God, Guns and Grits

Range testing nickel-plated Remington UMC target .45 ACP

2011-04-19T15:30:00.001-04:00

Steven Otterbacher of BulkAmmo.com recently sent me a 50-rd box of new nickel-plated Remington UMC target .45 ACP to range test and I'm finally getting time and energy to post it. Here's Steve's .45 bulk ammo page:
http://www.bulkammo.com/handgun/bulk-.45-acp-ammo

I used 5 compact 45s and 4 full-size pistols. From left, Kimber Ultra Carry II, Springfield Micro, Kimber Ultra Elite, Para P12-45 at top right and Sig P220 SAO Compact at bottom right.

Here's the 7-yard benchrest target for the compacts, top left bull Sig P220 SAO Compact, top right Para P12-45, bottom left Kimber Ultra Carry II, center Springfield Micro, bottom right, Kimber Ultra Elite.

Here's the 7-yard benchrest target for the full-size.45s. Top left, Sig P220 SAO full-size, bottom left Glock 21, center Llama IXC 1911, top right Para 14-45 full-size. Bottom bull was not used.

Due to my shaky hands, I called on my son Robby and his father-in-law Steve to do all the shooting. Here's Robby shooting my Sig P220 SAO Compact with my grandsons and others watching.

And here's Steve shooting one of his compact .45s, could be his Springfield Micro.

All 50 rds. of nickel-plated Remington UMC target .45 ACP fed flawlessly in all 9 compact and full-size pistols from Kimber, Sig Sauer, Springfield, Para Ordnance, Glock and Llama. I grade the ammo A+. http://www.bulkammo.com/handgun/bulk-.45-acp-ammo

More good news: blood clot in lung gone!

2011-04-05T14:24:00.002-04:00

A brief update, typing skills still one finger. The MRI showed the blood clot in my right lung is now gone. Lung capacity is now only 75% blocked, down from 90%.

4th chemo is next Tuesday, final of 6 chemos is May 1. Much improvement so far. Looking forward to the best pool party summer ever!

Great news of improvement after 2nd chemo

2011-03-19T12:12:00.000-04:00

It's been too long since I posted an update, but we got some great news Friday from my cancer specialist Dr. Grace Lee in Durham that I must tell. After the 2nd chemo 3 weeks ago, she ordered scans of my brain, lungs, liver and bones, hoping to see one of two results: no growth of cancer or a decrease of the widespread disease. Worst case would have been further growth.

Dr. Lee called Friday to report the MRI and CT cans both showed excellent improvement! I have been feeling stronger daily since getting over the two days of mild nausea after the 2nd chemo, with two very good weeks of feeling closer to "normal" since this downhill spiral of health began in early January.

We had a family celebration last night with pizza and ice cream and I had to share the joy with the world online today.

One more good news item, the long-awaited wheel-chair ramp from the VA is being installed in our garage as I write, which will greatly aid my sweet wife in getting me in and out of the house for trips and to get some much needed sunshine.

I'm rejoicing that God is working and is using many others to pray and minister to me and my sweet wife and loved ones.

My typing skills are still in the hunt and peck level but hopefully that will improve soon too.

May God richly bless you all for your continued prayers for me and loved ones.

John Myers
Life is not fair. But Jesus always is.
"Count it all joy."-James 1:1-5
---------------------
Internet Photojournalist John W. Myers
Email: writeme@johnwmyers.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/johntheancient
Website: http://www.johnwmyers.com/
God, Guns & Grits Blog: http://www.netfotoj.com/
2020 Pinedale Road
Rockingham, NC 28379
Home: 910-419-9806 Mobile: 910-995-3975

The air rifle used by Lewis and Clark that won the West

2011-02-26T14:45:00.000-05:00

2011-02-04T12:47:00.002-05:00

NC Silencer Blog says read the latest from one of my favorite blondes, Ann Coulter:

What Liberals Don't Know About Guns, Chapter 217 - A great artice by Ann Coulter.
Posted: 03 Feb 2011 09:39 AM PST
Make sure you read this great article by Ann Coulter. It's too good not to share.

The pro-gun people among us (hopefully, that includes you) often make the mistake that other people think and rationalize the same way we do with regard to the relationship between guns and crime. So, we tend to keep our thoughts to ourselves and don't actively promote gun ownership because, well.... the virtues of gun ownership by American citizens are obvious... right? The problem is, despite the massive amount of evidence indicating that more guns (carried by law-abiding citizens) equals less crime, there is still an amazing amount of ignorance out there. People in positions of power and influence, i.e. politicians and purveyors of mass media, often have an irrational fear of inanimate objects like guns, and they tend to shout the loudest when forcing their opinion on us. So, unfortunately, the ignorant masses only hear the loudest voices; the voice of the anti-gun zealot.

So, that is why it is important that we, as informed pro-gun citizens, make our position known. A good way to do that is to share articles like this with everyone you know. Don't assume your friends are as rational as you.

Be sure to subscribe to this blog and visit the NC SILENCER website often. We will help arm you with the tools needed to defeat any anti-gun rhetoric aimed your way. Not to mention, help arm you with real guns and silencers when you're ready to join the ranks of the elite, informed, and armed citizen.

Browning joins ever-growing list of 1911-style .22LR pistol makers

2011-02-03T15:11:00.001-05:00

With several makers now offering 1911 full-size pistols in .22LR, Browning has upped the ante with a new line of Commander-size and compact .22LR pistols with all the functional features of the original 1911. I've been holding off so far on adding a 1911 .22LR to my modest collection, but that 3 5/8″-barrel compact just might be the straw that breaks this particular camel's back.

When Browning set out to celebrate 100 years of John Browning’s 1911 pistol, she certainly could have done the predictable thing and offered just a commemorative version in .45 ACP. Instead, we got a very nice, scaled-down 1911 A1 in .22LR. That means this is one 1911 you can afford to shoot — lots!

Ideal for target practice and making training affordable, this one will be a classy addition to anyone’s gun collection. Like I said, it’s scaled down to 85% of the full-size 1911, which makes it a joy to hold.

Depending on which version you’re talking about — the A1 sports a 4 1/4″ barrel; the Compact model a 3 5/8″ tube — the weight comes in between 15 or 15 1/2 ounces respectively. The barrel has a target crown and the slide is aluminum with a matte blued finish. I really liked the dark brown grips; they gave the pistol an old-fashioned golden-age charm.

Stolen from Gun Digest.

Browning Arms Co. is a "she"!? WTF!

BATFE wants to protect U.S. shotgun makers from foreign competition?

2011-02-03T14:58:00.000-05:00

Saw on Gun Digest where the BATFers want to ban the import of "military style" shotguns. Bet the American manufacturers of tactical shotguns are all pleading, "Please, please Brer' Wolf, whatever you do, please don't throw me in that mean 'ol briar patch" (and save us from H&K, Beretta and other foreign competitors).

End result of that would be not the same as the Clinton ban of importing assault rifles: creation of an entire new industry of assault rifles made in the good 'ol USA, with thousands or even millions of new jobs created.

But since we already have many U.S. companies alive and prospering in the home-defense and tactical shotgun business, relieving them of the competition of foreign companies really wouldn't create many new jobs here.

And the BATFE import-ban attempt likely won't survive the sure NRA court challenge of any such new law. But use the link in the story below to file your protest anyway. Stop the BATFers! Here's the facts:

A report just released by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), “Study on the Importability of Certain Shotguns,” has proposed that, “military shotguns, or shotguns with common military features that are unsuitable for traditional shotgun sports” be prohibited from importation.
This ban would apply to all shotguns—not just semi-automatics. As a press release by the National Rifle Association (NRA) noted, “as in previous ‘working group’ studies on rifles, the study fails to give proper credit to the widespread use of these guns in newer shooting sports, or to their adaptability to hunting.”

Under current federal firearms law concerning imports, the Attorney General has to first approve the importation of any firearm “generally recognized as particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes.” The problem with that? As the NRA explained, “This ‘sporting purposes’ test was imposed by the Gun Control Act in 1968, a time when the right to self-defense with a firearm was not as widely respected by the courts as it is today.”

This section of the Gun Control Act, the NRA argued, needed to be changed. “Clearly, the main reason to change the law is that the Second Amendment—as the Supreme Court said in District of Columbia v. Heller — protects our right to keep and bear arms for defense, not for sports. In its 2008 Heller decision, the court observed that ‘the inherent right of self-defense has been central to the Second Amendment right’ and ruled that the Second Amendment protects ‘the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation,’ particularly within the home, where ‘the need for defense of self, family, and property is most acute.’”

Click here to read the 34-page study
“NRA members and other concerned gun owners can submit comments on the study until May 1, 2011. Comments may be submitted by e-mail to shotgunstudy@atf.gov or by fax to (202)648-9601. Faxed comments may not exceed five pages. All comments must include name and mailing address.”
SOURCE: NRA 1/28/11:

Valerie gets ice for her champagne -- plus a bucket for her big head

2011-02-03T14:38:00.000-05:00

Another true classic Day by Day cartoon about Obama aide Valerie Jarret's disrespect for our nation's military troops.

Shooting pistols and M1 Carbine from seated position: Lesson 1

2011-02-02T07:53:00.007-05:00

Best range buddy and I went to Sandhills Rod & Gun Club on the banks of the Pee Dee River on Friday, Jan. 18 for my first range trip since release from the hospital on Wednesday, Jan. 16.

Range is on the upper end of Blewett Falls Lake in an area known as Grassy Island here in Richmond County. No towns nearby, but closest one is Ellerbe, NC.

It was time for my first outing to learn how to shoot from a seated position my new Sig P239 SAS Gen. 2 .357 Sig subcompact, my new NAA Black Widow .22 Magnum single-action 5-shot derringer and my Auto-Ordnance M1 semi-auto carbine.

First up is sight-in of P239 from seated rest, attempting to remove human error from slow-fire shooting, usual average social-encounter distance of 7 yards. I was shaking like a dog passing peach pits, so the targets weren't pretty. More like patterns than groups. But all were on paper of the 8" targets, so good enough.

This is me seated in my new Cadillac wheel chair, letting the P239 rise way too much in recoil, but gotta start somewhere in adjusting to new circumstances. I wasn't using my usual two-hand grip in order to get as much of the front end of the 239 on the improvised rest. Next time I'll have my genuine pistol rest with me.

Next up is NAA Black Widow. Same deal, bad shakes, but all shots on paper.

Finally, after sighting in my Carbine with new adjustable rear sight installed by best shooting buddy, time to try it out with stock folded in rapid fire. All shots into the berm at 25 yards. Good enough. Day done after some 4 hours.

