They say not to try it at home.  I sure as hell won’t!

H/T to Jennifer who emailed me about it

Well, I’m a practical kind of guy so I won’t be putting a GAU-8 on the list, but here is what I would get

1. Barret 82A1 with the BORS scope
2. Thompson Sub-machine gun
3. Shiloh Sharps 1874 Buffalo rifle
4. Templar Custom MCWS (Multi-Caliber Weapons System) You get 5.56 Wylde, 6.5 Grendal, and .50 Beowulf all in one package.  Sounds like a win to me.
5. Nighthawk Custom T3 .45

Yeah, that would cover most possibilities – except maybe a tank attack.

Go over to The Black Sunday Society and watch the fail

Because, you know, those little ladies should stick to .38′s and .380′s.

My suggestion to whoever is in charge over at GunsAmerica:  Reach down with both hands, grab your ears and pull until you hear your head popping out of your ass.

To this

Dirtcrashr was very kind sent me a nice large chunk of Koa wood to try out in making grips.  Needless to say, I love the stuff.  It’s dense and hard but with just a few applications of Tung Oil brought out these gorgeous colors.

I also benefited from advice from Kerry at the Smoothing Plane who answered all of my questions and pointed me in the right direction for some tools I can use, terminology and techniques.

Thank you both, gentlemen.

This particular set is unusual in that I only sanded it to 60 grit.  My dad wants a smooth set of grips for his Kimber and when he felt the last practice set that I had finished rough sanding he said the texture was perfect and he didn’t think I should take it any further. He then asked if I could make him a set for his CC pistol and offered to pay me for them.

Dad’s current set of grips has three groves in them (as you can see from the link) and he hates the way they feel.  So, I made this up for him and the only thing left is to see if he wants them oiled like they are or if he want’s them varnished.  Depending on how it goes, the rough sanded version might become part of my design lineup.

Varnishing will protect them better, but I don’t want to make them slick to the hand, so we shall soon see what it will be.  His birthday is Tuesday and these are his present.  Guess he can’t pay me for them after all 

Somewhere along the line I woke up and found my path.  I also have met a lot of really great people like Dirtcrashr who sent me a nice hunk of Koa wood and some P220 grips (yeah they finally got here) because the thought I could use them, Kerry who has been kind enough to answer all my questions about wood and wood working, Borepatch, Six, Breda (the most dangerous librarian in the world) and so many others who I know through their writings and phone calls like Michael and Jennifer

We are winning and I know why.  We have some of the best people in the world on our side.  We will help if you need it, offer encouragement to lift you up and do what we can so all of us can live safe happy lives.

God bless all of you.

The truth is that there are too many victims and they know it

She’s right, we do know this., which is why we want to make sure that there are fewer victims by enabling people to defend themselves.  There is no more effective way for any person to protect themselves against any form of violence – guns, knives, fists, bats, chains, broken bottles, pool cues – than to have a firearm.

A small woman like my wife who is 5’1 1/4″ (she’s proud that she is over the 5’1″ mark) can effectively stop an attacker that is 6’4″ and 385 lbs with a firearm.  Mace is not guaranteed to stop an attacker, neither is a tazer, emergency whistle or a candle.

During and after the candlelight vigils  to honor victims of gun violence, the gun rights extremists ramped up their rhetoric. Victims make them nervous. They don’t like victims. They say we are “dancing in the blood of victims” when we light candles and ring bells. What’s that all about anyway?

What its about is that victims don’t make us nervous, they make us sad because we KNOW that many of those victims would not be victims if they had an effective means to defend themselves – a means that YOU and your people would like to deny us under the flag of “common sense gun laws”.

I have yet to see a gun control law that has had any effect on reducing crime or stopping it.  If you look at the facts, the only effect these so called ‘common sense’ gun control laws have had is to increase crime. You can go to Stranger’s site and see for yourself.  Article after article shows when gun control laws were enacted, crime increased.  Period.  Remove the useless restrictions on gun ownership and crime goes down because the only ones who have cared about the laws to begin with weren’t criminals.

In fact, the homicide rate for 2010 has been one of the lowest ever. With more and more states allowing CCW and real common sense gun laws homicide has dropped off the top 15 causes of death in the US.  Higher gun ownership and fewer murders.

Joan, how is it possible if guns are so bad and need to be controlled that homicides have dropped when gun sales are up??  Also, how is it if guns are so bad and gun control so good that the places with the strictest gun control laws also have the highest crime rates??

As my friend Jennifer said, you are making empty gestures with your candles instead of finding actual solutions to the problem.  We have a solution – get a gun and learn how to use it.  In the end the only person that can protect you is YOU, and a candle is no protection at all.

