 0.5″ single hole.  Now that’s what I call “target grade” performance.

You guys need to step up your game.  And fix your frigging priming compound.

Congress Playing Their Part

Anti-Gun Nannies, Asshole Cops, Government Thugs, The Gun Thing

Hey, how can you argue with proposed legislation to rein in the jack-booted thugs of the ATF — especially when it’s known as the RIFLE Act?

Under the Biden Administration, ATF’s zero tolerance policy forced small and mid-sized gun stores out of business. The agency revoked Federal Firearm Licenses due to minor clerical errors like missing a customer’s middle initial or using a state’s abbreviation rather than the state’s full name. In 2024 alone, ATF saw the highest levels of gun store license revocations in 20 years—the third consecutive year of increased license revocations under President Biden’s leadership. Last week, the Biden Administration claimed it reversed its zero tolerance policy. Upon further review of the updated enforcement guidance, it appears to remain fully in effect.

Rep. Mann (R-KS) told Breitbart News, “President Biden did everything in his power to weaponize the federal government against gun store owners in the Big First District of Kansas and across the country. His zero tolerance policy undermined the Second Amendment and trampled on the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens. Since day one, I have rigorously pushed back against this unconstitutional policy and fought for more oversight to rein in ATF’s abuse.”

He added, “On November 5, 2024, the country made it clear—our constitutional rights are not up for grabs. My bill makes that crystal clear by fortifying the Second Amendment rights of local gun stores and seeking to restore a degree of wholeness to individuals whose livelihoods were destroyed by this federal abuse. I look forward to working with President Trump to further strengthen the protection of the Second Amendment, deliver justice for our FFLs, and get our country back on track.”

Who’s the new head of the ATF, again?  (I know, I know:  a decent head of the ATF would rescind the enforcement instructions off his own bat — I know I would, if my application to head up the ATF had been successful.  But then again, considering that I’d have started shutting down the entire agency from Day 1 of my appointment, the whole issue would have been moot.)

Legal Oddity

Rights, The Gun Thing

When I first started looking to buy  gun, (very) shortly after I arrived here in the md-1980s, I was astounded to learn that while I could buy any long gun from an out-of-state Merchant Of Death, I could not buy a handgun in such fashion.

It made no sense to me back then, and it has never done so since, especially as the stupid NCIS-check thing (which has to be carried out before even buying a gun from an FFL in your home state) seems to make the whole issue a moot point.

Well then, lookee here:

The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) is taking on the federal ban on interstate handgun sales in their latest lawsuit. The filing is titled Elite Precision Customs v. ATF. Industry notables Tim Herron and Freddie Blish are plaintiffs alongside the FPC and Elite Precision, which is an FFL based out of Mansfield, Texas.

The federal ban makes it illegal for Herron or Blish, both of whom travel quite a bit for work, to purchase a handgun directly from Elite Precision Customs when they’re in Texas. Under current law, a handgun has to be shipped to a FFL in the buyer’s home state where the background check will be completed. If the ban can be successfully challenged, it would make it possible for people to purchase handguns directly from brick-and-mortar FFLs while visiting states in which they don’t reside.

Well, I don’t agree with the whole NCIS check thing at all anyway, but I would love to swing by a mom ‘n pop pawn shop or gun store in my travels, and pick up a handgun which caught my fancy.  (I actually stumbled on one such situation somewhere in Arizona, many years ago;  it was a peach of a 3rd Generation Colt Peacemaker, and the price was about three-quarters of what I’d expect to pay in Texas.  But noooo…)

Strikes me that if a federal law states that I need to have my ass checked before buying a gun anywhere, that a handgun should be treated no differently from, say, a shotgun.

But that would mean applying logic to Gummint — and that right there is a non-starter.  Silly me.