Good Lord it felt good to get out in the sun, mid-50s, another beautiful day on the top side of God's good green earth!

After 4 hours, I felt like Nixon in '68 as he launched his return to politics: "Tanned, rested and ready!"

Many more range trips lie ahead as I learn to refine the new skill of firing handguns and long guns from the seated position.

North Carolina Silencer Blog: Useful stuff about guns & silencers

2011-02-01T16:55:00.000-05:00

A new blog, North Carolina Silencer Blog, offers "Useful stuff about guns & silencers." It's about a business in Matthews, NC, run by a new friend I recently made. He doesn't have his name on his blog, so I won't give it either. His blog is already on my blog roll and you can sign up an email from him daily if you like.

Why in the world do you need a silencer? Aren't they.... evil?

We've been really wanting to publish a post extolling all the virtues of silencer ownership and usage... and then we came across this great article on silencers by Jim Dickson in the Feb. 2011 edition of Gun World magazine. Just in time! We figured that since he made such a good argument for silencers, why try to improve on it? Since there is no digital version that we can link to, we've scanned it into an easy-to-read PDF... right from the magazine, and uploaded to www.NCSILENCER.com. It will be like you're reading the real article! Enjoy. (And after you read it and discover that you really, truly NEED a silencer now, just shoot us an email. We'll be happy to help you out.)

Be like Mikey. "Try it, you'll like it!"

A really safe Congressional meeting with good 'ol Tennessee boys

2011-01-27T08:39:00.001-05:00

Committment of another life to Christ

2011-01-26T06:57:00.000-05:00

Julia Griffin Pattan January 23 at 12:20am Report

John,
I don't believe that you and I have ever met in person. I spoke with you a few times on the phone when I called up to the pawn shop to talk with my mom. I actually remember calling up there one time and you answered the phone and I thought that you were a little short with me. :) Well, that left an impression. I think God wanted me to remember you. Since then I have befriended you on Facebook, not sure why I did because after all we have never met in person. But something led me to do that, to be interested in you. I have enjoyed reading your posts. I love reading about how happy you are with your job working with my parents. After all, they tried to get me to take that job before you came along and I almost did. I'm glad I did not because you have done a job that far surpasses anything I would have been capable of doing. You really have put them on the "cyber" map, so to speak. And I am grateful for the work you have done for them. They are very pleased with everything you have done.
I am writing this little note to let you know that I have been following along in your recent posts. I am deeply saddened by what you are going through but I want you to know how much you are touching people's lives. I am going through some changes right now. God is working in my life, helping to set me on the right path. For several years now, we have only attended church sporadically. We have been so caught up in working, raising our three kids, etc that we have not made time for what is really important. But for the past two months, I have been attending church regularly, taking my family (all 5 of us). Tomorrow, my family is going to become members of Freedom Baptist Church. This is a big deal for me, as I have never been a member of a Church before. I've attended churches but never made a commitment to one. I am committed to making God a bigger part of my life instead of all of the other things that clutter it up. I feel like I am finally learning what life is all about. But I realize I have so much to learn. I look forward to attending church so I can learn more and more. And I am learning from you. And reading your story and reading about your spirituality is inspirational to me. It lets me know that I am on the right path. I am learning so much from you and I just wanted you to know that. I think God brought you into our (the Griffins) lives for a reason. I believe that it is his plan for you to have an impact on all of our lives and lead us closer to God. As someone else posted, you are impacting people's lives with your story and your faith. I will be praying for you and your family.
Sincerely,
Julia Pattan

John W. Myers January 25 at 6:59pm
Dear Julia,
I apologize for the delay in answering your message. I saw it at 5:15 AM Sunday morning and started work immediately after my first cry of the day. Tears come easily and often, but they are always tears of joy.
I worked until breakfast arrived at 7, and reluctantly stopped to eat. After breakfast, I returned to Facebook to resume work, only to find Facebook had crashed, and my hard work was gone. Jesus always saves, but Facebook doesn’t. Since that Sunday morning, replying to your message has been number one on my “to do” list. Events did not allow a reply until now. Due to my slow typing skills, my sweet wife took dictation for this entire letter.
Seldom in life do chances to redeem an error come along. I well remember that day when the shop was full of customers, and nobody else was available to answer the phone, and I was compelled to stop what I was doing in the back of the shop taking photos, and answer the phone. I’m quite sure I answered in a gruff voice with no courtesy attached, saying simply, “ Village Pawn and Gun Shop.” I well remember your reply, “ Is Mom busy? Can I speak to her?” I recognized your voice immediately. This is the daughter who doesn’t work at the gun shop, but, yet is the bookkeeper who figures my paycheck every week! At That point, I reverted into wiseass, important newspaper editor who has been forced to take a call when busy. I replied, “ If Mom wasn’t busy, she would have answered the phone herself.” Since starting work at the gunshop, my phone manners had improved somewhat, but still left much to be desired. Upon my wiseass answer, I heard “ Click!” as you hung up the phone, and I went back to work. I know if I had taken time to walk the wireless phone out front, and tell your sweet mom her daughter wanted to speak to her, she would have immediately interrupted what she was doing and taken the phone to talk to her daughter Julia ,with a smile on her face. But I didn’t.
A few minutes later, Dorothy came back where I was working with a smile on her face, but a funny look. She says gently, “You hurt my daughter’s feelings.” I apologized to her but I have never apologized to you. I wouldn’t have recognized you if I had ever met you face to face. So I was surprised sometime later when I received a friend request from you on FB. I clicked yes before even going to your FB page to find out what you looked like. Since then, the pictures you posted have always gotten a look from me and frequently comments. The ones I love the best are Billy with his pretty little red-headed granddaughter who is so obviously the apple of grandpa’s eye.
I have enjoyed every job I ever had in my long career since graduation from college in 1975, but the job at the gun shop far surpasses them all. It combines all the talents I have learned over my long career-writing, photography, webpage design, advertising, copy writing, and most of all, my lifelong love of all things that go Boom!
But the greatest joy I have ever experienced in my life began on Feb 28, 1977 when I made a lifetime commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. The following Sunday, I began attending my father in law’s church, whom I had previously considered a raving lunatic for his strong faith. I joined his church shortly thereafter. I began teaching Sunday School within that first year. I even stayed on at that church as a member and teacher for 10 years after the preacher’s daughter decided to divorce me.
Since then, through various moves, I have changed churches twice and have continued teaching I firmly believe the second most important commitment anyone can make after the commitment to Christ is to commit to a church. Your commitment to Freedom Baptist is the latest evidence of how God is using the worst possible circumstances to carry out His plan, working all things together for the good for those who love Christ, and to draw people to His Son. You have just joined my prayer list and I look forward to the day when we do meet face to face. I am especially grateful for this opportunity to apologize for my rude behavior. It was unforgiveable, but, again, the love of Christ covers a multitude of sins.
With your kind permission, I would like to re-post your letter and my reply on FB and my blog. I will not do so until you grant your express permission.
Yours in Christ, John Myers

Julia Griffin Pattan January 25 at 10:26pm Report

John,
Thanks for replying. It was nice to hear from you. Since I wrote my first letter, I was able to check out some of the things you have on your website. This evening, I was reading through some of your Bible Questions and Answers. How great it is of you to post those answers. I will read through them all when I have time. I may even have some questions for you myself. Like I said in my previous letter, I want to learn as much as I can.
I want you to know that I have long since forgiven you for that little incident on the phone. I know that if that had never happened, I would not be writing to you now. You know, I almost didn't send that letter. A little voice was telling me that I was crazy, that I didn't know you, that you would think I was crazy, etc. But I had this overwhelming feeling that I had to write it and send it to you. So I just took a chance, risked making a fool out of myself, and sent it. That's a pretty big step for me. I'm not known for taking any kind of chances and I'm very very shy. To send a letter to a grown man whom I've never met is just totally out of my comfort zone. But I honestly feel that I am supposed to learn something from you. For example, I am going to read all of your Bible Questions and Answers and if you can recommend any other readings, I would be grateful.
I want to tell you a little story. And I haven't told it to anyone. For most of 2010, my family did not go to church, only once in a while. Well, in December, I decided that I was going because it is Christmas and I wanted my kids to remember what Christmas is really about. So we go to church one morning and one evening. My kids get invited to participate in the Christmas Cantata. This was a week before the cantata but the choir director was kind enough to allow my kids to participate. Well, the Cantata was the next Saturday and Sunday night. The children had a small part in it at the beginning and the end. So I take my kids to this Cantata on Saturday night. Well, this Cantata was powerful, to say the least. It covered the birth of Jesus but also covered his life, and his death. For the first time, this story, which I have heard many times, moved me to tears. It's like it finally made sense to me. Luckily, for me, I would get to see this twice. We went back on Sunday night. This time I invited my babysitter and my parents. And this program just had a profound effect on me. It's like God has turned on a little light switch in my brain and I can't get him out of my head. Ever since this incident, I have been in church whenever the doors are open. I look forward to going. It is the highlight of the week for me now. I even bought the soundtrack for the Cantata online and it is in my CD player in my car and I listen to it on the way to work, even just today. One song I love is a hymn called "Take my life and let it be" which pretty much sums up what I am feeling. I want to give my life to God. I want him to show me the way to live. And you know what, since that program, I feel a lot happier now. I have been really stressed out in so many areas of my life and I now have a different perspective. The negativity that was dominating all of my thoughts is fading. I feel that God is literally working in my life. It truly is an amazing feeling, a peaceful feeling. It's incredible.
As I am writing this, I am crying. I just had a realization about why God brought you into my life. I don't have anyone who I feel comfortable sharing this with. Thanks so much for listening. Hopefully, this all makes sense to you. I better be going for now. Please take care. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Oh, and you have my permission to publish my letter.
Julia Pattan

The Band - I Shall be Released

2011-01-22T23:41:00.000-05:00

They say that once upon a time there were 5 guys that played the most beautiful songs you'd ever hear

The Band - King Harvest 1970 - Long Black Veil 1970

2011-01-22T23:32:00.000-05:00

Jemima Surrender - The Band (The Band 7 of 10)

2011-01-22T23:20:00.000-05:00

Rag Mama Rag - The Band (The Band 2 of 12)

2011-01-22T23:16:00.000-05:00

The Band: Chest Fever

2011-01-22T23:09:00.000-05:00

Garth Hudson's caught Chest Fever

The Band - It Makes No Difference

2011-01-22T22:56:00.000-05:00

The Band - The Shape I'm In

2011-01-22T22:41:00.000-05:00

perhaps the best vocalist of 3 in The Band

The Band - Don't Do It

2011-01-22T22:29:00.000-05:00

The Band, Ophelia

2011-01-22T22:25:00.000-05:00

The Band - The Weight Live WOODSTOCK 1969

2011-01-22T22:19:00.000-05:00

The Band- The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

2011-01-22T22:12:00.000-05:00

Up On Cripple Creek - The Band (The Band 5 of 10)

2011-01-22T22:05:00.000-05:00

Whispering Pines - The Band (The Band 6 of 10)

2011-01-22T21:59:00.000-05:00

merle haggard i think i'll just stay here and drink

2011-01-21T21:00:00.000-05:00

Johnny Cash - The Man Comes Around

2011-01-21T20:29:00.000-05:00

When I started my first radiation treatment for brain cancer, tech asks, "Want some music?"

