"Standard" ammo chamberings

That Guy at Rock in a Sea of Chaos has made a very good point.  Remember all of the intarweb gun forum talk of "standard" chamberings for survival rifles and how in the occurrence of said emergency situation you would just be able to find it anywhere?  I think our current state of affairs has proven that theory very wrong.  Unless you're willing to fight someone for it who obviously has more ammo than you (since that's what you're after), then the supply will be non-existent when high demand occurs.  I guess I'm glad I have some of the funky calibers in the safe that I can still get ammo for if I really needed to.

Milwaukee Sheriff chastised for common sense

You can use hyperbole and point to an occasional extreme example all you want, but the fact is that he is absolutely right.  All the sheriff did here was state the facts.  He didn't tell everyone to arm up and roam the streets, he simply stated that you are your first line of defense.  People wanting to make political hay have (unsurprisingly) jumped into the mix here.  There are your typical politicians and gun control groups saying what they typically say.  In actuality, what they are saying is quite dangerous.  Law enforcement is rarely ever there in time.  Stating that he should "do his job better" makes no sense statistically.  A fantastic law enforcement response time is around 2 minutes.  The averave, or "acceptable", is probably more in the range of 4 to 5 minutes.  Add at least another 5 minutes if you live in a rural area.  A sheriff generally has a much wider area that they have to police.  It just takes time to drive somewhere.

So, let's take a very good response time of 2 minutes.  Look at your watch.  Someone has just kicked in your door.  Sit there and watch 2 minutes go by and tell me if that isn't an eternity.  Now, response time on scene, not actually involved in your crisis yet.  So, the police pull up and need to assess the situation before charging in.  Add on another minute at least.  Now you're in your bedroom with the house surrounded by the police and the bad guy trapped inside.  Now what?  What is actually irresponsible is telling citizens that they should rely on law enforcement response as their primary means of defense.  Calling 911 should be the same as an officer callingfor back-up.  That is how everyone should view that system.  Find a good defensive place, get the family there and hold your position, ready to use your firearm, while waiting for back-up to arrive.  No "Dirty Harry" about it, just a family defending their lives and home.

Feinstein's Wish List

So, here is the fun ban list.  First off, I'm thinking it has a snowball's chance in hell of passing.  However, I have perused and discussed this with my group of shooter friends.  There are many, many issues with the way this list is constructed.  I'll make it a bit of a game.  What is wrong with how they have classed many of these firearms?  I have done a little dissection in private of the weaknesses of this piece of paper.  Now, if this is indeed a page from the actual law then it is horribly sloppy.  If that's the case, I'm not going to line out the legal issues for our opponents.  I'm not closing loopholes for them.  If it's just a press release, well we shall see...

I know a lot of gun people that will have an aneurysm because of how they've "typed" some of these firearms.

My note to Brownell's

I have always been curious why retailers and those in the industry of firearms buckle and cater to the push of a public that has not and will never darken their door.  Recently, true colors seem to have been shown in light of an emotional topic.  When it came time to stand on a side, a few merchants decided they would cave and/or do head-scratching things.

A couple of these were Dick's Sporting Goods and Cheaper Than Dirt.  Now, Dick's pulled a bonehead by pulling all semi-auto sporting rifles from their stock and submarining their relationship with Troy Industries in the process.  However, Dick's isn't specifically targeted toward the shooting community.  They just like our money a lot, but their real bread-and-butter is sporting goods in general.  I'm not saying that gives them a pass, it just makes them hypocritical.  They have other interests as well, but that call will keep me from getting ammo from them in the future.

However, Cheaper Than Dirt?  What purpose would be served to suspend sales of ARs to your customers?  If it was a matter of being overwhelmed, then let's just say so.  I know that Brownell's did exactly that.  They were honest and stuck with their customer base.  No price-gouging, just a serious attempt  to meet the expectations of their customers.  I have no clue what prompted Cheaper Than Dirt to post a comment something to the effect that they were 'suspending sales' while they re-evaluated their process for selling firearms, but that's squirrelly at best.  Meanwhile, I see Brownell's saying they are doing their best to provide their products and they were just overwhelmed.  They even continued to take back-orders at their normal prices for quite a period of time.  Honesty, plain and simple.  In full disclosure, I cannot remember having ordered any products from Brownell's in the past.  I may have, but they weren't the first place I looked.  I know I have ordered from Cheaper Than Dirt.  I can say that may be a thing of the past.  I was on their email distribution list and received an email saying "Magazines, back in stock!"  I didn't have time to look at it on my phone, but quickly forwarded it to a group of friends, one of which had mentioned they were wanting a couple of AK mags.  The responses back were quick and filled with colorful language.  I won't use it here, but the discussion was all around the high price of the magazines.  $80. for a blue steel AK mag and $130 for a metal Colt AR mag?  Well, I guess that shows me why they're in stock.