Specialized Tactical Systems AR Zombie Killer

“Safe/Ninja/Jedi Fire Control”… seriously???

H/T to Say Uncle (who gets all the cool stuff first)

From – Shall Not be Questioned

Yep, if you can’t find a real gun owner to support your cause – make one up.  Standard lefty tactics in action.

With concealed carry laws in effect, I can’t be too lax about casual encounters anymore. I have to remind myself to be aware of any sudden movements or suspicious behavior by individuals while in public space.

Even driving back and forth from home to work takes on a new relevance. I have to make it a point to be more courteous to fellow motorists and exhibit extreme road courtesy in all situations.

You can’t be flipping anybody off in the age of concealed carry, that’s for sure.

Hate to tell you this, but a lot of holsters will do a very good job of tucking the firearm in so you won’t have that bulge. Also, the people who would be acting suspicious or having “sudden movements” are probably the bad guys and (I know, this will be hard to hear) they won’t be CC permit holders.

Thankfully, the “No Weapons Allowed in the Building” sign has been posted at my job, which was a great relief for some of us who write the kind of stories that occasionally get the public agitated.

(Thanks, boss!)

Yeah, because we all know those “No Weapons” signs are like a magic shield that makes anyone with a weapon incapable of entering the building.  Look how well it worked out at Virginia Tech.

I’ve traveled to many of the states that allow concealed carry – you probably have, too – and can attest to the fact the law doesn’t contribute to any greater or lesser sense of public safety.

Most times, you don’t even think about it.

Pro-gun advocates insist concealed carry laws lead to a decrease in crime, but statistics don’t bear that out in any discernible way. Apparently, there aren’t a lot of stories about concealed carry “heroes” rising up to stop crime.

Really??? I would love to know what stats you are looking at, because the ones I’ve seen show that the more we protect ourselves the more crime goes down.   But I am sure it’s just an aberration that crooks don’t target people when then think those individuals are armed.

I’ve heard all the arguments, but I’m still not sure why any ordinary citizen would feel the need to carry a gun in public for self-defense. What also doesn’t make sense to me is the idea that having more guns will make us safer instead of the other way around.

Uh-huh.  Heard all the arguments have you and yet you still can’t understand how a 102 lb woman would be safer when she is armed from Joe Biden’s 200 lb rapist than if she just tried to scare him of with a police whistle and a cell phone?  Are you sure you are competent to be functioning in society without a keeper then because it’s pretty damn obvious to me and a lot of other people.

Face it, you don’t trust yourself to handle a firearm and so you don’t think anyone else should have one either.

Well, I’m afraid that’s one fear you’ll either have to get over, or you can move to that gun free, crime free  paradise of Chicago.

H/T to Sebastian

Anyway, she is now thinking of getting one a bit different and with a smaller frame that fits her hand better.  To her, the Ruger is just a bit too large and slightly heavier than she likes so while we were over at Charlie’s the other day she started looking at the pistol case while I headed to the gunsmith to find out why my Browning’s slide had jammed up on me.  I had been cleaning it and when I put it all back together and attempted to rack the slide it went half way back and stopped which resulted in me using words that are not acceptable around small children, but lucky for me it was his nap time and he was upstairs. (Turns out that there was no reason, they got it working again and charged me nothing for the service).

Once the guys in the gunsmith shop had worked their magic, which took them less than five minutes, I met up with her and our son Insight near the revolvers and had a very nice talk with the man behind the counter who showed us a number of very sweet pistols.  He talked to the wife about calibers, safety features, and how to see if a gun fit the hand and took his time to talk to her instead of the common mistake I have seen (mostly with buying cars) where they talk to the guy like you are making the decisions for her.  As he showed her a S&W Model 60 he mentioned on of the nice things about it is that if you crack it upside someone’s head they WILL feel it, which I thought was a good side note on that particular weapon.

In the end, she has narrowed it down to two weapons, though I might point out a third one to her.

The two she like are the S&W Model 60

I like the 60, it’s a good solid pistol without too many frills and has a very comfortable grip to it.  Since it’s a .38 and she is a new shooter the recoil would be manageable while still giving her some stopping power.

Plus, the J frame would give me a tax write off since I would be using it to fit for grips.

The other one is the S&W Bodyguard .380

The nice thing about this one is the size.  I have never shot a .380 but since Breda uses one I will not make the common mistake of saying something stupid like “That’s too small of a round to stop a mouse!”  Mainly because Breda would shove a boot up my ass, but also because any bullet can kill you if you know how to shoot.

The one I would add to the list is the Sig P290

This one is pretty much just like the .380 when it comes to appearance, but the 290 shoots 9mm which fits me just fine, one less type of ammo to buy.

In the end though, it’s her choice so I’m just going to shut up and hand the guy the money.