Sure, I said. "What kind?" he asks.

Gospel. Slight pause. "Well we had a gospel tape, but the man finished his treatment and took it with him. How about country?

Sure. "Johnny Cash?" Sure, turn it up! And this the song that came up. All night Thursday, I kept waking up hearing that prophetic song playing over and over in my head.

There's a man going around taking names, and He's called mine. And like Isaiah, I answer, Here I am Lord. Send me.

And I heard as it were the noise of thunder
One of the four beasts saying come and see and I saw
And behold a white horse

There's a man going around taking names
And he decides who to free and who to blame
Everybody won't be treated all the same
There'll be a golden ladder reaching down
When the Man comes around

The hairs on your arm will stand up
At the terror in each sip and in each sup
Will you partake of that last offered cup?
Or disappear into the potter's ground
When the Man comes around

Hear the trumpets, hear the pipers
One hundred million angels singing
Multitudes are marching to the big kettledrum
Voices calling, voices crying
Some are born and some are dying
It's Alpha and Omega's kingdom come

And the whirlwind is in the thorn tree
The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn tree
It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks

Till Armageddon no shalam, no shalom
Then the father hen will call his chickens home
The wise man will bow down before the throne
And at His feet they'll cast their golden crowns
When the Man comes around

Whoever is unjust let him be unjust still
Whoever is righteous let him be righteous still
Whoever is filthy let him be filthy still
Listen to the words long written down
When the Man comes around

Hear the trumpets, hear the pipers
One hundred million angels singing
Multitudes are marching to the big kettledrum
Voices calling and voices crying
Some are born and some are dying
It's Alpha and Omega's kingdom come

And the whirlwind is in the thorn tree
The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn tree
It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks

In measured hundred weight and penney pound
When the Man comes around.

Close (Spoken part)
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts
And I looked and behold, a pale horse
And his name that sat on him was Death
And Hell followed with him.

The first day of the rest of my life

2011-01-20T21:44:00.000-05:00

Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011, Durham VAMC.

The unconditional love of my daughter:

I love you because you're my father,But you're really so much more;You're a guide and a companion;You and I have great rapport.You pay attention to me;You listen to what I say.You pass on words of wisdom,Helping me along the way.Whenever I'm in trouble,You always have a plan.You are the perfect father,And I'm your biggest fan!

John W. Myers There is only one perfect father and he gave his perfect son a ransom for this sin-cursed world, of which I am one. But the most perfect daughter a father ever had is my darling Layla who loves me as Dad. She loves me with all her heart, soul, and mind, and would gladly lay down her life for mine. Greater love has no daughter than this. Her love covers over the multitude of my sins.

Amanda Haywood
Lord Jesus, it is not Your will that Your people should suffer. Yet, I remember so well how You took on suffering for us all. Keep Layla now from losing hope as her Daddy faces once again his infirmity. I feel the pain and ask of God, "Let this cup pass from me."

As Layla and John kneel with You in the garden, may they welcome another ...day with a prayer that echoes yours: "Not my wil but Thine be done." Let Layla never forget how to laugh, for laughter is Your gift to her to undo depression and heal the hurt of a sickness she cannot control. Take Layla and John into Your gentle embrace, for I know that whatever this day brings, You have paved their way with Your tears and redeemed them with Your victory. Amen.

For those who came in late, here's a daily review since my last post.

Sunday, January 16, 2011 8am

     Turn TV on for first time to look for preaching, a jillion channels but no preaching. As sent from the Lord, first visitor sticks his head in the door, a young chaplain named Denis from the Congo who loves the Lord. Catholic, but I've learned to look past labels unto the heart, with his first few words of introduction, we hit a Holy Ghost accord, a brother in Christ. He shared his experiences and I told him of my faith journey, particularly my 1979 trip to the Holy Land with my mother and her older brother, Uncle Walton an Army Chaplain. I told him of my baptism in the Jordan River with a black Presbyterian minister from New York who was saved as a result of missionaries in Africa. I bonded with him and a black couple from Hattiesburg, Mississippi and their son, both men were ministers. Of the entire tour group, Peter (the nickname we gave the minister) and I were the only two who wanted to be baptized so he baptized me and I baptized him.

Monday, January 17, 2011 MLK Day

     Awakened after the first good night's sleep since my journey began, my daughter spent the night with me. Got out of bed to recliner for the first time, young Nigerian nurse Ogo, came in with a hug and reports I had been on her mind since 4am, we had connected earlier. She presented me with a Bible question, wanted me to read some verses from the book of James while she took report on her patients and would come back to discuss the verses. She returns sometime later and we had our short Bible study. I explained the verses to the best of my knowledge and she soaked up the knowledge like a little bird. I then called a friend to take care of some gun show business. Guided him through copying some files from my computer onto a flash drive so he could pick up some of the slack from me not working. Then, to my delight there was a Pawn Stars marathon on TV, watched a couple of episodes and then my first visitor came for the day, Joey Martin, a Holy Ghost Baptist, another instant bond with a man who loves the Lord. Good conversation then he prayed with and for me and my daughter and he moved along once my preacher arrived with three other dear friends. Shortly thereafter, my older brother George and his wife arrived as well as my sweet wife. My preacher stayed and prayed with all of us in our prayer circle. I am especially thankful for this illness because it gives me a chance to reconnect with my older brother George, we live only 30 miles apart but seldom ever get time together, alone. George had volunteered to be my driver for outpatient treatments following my discharge and I greatly look forward to our time together as we travel. We lost our younger brother in 1994 and George and I have seen very little of each other since that shared tragedy. After the preacher's prayer, George and I had a quiet talk alone to begin these arrangements. I deeply regret not taking the time to spend with George but I greatly look forward to making up for lost time. My son Robby and my brother outlaw, Jan Richardson, my ex wife's youngest brother showed up just as George left. Glad to see Jan, one of the pleasures of my life is though my first marriage ended in divorce, I never divorced my first wife's family. I have remained close to her father, the preacher and all of the rest of her family. Next news, moving to a private room, just in perfect timing with all the manly help to get the move done. My sister Rebecca arrives late afternoon and once the move was completed, we all visited into the evening hours. Get settled into new room, Robby, Layla, Nicholas, Rebecca and Jan all leave for the night and the sweet wife and I settle in for the night. First night with CPAP from home, another good night's sleep.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

     No breakfast, fasting since midnight pending procedure. Picked me up at 0830 for the bronchoscopy/biopsy. The young med student arrives just before the procedure. He is usually the first doctor in the room since the long talk we had during the nightmares sessions on Saturday due to the steroids. We connected that night, he reported my symptoms to the intern and they agreed to cut down the steroids. Then after the reduction, he returned to the room that night and sat down and said, "now where were we" and we talked some more. Since that night, he has been the first member of the doctor team in my room every day. Leave for the procedure, ready to get it over with. I and my former father in law, the preacher had prayed and agreed together that the pulmonologist would find NOTHING and I asked the pulmonologist if he would tell me after the procedure what he saw. We were all praying for a miracle. After the procedure, he described in fairly clear but clinical terms the mass which everyone is now agreed is in fact a lung cancer. Some much for that prayer. Sometimes God chooses to answer and sometimes He does not, God has His own purposes and His own plan and never explains Himself to anyone. After a lengthy stay in the recovery area, I returned to my room around 11am. Fasting now over, my sweet wife fed me 3 ripe bananas which I greatly enjoyed. I am so glad I didn't let Layla throw them out the night before because of one pesky gnat! They were delicious! Before lunch is delivered, nurses arrive with news that I am wanted immediately in radiology for a consultation. This was the first I'd heard of any radiation consult, placed skinny butt in wheel chair with iron bar across buttocks and wheeled down to basement radiology dept. If I'd only known that wheel chair would be my home for the next 4 hours, I would've placed a pillow or two in it before leaving my room! In radiology, sweet wife is left waiting room while I am ushered into office with radiologist who asked for my complete history, again for the umpth teenth time. I tell it as best I can without the sweet wife's notes which she so painstakingly complied. I later learned that during this lengthy interview, my sweet wife out in the waiting room dissolved into tears. Kind people in the waiting room gathered around her, held her hand, prayed and comforted her while telling her their stories of treatment and recovery, giving her much needed hope and comfort at just the right time. The kind people alerted the nurse and she allowed the sweet wife to come join me in the radiology office. The five day consecutive radiation plan was explained at length and was to begin the next day. Then I was fitted for a mask on the scan table, laid on table for 30min without moving and came very close to having a hissy fit but managed to gut it out. Finally the mask is finished, back to the waiting room to await transport person. Sweet wife assisted me to a real chair, with real cushions until the transport attendant came. Finally the radiology nurse volunteers to take me back to my room, we meet the transporter at the elevator and he finished the transport back to the room. I finally return to my room to my supper that is past cold and thankfully they call for me a new meal tray. Enjoyed my supper, early bedtime. I am exhausted.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

