My favorite toy
I was going to write a bit about this article (Is The .22 Mag Overrated?), but after just a little digging in the archives, I discovered that I’ve talked lots and lots about the thing and I wouldn’t want to get boring on the topic.
So y’all can just go and read what Will Brantley has to say. It’s all good.
I like his rifle setup, by the way, even if it does have a plastic fantastic stock:
Apparently, CNN (who? I dunno, never heard of them either) seems to have a problem with Dads buying their kids guns for Christmas:
CNN began the article with a story of an Oregon dad, Paul Kemp, who bought a hunting rifle for his son, Nathan, when he turned 16 years old. Nathan had been hunting with his dad since he was 7 years old.
CNN then stated, “Parents looking to purchase a firearm for their child for the holidays have to balance their hopes for the gift with the risks that come with such a purchase, such as an accidental shooting, suicide or the gun being used in a crime.”
In an attempt to bolster their position, CNN said, “For example, the teenage school shooting suspects in Oxford, Michigan, and Winder, Georgia, allegedly used firearms they had received as Christmas gifts from their parents, and those parents have faced criminal charges.”
I don’t want to get into dueling statistics here, but I just wonder how many deaths have been caused by teenagers getting into road accidents with cars given them by their parents?
Never mind; giving guns to our kids for Christmas is a tradition that goes back generations, as these few ads prove:
Of course, as the Left hates the very concepts of both tradition and the family with a passion, these would be seen as pure evil.
Me, I just wish we could see more of them, updated for today’s market.
And I absolutely love this one:
…because as any fule kno, every man should have owned at least one Mauser in his lifetime.
Those wiseguys at GarandThumb have a blast with an old 1911, and then compare it to a modern tricked-out 1911.
A brilliant — I mean brilliant — intro, and a conclusion about the old 1911 which made me nod with agreement.
As some other wise-ass once said:
Lawrence Person asks the important question:
The Secret Service agent that engaged the would-be Trump golf course assassin missed six shots despite being five feet away.
How does that even happen? How can even you even miss from that close?
It’s a really good, and ultimately important question.
I remember that in a long-ago post castigating law enforcement for being terrible shots, one of my Readers commented that while my comments might be true of the average city cop’s shooting skills, it was certainly not true of dedicated officers like those in the Secret Service.
Ha.
Perhaps the answer might lie in this little tidbit, still from Lawrence:
I’m an adequate shot (not a Secret Service agent who presumably visits a shooting range every month), but I don’t think I could miss a human target from that range.
Forget monthly. How about weekly? Actually (and I admit to not knowing the truth of this), I might be persuaded to bet that the SS quali sessions are annual, or at best quarterly.
And in my own case, I am no more than an adequate handgun shot (as anyone who has shot with me will attest) but bloody hell, I shoot my carry 1911 about three times a month, and if I can’t put all eight shots from my first mag into a palm-sized group at 15 feet (three times more than the five above), I keep shooting until I get at least four mag loads in a row into that area. (If I dump the first mag successfully, I might only do a couple more mags, just to be sure.)
Generally speaking, my first magazine’s boolets tend to end up inside a 2″ hole at 15 feet, with a flyer — and this comes as a result of endless, self-critical practice because as I said, I’m only an adequate handgun shot.
Hell, I shoot my 2″ backup S&W Airweight snubby more accurately than that clueless SS agent, and I only practice with it about every other month. (Which reminds me… I need to shoot it later today — pack a box or two of .38s, Kim, and you might as well do a little with the bedside .357 while you’re there.)
Jeff Cooper would have wanted it that way.
Here’s a thought for whoever’s going to be in charge of the President’s protection detail: weekly quali sessions, with a very exacting standard for marksmanship (e.g. like mine). And for anyone who fails to meet that standard, suspension from the detail for a month — said month to be spent on daily range sessions until the marksmanship improves.
This job is too important to be delegated to Barney Fife types — and especially so as Trump has already proven to be a tempting target for assholes. That hapless agent who missed from five feet should be fired, period.
That I should even have to say all this makes me want to puke.
Reader Mike L. asks if this qualifies as a Righteous Shooting. Why yes, yes it does:
Cecil Batiz, 16, died from a gunshot wound during the incident, which unfolded at the 8400 block of the South I-10 Service Road in New Orleans East. The robbery occurred shortly before 8 p.m. when Batiz and another suspect, 18-year-old Teony Juarez, entered the store armed and demanded cash.
Surveillance footage revealed the moments leading up to the fatal shooting.
The video shows Batiz brandishing a gun with an extended magazine at the store employee behind the counter. The employee complied, handing over cash, while the suspects stole items.
As the suspects’ attention shifted, the employee retrieved a firearm and opened fire, striking Batiz, who collapsed to the floor. The footage also shows Batiz moving slightly on the ground. The employee then fired additional shots. Batiz died at the scene, officials said.
Juarez was also shot but survived. He was later arrested and booked into Orleans Parish Prison on multiple felony charges, including armed robbery, illegal use of a firearm and aggravated assault with a firearm.
No charges have been filed against the employee at this time.
I should bloody well hope not. Also note that Our Hero did the proper thing by shooting until the threat was ended.
It’s too bad that he didn’t smoke both the choirboys, but let’s not quibble because the wounded asshole is going to face murder charges anyway.
Does Louisiana still have the death penalty? Asking for a friend.
My old pal, the late Airboss once said (pace the old AT&T ad) that everyone should own at least one rifle that can “reach out and touch” someone.
Here’s my candidate, which has the added benefit of almost utter silence with the proper add-on, the CVA Scout, chambered in the .300 Blackout:
Yes, it’s a single-shot rifle (but that means it’s both quiet and cheap — nothing wrong with that little scenario). Also, I would venture to suggest that if you do your part, a quick reload should be entirely unnecessary.
In fact, it’s difficult to imagine a better gun for pig-hunting, where the sound of the shot from a regular rifle makes the other pigs scatter like flies. With silence comes an excellent chance for a further pop, or three…
I also like that the Scout can also come with a short barrel (ribbed threaded for your pleasure).
I have also said in the past that hunting with a single-shot rifle is not o be sneered at, because nothing concentrates the mind better than knowing that one shot is all you’ll get. And I’m all over that one, with my own peerless Browning High Wall:
…but I must say that the CVA does make the old trigger-finger itch a little, because of its utter stripped-down utility and scope-ready rail (which the Browning does not have).
Worth some consideration, yes?