So, I thought I would send a note to Brownell's and tell them I appreciated:

Mr. Weeks,

My friends and I are pretty passionate about firearms and the outdoors.  We love to collect, shoot and enjoy the firearms that we are lucky enough to have.  Recently, we have been watching some of the companies that I thought would be our allies in the current battle for our rights.  We have been sorely disappointed.  Yes, these companies are usually competitors, but lately there is plenty of business to go around  We watched as Cheaper Than Dirt initially suspended sales and now have turned around and begun some serious price gouging on magazines.  $130. for a used Colt AR mag is a bit insane.  We have also watched other companies and how they have handled themselves during this time.  Brownell's, for some reason, was never my first stop when looking for accessories and I don't know why, really.  The first thing to get my attention was the post on AR15.com by Mr. Brownell which I stumbled upon through other gun blogs.  His up front and honest description of what was going on was refreshing.  In general, people are not stupid and an honest explanation was all it took.  From there, I went to Brownell's and went ahead and back-ordered some Pmags.  It was obvious that Brownell's had more business than it could deal with and could charge whatever you wanted, but you did not.  These short-term money making decisions may work right now, but customers do not forget this in the long run.  Because of the way Brownell's has handled themselves during this time of high stress, it will be my first stop for accessories from now on.
Thank you for standing by the community.

Though I'm sure he has been insanely busy, Mr Weeks responded in short order:

Thanks for noticing!  We've hired temp help, been working overtime and generally trying to dig out this hole. Our crew had two meetings with magpul at SHOT show.  They are trying to bring more machines online to increase their production.  It all may take a while but we will all get caught up.  In the meantime, please call your senators and congressman.  Thanks for your faith.
Larry Weeks

It is times like now when those that will stand up are recognized.  I know we can't be doing any infighting at this point, but actions will be remembered.  I know that Cabela's has also shown some real spine lately.  I will have to save my pennies and travel a little further up the road to support them next time.

Georgia defense shooting 911 call released

And, oh my goodness.  I just posted on this self-defense shooting.  Well, more was released today.  That Guy and I were discussing this via text over lunch and it sent chills through us both.  This is a worst nightmare scenario.  Of course, the mother defending her 9 year-old twins is facing a horrific decision.  Meanwhile, the father is on the phone with her and I'm sure he is feeling like he wishes he could teleport to her.  I have to give him credit for his calm resolve and instruction to the wife.  He is on with 911 relaying what is going on while he is one with his wife.  I'd very much rather be giving my wife instructions over a 911 operator in that situation.  Kudos to them both and I wish her the best in her recovery.  She will need some time to heal from having to do this.

This is worth a listen.

You'll have to turn up the audio on that one, but it is the full call and the neighbor as well.

This one has better audio, but it is a lot of reporting and only a little of the call.  In this report, an officer explains how the guy broke down multiple doors to get to where the wife was.  Very little else was disturbed.  That makes me very happy she had a gun ready for him.

Here are some of the highlights:

"Just remember everything I showed you, everything I taught you, alright?"

That's something you should be able to say.  If you can't, get to the range ASAP.

"If he opens that door, you shoot him, you understand?"

No question, good instructions.

It goes on and I'll just let you listen, since no one can do it justice in print.  I can't emphasize enough how important it is to get to the range and practice.  Just as important are things you can do at home.  Show and explain manipulation of the firearm and practice getting it into play (especially important if a gunvault is involved).

But guns can't do good things

Especially when law-abiding citizens possess them.  I mean, it's just not possible.  I'm sure anti's would rather that we played "what if" and hoped that the repeat felon would just say, "oh, sorry" and leave.  Because that's what happens.

A Georgia mother protects her and her children using a .38 revolver.  Note that she hit him at close range 5 out of 6 shots and he was able to leave, get in his vehicle and end up in the hospital.  Thank goodness it gave her the time she needed to get away.  Wait, why would you ever need more than 10 rounds?  Oh yes, because bad people exist and they don't stop when you want them to stop unless you make them.