     Awake at 2am, wide eyed and bushy tailed, ready to write on the computer. Worked for a couple of hours, accomplished virtually nothing except frustration with tiny laptop keyboard/mouse. Called daughter at Oh-
dark:30 requesting wireless USB keyboard. my latest unreasonable demand, and she agrees without complaint.
Sister strolls in at 720am chattering about the ball game she stayed up until 3am watching. She brought me as requested, Bo Jangles biscuit and coffee, however abdomen CT scan is scheduled and no one seems to know if I am supposed to be fasting. As usual, the young med student is first to arrive, he goes off to find out if I can eat, meanwhile the nurses come in for morning rounds, I ask them and they say we have no orders for a fast so that was good enough for me so I ate my biscuit and enjoyed my coffee. Daughter and grandson Nicholas arrive at 745am, still no breakfast tray appears. Sister departs shortly after daughter arrives. Daughter requested breakfast tray, it arrived late but I did enjoy my gravy biscuit. Wrote dedication for Bible for grandson, misspelled two words to my great chagrin, more evidence of my cognitive losses. I have been a champion speller since the 3rd grade, at least I recognized the misspellings after I wrote them and corrected them. Knock on the door, lovely, young Oriental cancer doctor comes in and sits down. Says, I have news. We had not been expecting any definitive news on my condition until after the Thursday evening interdisciplinary meeting of the specialists. In the kindest, most compassionate way I could ever imagine, she is the first one who didn't beat around the bush but came out straight and told us what we were facing. Brain cancer, lung cancer, some evidence from the images of bone cancer in my ribs. Stage 4. I don't know what you know about cancer stages, but there is no stage five. As she finished telling me, she reached out and held my hand. My daughter comments after she leaves that she must have the toughest job in the world to tell people such crushing news. After it sinks in a moment, my next question, what's the prognosis? She replies that nobody knows but best guess is one year IF we aggressively treat the cancers with a regimen of radiation and chemotherapy. We talk for a few more minutes, I ask a few more questions and she leaves to let us absorb the news. Present are my daughter, Layla and grandson Nicholas. After the doctor leaves, we have a good cry. Then I decide, if I only have a year left, we are going to enjoy it to the fullest. I don't think I am able to talk to my sweet wife who had left early that morning to go to school but I tell Layla to call her and tell her to drop everything and get here. Reluctantly Layla called her and she complied with my request. Within a few minutes, Ogo, the beautiful Nigerian nurse, whom I had connected with so strongly appeared like an angel like a smile on her face. It was her day off but she came by to check on me. I could barely speak but we told her the news and she smiled anyway and kept a brave face, I am sure it broke her heart also. Next messenger on God's appointed schedule followed Ogo immediately, Joey Martin, the chaplain. We share the news with him, he offers words of comfort and prays with us. Before we had time to even consider what's next, nurses show up for the long delayed abdomen CT with no warning. Back to the same room with the same technician who started the process on Saturday at 4am with the CT chest scan. Kind, compassionate, gentle young lady who repeated the same process and even remembered me. I shared nothing with her, feeling the burden was more than she was suited to bear. She sees enough sick people without adding to her burdens. Besides, she knows, she has seen the scans. Back to room around 1 pm, lunch was waiting, it looked good but my appetite was gone. My daughter, unknowing to me, finds two former sailors in the hallway who work here in house keeping. Tall, skinny kid that I had previously met was a Boatswain's Mate pronounced," bo'sun's mate" . Later promoted to damage controlman. We shared a few sea stories, I love talking about my Navy days. For those of you who don't know, the difference between a fairy tale and a sea story is that a fairy tale begins with "once upon a time"; a sea story begins with "this is no shit"...... Chatting with "Boats" raised my spirits immeasurably, we laughed, we smiled, we had a good time. At that point, my daughter got me out of bed, I took a sponge bath, she washed and cut my hair with bandage scissors and changed my linens. She told me we had exercised my body and we would exercise my mind later. She stood at the foot of my bed and said, "it is what it is and we deal with it. No more crying. If you cry, I cry and then Nicholas cries so no more." We started making plans for this best pool party season EVER! My sweet wife arrives and Layla and Nicholas leave to give us time alone and to get me some Chinese as my appetite has returned. We talk awhile, ex wife's sister appears, once again, I am thankful that I am still a member of the Richardson family and they still care about me, as I still care for them. Shortly thereafter, my oldest childhood friend arrives, Ron Franklin, a supposedly retired psychologist and vineyard owner who retired to the family farm. He was working in the area and took time to come over and see me. These are old and dear friends and I share everything with them. They take the news well and I managed to get it out without crying. No more crying. Sister in law called and after Layla returned with supper and we had our Chinese take out party. Shortly after, again, unbeknownst to me, Layla met two former Marines in the elevator earlier. They both served in Vietnam and were here with their oldest brother who over one year ago was sent home with a three week prognosis and was told to go home and make a will. His illness reunited the three brothers who had drifted apart over the years. Another amazing story of good coming out of bad circumstances. Through this experience, all three brothers are saved and on fire for the Lord. As they were leaving, in walks a VFW veteran of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, who hands my grandson $2 from his bingo winnings and to thank me for my service, instead, I thank him for his service. My son, Robby arrives with his wife Cindy and we play Trivial Pursuit and I roll first and the question is "whose garage was the first Amazon.com catalog shipped from?" The first thing that popped in my mind was that everybody knows who Jeff Bezos is.....BINGO! The brain still works! In my 63 years, I have developed a fount of useless trivial information and I love that game! A small victory but an encouraging one. The sweet wife and I settle in for another good night's sleep.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

     Awoke bright and early again this morning around 4am deciding I would be an impatient patient today. My plan for the day is to complete another journal entry, catching everyone up to date. Started writing and quickly discovered my 60 word per minute skills have diminished to hunt and peck. Process interrupted by first radiation treatment at 9am, so sweet wife and I head back down to the basement for my radiation treatment. Transport and treatment time consumed about 90 minutes, back to room around 1130am. My pastor and fellow governing board member arrived shortly after with a "little burden bear" from my church, SweetHavenChurch.com of Rockoingham, NC. Daughter begins chore of typing my dictation after my pastor prays. Barbeque chicken for lunch and Chaplain Joey Martin returns for his daily visit.
     Dr Lee reappears to talk further about cancer treatments and actually sets up first chemotherapy appointment for February3. She offers more details than I can absorb but daughter takes copious notes and immediately begins researching the chemicalsl on her phone. Thank God for daughter Layla who knows more about this than all of the rest of the family. She is my right arm and my left arm and my legs and my feet and my strength. Sweet wife and Layla ask questions and Dr Lee patiently answers them all. Upon Dr Lee's departure, older brother George and wife Sue arrive, George and I meet in private so I can bring him up to speed while the women took a walk and brought Sue up to speed. We all reunite and supper arrives and shortly after, the pulmonologist arrives to relay that the interdisciplinary team has confirmed what we already know and says that primary care doctor team will begin implementation of said plan in the morning. He gave his good graces in removing oxygen, the oldest IV in my right arm was finally removed with (I am ashamed to admit), a little squealing from me. Two Marine brothers make return visits, then my son's brother in law, Raymond and three preachers arrive and we form prayer circle. Raymond's wife Michelle has been on fire for the Lord since my first journal entry and has written several inspirational responses on facebook. My story touched her and brought her into the light of joy of the Lord. If no one else is touched by my circumstances, Michelle's joy alone makes it worth it. As the day progressed, I feel stronger and capped it off by rising from my chair unassisted and walking with the support of my brother and grandson into the bathroom and I finally peed like a man in the commode and heard that glorious flush for the first time since Friday, finally free from oxygen and IVs. It's too late for MLK Day but I am FREE AT LAST, thank God almighty, I'm free at last!!

2011-01-17T19:55:00.001-05:00

procedure tuesday am to biopsy lung to make final diagnosis. more after that.

My first 3 days in VA Medical Center care

2011-01-16T20:46:00.001-05:00

Friday, Jan. 14, 2011

Treatment for ailments I've had since early December started Friday. Rose at 5am to go with the sweet wife to Fayetteville Veterans Administration Medical Center ER. Arrived shortly before 8am and checked in with few ahead of me in ER waiting room. Called for triage at 8:15 by nurse who took detailed report with help of my sweet wife's written detailed chronology of my daily worsening symptoms. From triage, she takes us directly to ER treatment room where I am assigned a bed. Another detailed report was taken by an ER nurse for the ER doctor.

Doctor arrives shortly with more questions then orders a lung xray and a head CT. After tests, returned to ER and wait for a while. Doctor returns to report tests reveal a mass in my right lung and "spots" on my brain. He calls in a neurosurgeon who requested a MRI with more detailed images. After MRI, we continued our wait. Then the neurosurgeon and the ER doctor tell us that images are still inconclusive and neurosurgeon says he will transfer me to Durham VMAC for more specialized tests and treatment. My daughter arrives in the afternoon, she is a nurse practitioner of internal medicine. Both doctors returned to talk to all three of us and say they are split between two diagnoses: #1 a fungal infection of the brain and lungs #2 a lung cancer that has spread to the brain. Cure to #1, antibiotics for several months, cure #2 radiation and chemo. Three family votes for fungal infection......me, my wife and my daughter. Afternoon turns into evening as we await the transfer. Finally, the paperwork is ready and the EMS team arrives around 9pm. Three hour ambulance ride to Durham arrives shortly after midnight. Took codeine cough syrup before departure in hopes of sleep but instead talked to young EMS tech about guns all the way to Durham. He is a concealed carry permit holder who carries a Sig Mosquito 22 pistol. We also talked about Christianity, his faith and mine. he is a Michigan native transplanted to NC with his wife.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

At Durham ER, doctor gives me a full work out that leaves me totally exhausted. While doctor calls in analysis for admission, ER nurse takes care of me in a very kind manner and treats me well. ER doctor arranges for a second CT scan and lung xray while in ER. Admitted to Room B7003 at 4am. But no rest in room, taken directly to CT scan. Back in room at 4:45, but no rest, ER doctor is waiting with diagnosis from scan. Tells me right lung has blood clot in addition to the mass and fluid. Recommends immediate IVs of antibiotics and blood thinners. Said blood thinner has some risks but is best treatment to prevent clot from moving to heart which is fatal. I say, "do it now". Says antibiotics is for possible pneumonia, says spots in brain are most likely brain cancer, no more mention of fungal infection.

My lowest moment yet, it's not a fungus, it's cancer. Doctor leaves and nurses begin IVs, I finally get my first chance to sleep in 24 hrs. As I doze off, I remember some words of wisdom from Oswald Chambers, author of My Utmost for His Highest.

"Some say it is never God's will for a Christian to be sick. If that is true, then why was it's God's will to bruise His Own Son? Are we better than Jesus? If we can be broken bread and poured out wine for others, then why not allow God to use us as He plans?"

With that thought in mind I go off to sleep. At 7am, I am awakened by my team of primary care providers, resident doctor, intern doctor, and a medical student from Duke. All evaluate me and explain CT tests and others. Again, no mention about fungal infection. All talk is about cancer treatment but diagnosis cannot be confirmed until Tuesday after a bronchoscopy retrieves biopsy of mass in lung. Neurosurgeon arrives, recommends anti-seizure drugs and steroids. Pulmonologist arrives later to explain bronchoscopy and fluid removal from lung in a separate procedure. All MDs agree to return once all the family has arrived to inform them of the plans. Wife and sister arrive first, then later daughter and son. Doctors return to consult with family. Early afternoon, wife urges me to nap due to only 2 hrs of sleep but I am alert and want to stay up. Nurses come and go all day for vital signs and to draw blood, respiratory therapy begins breathing treatments which help the dry cough apparently due to the fluid in the lungs. Family leaves, first wife and sister before supper then son and daughter after supper. I read a gun magazine article briefly then sleep. I wake up coughing and sweating, imagining I am printing gun profiles, tried to turn on side to stop coughing, tried to lower bed to stop coughing, but nothing helps. I finally push the call button to report my delusions, med student responds first then calls intern, both agree the steroids are causing the delusions and ordered the IV slowed.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Back to sleep and learned later, I slept through a breathing treatment at midnight. Awakened by cough again, called nurse to pee. Nice pee and nurse changed my pajama bottoms, back to sleep. More dreams/illusions about guns mixed in with two more nurse visits to draw blood. Med student and intern make early visits for exam, then breakfast. The best yet! Waffles, sausage, tasteless oatmeal (but I ate it anyway), coffee and apple juice. Wish I had my pocket knife to open the plastic package on the juice straw but several tries with a plastic knife get the job done. Morning pills arrive and nurse says I can remove dentures and brush my teeth! Slept in dentures since this ordeal began.

Wife calls and says she is on her way, daughter calls with reports of successful purchase of wireless mobile card for laptop that wife is bringing. Wife says her sister Mary is mailing us her wireless mobile card. Suddenly an abundance of riches in wireless mobility! Looking forward to getting connected again since being offline since Thursday. No wireless net in hospital so I begin writing a journal for blog and FB. Called my two preachers, present and former with report for a prayer request in church and prayed with both of them.

Wife arrives with laptop, daughter arrives with wireless card and her son. Son arrives with two more grandsons. Friend arrives with his wife, we visit all afternoon. Finally everyone leaves but my daughter and I start journal entry. keyboard sucks, so daughter did typing. Friends call, sister calls from Japan, all promise their prayers.

Prayer is the best cure in the universe. When the Great Physician steps into the room, all is changed! I am not depressed despite the depressing diagnosis. I expect treatment to go well and all the nurses and doctors are great. I couldn't expect more from a hospital full of the latest equipment and teams of specialists. But I eagerly await the arrival of the Great Physician on the scene. Perhaps, He is here already working through the doctors and nurses and no personal appearance will be required. But if He chooses to make an entrance personally, I will welcome him with open arms, heart and mind. He is already working daily and hourly and I do not choose to offer Him advice on how to work His grace, love and mercy through my circumstances. Your prayers are all coveted, this is not the end, just another step in the eternal journey toward Home.

Ruger LC9, Sig P290 join the growing field of slim, subcompact 9mms

2011-01-06T11:30:00.000-05:00

As the King James says, old age succoth. You can look it up.

The sweet wife and I both caught a nasty virus a week or two before Christmas and we're still not over it. In my case it affected my balance and I'm hobbling around with a cane like a much older version of my ancient self.

As a veteran with no private health insurance, I'm experiencing the joys of government-run health care courtesy of the VA. As one of the VA doctors observed during a visit last week, "The system is broken." When Obamacare gets into high gear, you'll find out what I'm experiencing, government health care for the masses.

Anyway, I took a minor fall at the gun shop yesterday so I'm off work until Monday and finally have time and motivation for a new blog post. So I thought I'd comment about the emergence of two new slim subcompact 9mm pistols.

Until now the field has been small for single-stack slim concealable 9mms, you can plunk down $600 for a Walther PPS or a Kahr PM9, both fine pistols but a bit pricey, or under $300 for a Kel Tec PF-9. All three have about 3" barrels, polymer frames and double-action-only triggers.

I've had a PF-9 for some time which I recently upgraded with a Crimson Trace Lasergrip. It's a very shootable little pistol with a long easy trigger pull. If I take my time, I can shoot a fairly tight group at 10 yards.

My profile photo on Facebook is a head-shot group, which I whimsically turned sideways after someone commented it's a fairly good smiley face. Ironic now since I took a topple sideways in the gun shop yesterday. I was holding a $1050 S&W pistol in a wood box at the time and held onto it rather than dropping it to catch myself. Seemed like the thing to do at the time, as Clint told the judge.

Ruger blatantly copied the Kel Tec P3AT .380 pistol when they introduced the LCP two years ago. So they've done it again this week with the introduction of the LC9, coming to a gun store near you in February or March. Let's compare the two.

The PF-9 is a semi-automatic, locked breech pistol, chambered for the 9mm Luger cartridge. It has been developed from our highly successful P-11 and P-3AT pistols with maximum concealability in mind. The PF-9 has a single stack magazine holding 7 rounds. It is the lightest and flattest 9 mm ever made. Firing mechanism is Double-Action Only with an automatic hammer block safety. The PF-9 will be available in blued, parkerized, and hard chrome finishes. Grips will be in black, grey, and olive drab.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Calibers: 9mm Luger                      9 x 19 mm
Weight unloaded: 12.7 oz.                           360g
Loaded magazine: 5.5 oz.                             156g
Length: 5.85"                               149mm
Height: 4.3"                                 109mm
Width: 0.88"                                22mm
Barrel Length: 3.1"                                 79mm
Capacity: 7 + 1
Trigger Pull: 5 lbs                                22.2N

And now Ruger's specs for the LC9:

Catalog Number: LC9 | Model Number: 3200 | Caliber: 9mm Luger
Slide Material: Through-Hardened Alloy Steel Slide Finish: Blued
Barrel Material: Alloy Steel Barrel Finish: Blued
Barrel Length: 3.12" Length: 6.00"
Width: 0.90" Height: 4.50"
Weight: 17.10 oz. Sights: Adjustable 3-Dot
Capacity: 7+1 Grip Frame: Black, High Performance, Glass-Filled Nylon
Twist: 1:10" RH Grooves: 6
MA Approved & Certified: No CA Approved: No
Suggested Retail: $443.00

See any similarities? Even a blind man can't miss that.

And now for the second new entrant in the slim, subcompact 9mm field, the Sig Sauer P290 9mm.

THE P290 SUB-COMPACT 9MM, is our newest and most innovative and versatile polymer pistol. Designed to be the ultimate in conceal carry. This unique 9mm pistol is the perfect small defense handgun that meets the demands of today’s law enforcement professionals as a backup duty gun, and responsible citizens as a conceal carry gun. The removable grip plates allow for customization with aluminum, wood, and polymer and can be engraved with your initials for a true customized pistol (coming soon).

Caliber 9mm
  Action Type DAO
  Trigger Pull DAO N/A
  Overall Length 5.5 in
  Overall Height 3.9 in
  Overall Width 0.9 (1.1 in with slide catch lever)
  Barrel Length 2.9 in
  Sight Radius 4.3 in
  Weight w/Mag 20.5 oz
  Mag Capacity 6 - 8 Rounds
  Sights SIGLITE® or Contrast Sights
  Frame Material Black Polymer w/removable plates
  Frame Finish Black polymer
  Slide Finish Nitron® or natural stainless
  Accessory Rail Built-in for optional laser
  Options Customizable grip plates, mini laser

No MSRP is available yet for the P290, but I suspect it will be more in the Walther PPS/Kahr PM9 $600 range than in the Kel Tec/LC9 $300/$400 range.

The only knock on Kel Tec pistols is they are not built for heavy use. A round count of 400-500 is probably as high as you want to go before buying a new one. Presumably the Ruger and Sig entrants are more stoutly built and will last longer, so I may at some point get either or both of them. But until then, I will continue to carry my PF-9 with confidence.

Steyr M-A1 and compact S-A1 get some well-deserved kudos

2010-12-24T18:21:00.000-05:00

My favorite Austrian striker-fired polymer pistol that hardly anybody ever heard of is the cover article of Combat Handguns March 2011 issue.

In August 2010, Steyr announced the new M-A1 and compact S-A1 pistols. The new models feature several significant design upgrades from the original pistols. The A1 series continues to be a polymer framed, double-action-only, striker-fired pistol that is designed for military, law enforcement, and the civilian market and is available in 9mm or .40. I recently had an opportunity to try out a full-size M40-A1 and compact S40-A1 for myself. The new models have retained the distinctive profile of the original design. The angle of the grip to the frame is 111 degrees. When combined with the high grip backstrap,the design places the center axis of the bore lower than with other designs. The design also gives the M a very natural point of aim and reduced recoil and muzzle rise.

IMHO, the triangle/trapezoid are the best combat sights ever devised by man.

Story of a WWII Medal of Honor: 1911 .45 pistol vs. Panzer tank

2010-12-21T19:54:00.002-05:00

The latest issue of American Rifleman chronicles the use of John Moses Browning's 1911 .45 in the hands of winners of the Medal of Honor, including one from World War II that I have written about.

In December Cpl. Henry F. Warner of the Big Red One used a bazooka and his Colt to stop a German armored thrust. Warner’s citation says he won a pistol duel with the commander of a panzer threatening to overrun his position. The tank withdrew but the gallant North Carolinian was killed the next day.

It was not a bazooka Henry Warner used until it jammed, but a British 57mm anti-tank gun, vs. Panzer tanks.

But since it's my story, I'll just quote myself on the details of this heroic soldier who won the MOH.

1911 pistol vs. Panzer tank: 1911 wins

By John Myers, Internet Photojournalist

The Medal of Honor is our nation's highest military award and a surprising number of those who earned it since its introduction just prior to World War I did so with the help of a 1911 .45 ACP Government Pistol or a 1911-A1 model.

Perhaps the most famous of these was Sgt. Alvin York in WWI.

He was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine gun nest, taking 32 machine guns, killing 28 German soldiers and capturing 132 others during the U.S.-led Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France.
He was made even more famous by Hollywood in the 1941 movie, "Sergeant York," which York allowed to be made on one condition, that Gary Cooper play the lead role.

But as usual, Hollywood got the details wrong, particularly in regards to the weapons York used.
The movie shows York/Cooper using a captured German Luger pistol in addition to his rifle to kill and capture a host of Germans.

Wrong! He used a Government Model 1911 .45 ACP pistol.

Also, the movie shows York with a Springfield 1903 rifle but he actually used a M1917 Enfield rifle. Wrong again! Similar rifles, both are 30'06 bolt-actions, but different models.

Everybody's heard of the famous Sergeant York, who actually was a corporal when he earned his medal of honor.

But I ran across another familiar name while reading a July 2000 American Handgunner article by Barrett Tiliman, The 1911 And The Medal Of Honor.

As I was reading through the pantheon of heroes, I found a familiar one most Americans never heard of, another corporal who took on the Germans with a 1911, this time in World War II.
Tillman writes that in the 75 years from 1918 to 1993, at least 55 Medals of Honor were presented to men carrying the .45 ACP.

This includes 20 known in World War II, a dozen in Korea, seven in Vietnam and, finally, two in Somalia.
The exact total, however, is unknown, as most citations only refer to "pistol" or "revolver" and some famous events do not mention sidearms at all.

As Tillman listed the WWII MOH winners who used 1911s, that familiar name surfaced:

Medal of Honor winner Cpl. Henry F. Warner

"Not only infantrymen used the service pistol in Medal of Honor actions. Two tankers were decorated for their exploits in France that October, and in December Cpl. H.F. Warner of the Big Red One used a bazooka and his Colt to stop a German armored thrust.

"Warner's citation says he won a pistol duel with the commander of a Panzer threatening to overrun his position; the tank withdrew."

Back in the early '90s, while I was working as a weekly newspaper editor, I interviewed the brother of Medal of Honor winner Cpl. Henry F. Warner of Troy, NC, who told me about how this hero died.

57 mm M1 anti-tank gun of the 44th Infantry Division in France, 1944.

Tillman got one detail wrong, Warner didn't use a bazooka along with his 1911 Colt against the German tanks. He used a 57mm anti-tank gun, a design we "borrowed" from the British, a notoriously underpowered artillery piece which was also prone to jam.

This weapon also offered scant protection for the gunner, who stood out in the open to fire it, the only "protection" being a single sheet of metal to duck down behind when taking fire.

His brother showed me Henry Warner's detailed Medal of Honor citation, which noted that his accurate fire with the 57mm gun was able to knock out the heavily armored German tanks only by hitting their one vulnerable spot as he maneuvered the small artillery piece like a squirrel rifle.

In the end, his refusal to retreat as he kept trying to clear his jammed 57mm while a German Mark IV Panzer tank attacked is what cost him his life.

1911 vs. Panzer tank: 1911 wins

Tillman accurately describes the famous 1911 episode on Dec. 20, 1944, when Warner knocked out two German tanks with his 57mm before his anti-tank gun jammed. The commander of a third tank saw Warner's gun was jammed and elected to finish him off personally with his pistol. Bad mistake.

Warner outshot the German in a pistol duel, killing the officer with his 1911 and forcing the tank to withdraw.
Here's a short version of Warner's Medal of Honor citation which covers his heroic fight during two days' actions in the Battle of the Bulge.

WARNER, HENRY F.
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Antitank Company, 2d Battalion, 26th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Dom Butgenbach, Belgium, 20-21 December 1944. Entered service at: Troy, N.C. Born: 23 August 1923, Troy, N.C. G.O. No.: 48, 23 June 1945. Citation: Serving as 57-mm. antitank gunner with the 2d Battalion, he was a major factor in stopping enemy tanks during heavy attacks against the battalion position near Dom Butgenbach, Belgium, on 20-21 December 1944.

In the first attack, launched in the early morning of the 20th, enemy tanks succeeded in penetrating parts of the line. Cpl. Warner, disregarding the concentrated cannon and machinegun fire from 2 tanks bearing down on him, and ignoring the imminent danger of being overrun by the infantry moving under tank cover, destroyed the first tank and scored a direct and deadly hit upon the second. A third tank approached to within 5 yards of his position while he was attempting to clear a jammed breech lock. Jumping from his gun pit, he engaged in a pistol duel with the tank commander standing in the turret, killing him and forcing the tank to withdraw.
Following a day and night during which our forces were subjected to constant shelling, mortar barrages, and numerous unsuccessful infantry attacks, the enemy struck in great force on the early morning of the 21st. Seeing a Mark IV tank looming out of the mist and heading toward his position, Cpl. Warner scored a direct hit. Disregarding his injuries, he endeavored to finish the loading and again fire at the tank whose motor was now aflame, when a second machinegun burst killed him. Cpl. Warner's gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty contributed materially to the successful defense against the enemy attacks.

Warner's brother showed me Henry's grave in Troy and told me about his childhood, growing up poor, just another country boy who could hit anything he could see with a squirrel rifle, putting meat on the table for his family, much like Alvin York.

There's a lot of confusion among the current generation as to just who or what is a hero. My generation, the baby boomers, didn't have that problem, we had the WWII vets for heroes, like Henry F. Warner. One of my boyhood heroes was Major Dick Bong, the "Ace of Aces" who shot down 40 Japanese planes during WWII in the Pacific.

It's a telling sign of our times that the men and women fighting and dying for their country in Iraq and Afghanistan are not considered heroes by many today. Even the cop on the street, protecting our lives daily, gets little or no respect, hardly seen as heroes.

Another of my boyhood heroes was my "Uncle Howard" Jordan, who really wasn't a relative at all, just a childhood friend of my father's who treated the five kids of our family like his own. He and his wife Lena had no kids, but they often had all five of us kids stay overnight at their home.

And I remember "Uncle Howard" showing up at my school in the first grade and telling the principal he was "Johnny's uncle" and had come to pick me up early. And then we'd go fishing. I remember sitting on a wooden bridge over Drowning Creek, not catching any fish, just having a good time with Uncle Howard. I didn't even know he was a WWII vet, he was just Uncle Howard to me and he was one of my heroes.

Last time I saw him was when I was about 10 and we visited Uncle Howard in the VA hospital. He was in a wheelchair and looked so frail and tired. That's when I learned he was a WWII vet. Not long after, he died.
My dad told me that Uncle Howard had to bail out of a damaged airplane over the desert in North Africa in WWII and landed in a huge cactus patch. He wasn't rescued until several days later, still trapped in the cactus. One of those cactus spines finally worked its way into his heart many years later and killed him, my daddy told me. He also told me that every now and then after the war, Uncle Howard would go "barking mad" and howl at the moon. But he never hurt anybody. Uncle Howard never won the Medal of Honor, but he was a hero to me.

One of my favorite preachers, Ravi Zacharias, tells the story of a 3rd grade teacher who asked her class of 8- and 9-year-olds to list three people who were their heroes. One listed Michael Jackson, Madonna and Boy George (which Zacharias notes "covers all three sexes.")

But a disturbingly high number listed themselves as their own hero. Such is the result of the current educational trend to boost "self-esteem" as the most important classroom goal. Perhaps that's why there's such a strange set of heroes for the current generation.

Why do I love Sig pistols? Reliability, ease of operation, great triggers

2010-12-21T19:26:00.000-05:00

I've been asked a question about "My short history with Sig pistols" that I think deserves elevation from a comment to a new post.

Kansas Scout said... I keep reading all these enthusiastic comments from Sig owners. I have not shot one yet. Being a fellow lefty, I assume they work well for you in that way. Tell us why you like them so much. I would like to know specifically what it is that makes folks like them so much.

Short answer is the Sig Sauer motto: "To hell and back reliability!" I have owned to date five Sig pistols, a P226 and two P229s, one plain and one Custom Shop, all in .357 Sig; and two P220 .45 ACP Single-Action-Only models, one full-size and one compact. And to date with hundreds of rounds fired in each of them, I have yet to have a single malfunction. Zero. A record of 100% perfect performance is the ultimate in reliability.

I have had pistols that were 99.5% reliable that I either got fixed or I sold. I will not carry a pistol I cannot depend on 100% of the time. All of my carry pistols have to meet that standard or they are gone.

No. 2 reason, my Sig pistols are simple to operate, even for a lefty like me. In the case of the P229s which are traditional double-action/single-action, chamber a round, decock the hammer, then holster it until needed. Then draw and fire. If time and circumstance allow, I will cock the hammer upon drawing to make the first and all following shots single-action. But if not, that first double-action trigger pull is smooth enough to make an accurate shot. I practice drawing and firing two shots, one DA and one SA.

With my two P220 SAO .45s, they both have ambi safeties that allow me carry them safely cocked. Draw, flip safety down just as on a 1911 and shoot. And an added feature of the P220 SAO is the safety does not lock the slide like a 1911. When I want to check to see if there's a round in the chamber, I can press-check the slide with the safety still on.

Number three I've already covered, great triggers. The Sig DA triggers are great and my P220 SA triggers are not only the equal of my good 1911 triggers, they're actually superior. Don't ask me why but I can shoot either of P220s with factory 5-lb. triggers better than any of the custom triggers of 3 to 4 lbs. in the 1911s I own. Maybe it's the legendary inherent accuracy of P220s, I don't know. I just know it works for me.

Ease of operation, great triggers and 100% reliability. What more do you need in a carry pistol?

Lessons learned with a gun: Growing up in a family of hunters

2010-12-21T15:59:00.000-05:00

I learned my first lesson with a gun before I ever owned my first one. I grew up on a tobacco and cotton farm in central North Carolina at the head of Drowning Creek, near the little town of Candor. The woods began just outside our back door.

I tagged along behind my dad and older brother George when they went hunting from the time I was knee high to a tadpole, long before I was old enough to be trusted with my own gun.

One day I was tagging along with my dad, older brother and a few others during rabbit season when rain forced us to take shelter for a while under the roof of one of my dad's tobacco barns.

I was no more than 7 or 8 at most. As we stood under the shelter waiting for the rain to stop, I was standing next to one of my dad's friends, who was showing off his brand-new Browning 12 gauge semi-auto shotgun. She was a beauty and I was all eyes.

The man saw my look of wonder and asked me, “Son, would you like to shoot it?” I imagine he expected me to say no, but I didn't. “Sure,” I said, hardly believing he was serious.

Maybe he was serious and maybe he wasn't, but when I agreed, he showed me how to hold it, pointed up to a clump of mistletoe in the top of a tree and said “Shoot that.” Then he flipped the safety off.

I raised up the shotgun to aim and found my arms were too short to put the butt to my shoulder. So I just tucked the butt under my armpit, sighted and pulled the trigger. “Boom!”

Next thing I know, the shotgun butt is on the ground and I'm holding the barrel in both hands.

My dad's friend gingerly took the still loaded-and-ready-to-fire-again shotgun from my hands and flipped the safety back on. Then everybody had a good laugh, including me. He didn't ask me if I wanted to shoot it again, but I would have. I didn't have enough sense to know that 12 gauge auto was more gun than my little jaybird behind could handle.

No. 1 Lesson Learned With A Gun: Don't shoot more gun than you can handle. (Or as Clint Eastwood said in one of his Dirty Harry movies, “A man's got to know his limitations.”)

No. 2 Lesson Learned With A Gun

Maybe my foolish bravado with a borrowed 12 gauge Browning auto convinced my dad I was finally ready for my first gun. For whatever reason, I started the next hunting season with my very first firearm, a .410 bolt-action, single-shot shotgun.

Whatever happened to that beautiful little gun I haven't a clue. My dad's gone now, and all the firearms he left included an old double-barrel 12 gauge Stevens and a Winchester .22 semi-auto rifle that I've got and a 20 gauge Winchester semi-auto that my older brother has.

But I learned from that .410 that if you aim true and don't shoot too quick, you can hit what you're shooting at. It took a pretty good while, but I finally learned how to hit a rabbit on the run.

It's one of those skills you have to learn by trial and error, mostly error. My dad told me how to do it, but saying it and doing it are two different things. I missed a lot before I finally figured out how to lead a running rabbit, not too little, not too much, but just enough. Easy to say, much harder to do.

I also learned that two .410 shotguns loads will pretty much ruin a rabbit. My younger brother James was born five years after me, but he got his first shotgun, also a .410, a couple of years earlier than I did. (He was always daddy's favorite, the baby of us five kids. Just one of those facts of life you learn to live with in a large family. And as it turned out, James was more like daddy than either my older brother George or me in more ways than one.)

Anyway, on opening day of James' first rabbit season with a gun, we both spotted the same cottontail at the same time.

“Boom-da-Boom!” He claimed he shot first and I claimed I did. But we both hit that poor rabbit. When we skinned that poor critter, he had so much lead in him that he fell apart. We cleaned him anyway and ate him along with the other rabbits killed that day.

But we had to chew even more gingerly than usual or we'd bite down on one of those several lead shots still hidden in the meat of our double-dead rabbit.

But I just couldn't let my little brother beat me to the shot and he felt exactly the same way.

No. 2 Lesson Learned With A Gun: Two loads of .410 shot is one too many for one rabbit. (Or, if you shoot in haste, be prepared to eat the consequences.)

No. 3 Lesson Learned With A Gun

My next gun was a 16 gauge Remington pump. I could never get off but one shot with the .410 when bird hunting and at least for me, one shot at a rising covey of quail always resulted in one miss.

So daddy took pity on his poor-shooting middle son and got me the pump.

I had already learned the hard way that shooting an automatic shotgun from the left side meant getting a face full of burnt and still-burning powder. A pump is the answer for the problem with powder burns for a lefty.

Now if I could only learn how to hit a quail. At least for me, it is much harder than a rabbit on the run. And rabbits don't explode from under your feet with an always surprisingly loud thunderous beating of little wings. No matter how many times I'd heard it, it always scared me half to death.

Even with a bird dog frozen on point and hunters walking slowly abreast in a line to flush the birds, I was never ready and always surprised when the covey burst into the air with that familiar fluttering roar.

Shotgun up to shoulder, flick off safety, pick out one bird and draw a bead, “Boom!” Miss. Jack another shell in the chamber, “Boom!” Another miss. Jack another shell. “Boom!”

First bird I ever hit was the third shot and I never got much better though I hunted for 30 years.

My older brother George was a bit better at hitting quail than me, but not a whole lot. But if Mr. Bob White wanted to die that day, all he had to do was get up in front of my dad or my little brother.

They both shared the same dead-eye-Dick shooting skills with a shotgun and the same deep love of the outdoors. George and I both loved to hunt and fish. But James really lived to hunt and fish, just as my daddy did as long as he was able.

And almost from the beginning of James' bird hunting, he and daddy would almost always get a bird on the first shot and often would bring down a second on the same covey rise. Seldom did either ever fire a third shot, while George and me were emptying our guns with no results most of the time.

No. 3 Lesson Learned With A Gun: Some shooters have got it, some don't. Do what you're good at and don't waste a lot of time worrying about what you can't do. But don't quit trying.

No. 4 Lesson Learned With A Gun

I never did get very good with a shotgun, though I kept trying to hunt with one for 30 years or more. But I took to a rifle better and fairly quickly got to where I figured I could hit anything I could see. At least with a rifle, I could shoot better than my little brother.

My first rifle was a Winchester .22 bolt-action single-shot. A box of 50 Long Rifle .22 shells was less than 50 cents way back then, so having enough shells was not a problem.

But with a single-shot rifle I learned to hit what I shot at the first time, because there seldom ever was enough time to reload and get a second shot.

So I learned to “still hunt” for squirrels. Pick a good spot at the trunk of a tree with a good view of trees where squirrels are likely to hang out. Sit down and shut up. Don't move. Don't even blink. Wait.

Then wait a while longer. Don't twitch. Don't fidget. Don't move nothing but your eyeballs.

After slightly longer than forever, the birds will start chirping again. After another forever, the squirrels will come out again. But don't shoot at the first one you see. Wait for a good shot. It's probably the only shot you're going to get, maybe for all day.

And while you're sitting there seemingly doing nothing, waiting on a squirrel, you learn that God really does know what He's doing in this big old world. You can think deep thoughts, even for a kid.

Many long years before I ever became a Christian, I learned to “Be still and know that I am God.”

And if you sit there long enough, and are patient enough to wait for a good shot, you might just also learn the value and the rewards of patience, which is worth infinitely more than a squirrel stew.

But while you're thinking deep thoughts, don't forget to keep your eye on the ball. Daydreaming when the SHTF can get you in a whole lot of trouble, the least of which is no squirrel for supper.

No. 4 Lesson Learned With A Gun: Be ready for whatever comes at you. Far better to surprise what you're shooting at, than to be surprised when you're shot at. Squirrels, rabbits and quail don't shoot back. But as I learned in later lessons with a gun, bad guys do shoot back, and will shoot first, if you're not ready. So hit what you aim at the first time. You might not get a second shot. That lesson learned in the woods with a gun paid off for many a good ol' country boy in the Vietnam War, including this one.

My short history with Sig pistols in .357 Sig and .45 ACP

2010-12-21T15:50:00.000-05:00

I'm an old fart in my 60s and I made an incredibly dumb mistake when I bought my first Sig pistol in 2007. I had a Steyr MA1 .357 Sig pistol that I really loved and decided it was time to buy my first Sig Sauer .357 Sig. I went shopping and found a pair of used .357 Sigs in a gun store, a really nice P229 with what I later learned was a set of beautiful wood Elite grips. And they also had a plain Jane black P226 in .357 Sig. Both were good guns at about the same price, so I decided bigger was better and went for the P226.

Then a year of so later, I went to work at a gun store and starting carrying daily. I also got my instructor's license to teach N.C. Concealed Carry Handgun classes for the store.

And between carrying every day and teaching about concealed-carry handguns I finally got it through my thick skull that bigger is not always better. In fact it's almost never better when it comes to concealed carry. So I sold off my P226 at the store and ordered my first new Sig, a golly whomper. I bit the bullet and went for the P229 SAS Gen2 Two-Tone in .357 Sig with the Sig Anti Snag treatment, night sights and the Short Reset Trigger. And it was love at first double-tap with the quick handling and the SRT.

I liked it so much I later added a plain Jane CPO P229R in .357 Sig, got a pair of P229 Elite grips for the SAS Gen2, a set of Hogue Pau Ferro grips for the P229R and a .22 slide conversion kit for the P229R.

Later the gun shop took a trade-in of a Sig P220 Single-Action-Only Rimfire Classic. It has ambi safeties, so it was a natural for this left-hander. And after I bought it, why not get the caliber conversion kit for P220 SAO .45 ACP? When the conversion kit arrived, I learned why I've heard and read so many raves about the P220. I have three 1911s, two Paras, P12-45 and P-14-45, and a Llama IX-C, also a double-stack .45, and all three are the easiest to shoot pistols in my collection. That is until I shot the P220 SAO .45. First day at the range, I was monotonously ripping up the X-ring at 10 yards with never a flyer. The P220 SAO makes me a much better shooter than I was.

And why settle for the plain Jane black grips for the P220 when the price dropped below $200 for a set of Nill grips? So the P220 gets to dress up a bit, too.

Then later when I saw a CDNN special on a Sig P220 SAO Compact Elite for only $600, how could I resist? Guess what? I shoot it almost as well as the full-size P220.

And now I'm anxiously awaiting another special order from Sig, a P239 .357 Sig SAS Gen2 Two-Tone. My aching back is ready for some lighter, smaller concealed carry.

I've already got a beautiful set of Hogue checkered Rosewood grips and a pair of extra magazines that I ordered from Midway that arrived before the P239 gets here.

C'mon Sig Santa, hurry up with my P239 or you're gonna be too late for Christmas.

My poor excuse for not much blogging lately -- the bug from hell

2010-12-20T18:35:00.000-05:00

My apologies for the lack of content over the past few days. I've had the bug from hell. Even missed church yesterday with all the big Christmas music, plays and supper. Feeling somewhat closer to human today.

The real story of Christmas: Mary, Joseph and Jesus flee into Egypt

2010-12-17T01:00:00.002-05:00

Matthew 2:13-23 (New American Standard Bible)

Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him."
So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt.
He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my Son."
Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.
Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be comforted, because they were no more."
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, "Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child's life are dead." So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: "He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Adventures in .22 Magnum land with AMT, Winchester, Kel-Tec et c.

2010-12-16T19:48:00.001-05:00

We've had a scant few of the new Kel-Tec PMR-30 .22 Magnum pistols in stock at the gun shop where I work, but they disappeared so quickly I hardly got a peek of one. It's supposed to be at long last that elusive unicorn of a semi-auto pistol, a .22 Magnum that won't jam.

I had a brief fling with an AMT AutoMag II .22WMR, the compact 4.5"-barrel version, and found out why they have a reputation as a Jam-A-Matic. That's it at the bottom of the next photo.

The other two handguns are also now departed from my fold, at left is a Steyr M357-A1 that also had a slight case of jam-itis. I have zero tolerance for pistols that are not 100% reliable. This is my life we're talking about here when it comes to carry handguns.

At right is my former S&W 1076 10mm, which I traded away for a much more carry-friendly Glock 29 10mm subcompact, which has been 100% reliable so far. The big Smith was just too ... big.

I also had a Winchester 94 lever-action .22 Magnum that I foolishly traded away years ago. It was a great shooter but alas, I was young and oh, so foolish.

Now Oleg Volk give us a peek of the Kel-Tec RMR-30, a carbine based on the PMR-30 pistol.

It's still under development, so be patient. This is going be even hotter than the PMR-30 or the RFB-18 .308 semi-auto rifle. Speaking of the latter, we've finally been able to get a few of those and keep it in stock at the gun shop. Oops, spoke too soon, out of stock again.

And I've already picked out my next carry pistol after my long-awaited Sig P239 .357 Sig compact arrives from Exeter, Mass., where it's been on special order for about a month.

It will be a .22 Magnum single-action mini-revolver from North American Arms they call the Black Widow.

Mark Walters at Guns & Patriots recently rated a NAA .22 Magnum mini at the top of his list of Top 10 Carry Pistols. And I've decided he's right.

I had a 4"-barrel NAA model called The Earl on layaway at the shop briefly before I had second thoughts. It's a neat pistol, but just a shade too long of snout for easy pocket carry.

So I took another look at the NAA models and chose the Black Widow. This will have to be a special order also as we currently have no Black Widow models in stock at the gun shop.

I want the conversion model with adjustable sights which comes with two cylinders, .22LR and .22WMR.

We've got several NAA mini-revolvers in stock at the shop but they all have either 1" barrels or 4" barrels.

As Goldlilocks said, the 2" barrel on the Black Widow is "just right," not too short, not too long. It fits in the pocket of any garment I might ever wear. Please don't even try to imagine my large posterior wearing a speedo. It would not be a pretty sight. Shudder!

Tangolio T755 9mm Stainless Compact "Governement Model"?

2010-12-16T18:56:00.000-05:00

How do you spell "Government Model" in Italy? If it's supposed to be in English for the U.S. market?

Ain't it embarrassing to misspell a word when it's stamped in steel for all eternity, or at least until the very last Tangolio T755 9mm Stainless Compact is ground up for scrap metal? Other than that, it ain't a bad looking pistol and it's listed on gunbroker for a mere $325, so this spelling mistake can be yours.

ISSC Austrian president corrects my mistakes about link to GSG

2010-12-16T07:09:00.001-05:00

I got a Dear John email from the head honcho at ISSC (I get a lot of those).

Dear John:

Just wanted to correct a few statements that appeared on your blog about the ISSC M22 pistol.

1. There is no connection whatsoever between ISSC and GSG. We are not part of anyone's stable. Our guns are manufactured entirely in our own factory in Austria. They are designed by Wolfram Kriegleder who previously worked for Walther and designed the P22.

2. The settlement with Glock does not stop us from importing the M22 pistol and our price reduction had nothing to do with any legal issues with Glock or anyone else. The price reduction is a reflection of the general slowdown in firearms sales and price reductions in competitive guns, particularly the Walther P22.

Otherwise, thank you for the free publicity.

Cordially,

Mike Weisser
President, ISSC, LLC

Nice to know somebody's reading my humble blog. I don't recall where, but I saw a website that combined GSG guns and ISSC guns, perhaps one of their distributors? Whatever, I was obviously mistaken to link the two companies together. And I still might have an ISSC M22 in my future, particularly at the lower price.

The real story of Christmas: Wise men come seeking King of the Jews

2010-12-16T01:00:00.001-05:00

Matthew 2:1-12 (New American Standard Bible)

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him."
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a Ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"
Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him."
After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

The real story of Christmas: Angels proclaim Jesus birth to shepherds

2010-12-15T01:00:00.001-05:00

Luke 2:8-20 (New American Standard Bible)

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
"This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."
So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

The real story of Christmas: Jesus is born in a stable in Bethlehem

2010-12-14T01:00:00.001-05:00

Luke 2:1-7 (New American Standard Bible)

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The real story of Christmas: Joseph is visited by the Angel of the Lord

2010-12-13T01:00:00.001-05:00

Matthew 1:18-25 (New American Standard Bible)

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.
But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."
Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call his name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us."
And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

The real story of Christmas: Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel

2010-12-12T16:16:00.003-05:00

Luke 1:26-38 (New American Standard Bible)

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."
Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
"And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God."
And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

What did Mary know about her Baby Boy, the Lord Jesus Christ?

2010-12-12T15:48:00.002-05:00

"Mary, Did You Know?" By Mark Lowry (with David Phelps & Guy Penrod)

Drastic price cuts offered for Glock-copy ISSC M22 .22LR pistols

2010-12-10T08:27:00.001-05:00

I predicted some weeks ago that my next .22 pistol would be the ISSC M22 Austrian-made Glock copy.

It hasn't happened yet as I've found other handguns I wanted more than another .22 pistol. But the time may be at hand. J&G Sales is offering a drastic price cut on the M22 for only $199.95. My gunshop is selling the basic black model for $300 and even with an employee's discount, I couldn't touch the J&G price.

ISSC in Austria is part of the GSG stable of firearms manufacturers and I read the other day in one of the gun magazines that an out-of-court settlement has been reached with Glock to stop importing the M22 and redesign it to look a lot less like a copy of Glock pistols. GSG was sued by Heckler & Koch for their copies of the MP5 submachine pistol in .22LR and reached an agreement with H&K to stop the import of those and redesign it to be a lot less like a copy of the MP5.

This latest agreement between GSG/ISSC and Glock means no more importation of the M22 until it is redesigned. Hence the price drop as the U.S. importer, Austrian Sporting Arms of Ware, MA, unloads it's inventory of M22 models. The price cut is a great deal if you're looking for a Glock training pistol so if you're interested you better act now. When the importer sells out, there won't be anymore Glock-copy M22s.

A brief interlude of relief from the frosty days here in the Sunny South

2010-12-10T07:59:00.000-05:00

Winter may not officially begin until Dec. 21, but it sure feels like it's already here in the Sunny South.

The frost has been on windshields in the mornings and in my sweet wife's backyard garden for the past several days. But they don't call it the Sunny South for nothing. Yesterday the sun was shining and it was nice enough to smoke a cigar on the patio during lunch break in our backyard for the first time in at least two or three weeks. Yet another reason I love working at home posting gun sales pages on the Internet.

Today's high is supposed to be 52 and sunny again with 50s predicted through the weekend. But then Monday and Tuesday are predicted to be down in the low 30's again. Oh well, the sun don't always shine on the same dog every day. But this ancient scribe is getting more cold-natured as the years advance. It's not even officially winter yet and I'm already longing for spring.

Becky Kelley - Where's the Line to See Jesus - OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

2010-12-09T06:44:00.000-05:00

Inside The Gun Locker: Carrying A Glock 10mm - Guns & Patriots

2010-12-07T19:06:00.001-05:00

I love it when a gun "expert" agrees with me, as Robert Boatman at Guns & Patriots does. He writes about the virtues of that little-known pocket rocket, the Glock 29 subcompact 10mm, as the ultimate concealed-carry handgun.
Inside The Gun Locker: Carrying A Glock 10mm - HUMAN EVENTS

My G29 got a custom makeover by a Glock armorer in Kansas for a previous owner, who swapped it to me for my S&W 1076, an all-stainless 10mm that's written about in the above article. The 1076 is commander-size with a 4.25" barrel but it's a brick to carry around. My G29 holds more rounds, 10+1 vs. 9+1, and it's much more carry friendly, as well as a great shooter.

It's got a stippled frame with a grip reduction to the 1911 angle, a chromed slide, Trijicon night sights, a 3.5-lb. trigger and HD springs set up for Double-Tap 10mm ammo. It's about as good as a Glock can get, IMHO. I bought a full-size G20 10mm after I got the G29, but I seldom carried it so I sold it later.

If I was heading into Grizzly Bear country, my S&W .44 Magnum and my G29 would certainly go with me. And when I'm feeling like going loaded for bear down here in the flatlands, I carry my G29.

Top 10 Concealed Carry Guns - Guns & Patriots

2010-12-07T18:57:00.002-05:00

Mark Walters at Guns & Patriots lists his top 10 for concealed carry and I bet you'll be surprised to read his No. 1 choice.
Top 10 Concealed Carry Guns - HUMAN EVENTS
Here's my favorites, but I won't rank them or some of my handguns will get jealous and start bickering. It's hard to keep peace in the family when you're trying to decide what to carry at work at the gun shop or at play.

The one I carry most often at the gun shop is my Para P12-45, heavily customized by Cylinder & Slide. In addition having a great trigger it has several other custom features that make it a joy to shoot. And a really good single-action trigger cures my tendency to pull my shots a bit to the right, being a lefty shooter. No matter how good a double-action trigger is, a great single-action trigger is still better. And if 12+1 rounds of 230-gr. Winchester Ranger or PDX-1 won't get you out of trouble, you just ain't shooting straight.

My next most-often carried handgun is also a single-action .45 but of a slightly different stripe, unlike the P12-45, it's a single-stack with only 6+1 capacity. It's my Sig P220 Compact Elite SAO. Once upon a time I wasn't interested in single-stack pistols, but when I began to consider weight with daily carry, the trade-off for rounds vs. comfort started looking a whole lot better.

And an interesting thing happened when I shot my first P220 SAO, a full-size pistol I bought before I got the P220 Compact. I discovered I actually shoot tighter groups with better control than with any of my 1911 .45s, compact or full-size. The Sig P220 has a 5-lb. trigger pull vs. 3.5 to 4 lbs. for my three 1911s, but I just shoot the full-size and the compact P220s better. Don't ask me to 'splain it, it just is.

I also have a pair of Sig P229s in .357 Sig, one plain and one fancy, and I shoot both of them pretty fair, too, with their double-action/single-action set-up.

The first one I bought is a Sig P229 Two-Tone SAS Gen2 .357 Sig with the Short-Reset Trigger. I liked it so much I bought a plain P229R and I carry it more than the SAS, cause it's just too pretty to get skint up.

Then there's the revolvers I carry when I'm feeling like a wheel-gun kinda guy. My absolute favorite is a S&W 65 stainless .357 Magnum with the slickest double-action trigger I ever met, courtesy of the S&W Performance Shop. It's a K-frame with six holes in the cylinder, more than adequate for most social affairs.

My Charter Arms Patriot .327 Magnum with Crimson Trace Laser Grips also holds six potent rounds that are nearly the equal in ballistics of the .357 Magnum and it's get its share of carry duty.

And then there's my two .44 Special carry guns. I quite often carry them together at work. My S&W 396 Night Guard 5-shooter with front night sight usually gets main carry position in a left-hand holster.

And my Charter Bulldog stainless .44 5-shooter resides in a Galco small-of-back holster for access to my right hand, should the left be otherwise occupied.

And even if the left is not out of play, what's the quickest way to reload after you've shot one handgun dry? The late-great NYPD Detective Jim Cirillo dubbed it "The New York Reload." Shoot one dry and pull another one.

And I haven't even mentioned my two Steyr 9mm pistols, MA1 and SA1, the best striker-fired pistols from Austria that nobody ever heard of, or my Ruger LCR and Charter Southpaw .38 Specials, or my CZ P07 Duty 9mm, or my Glock 29 10mm subcompact, or my S&W M&P Compact .357 Sig, or my Kel-Tec PF9 9mm subcompact with Crimson Trace laser grip, which gets carried off-work as main and at-work as backup. So many choices and only one me to carry them all. See why I try not to play favorites so I can keep peace in the family of carry guns?

Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1968 was a "Twilight Zone" experience

2010-12-07T10:17:00.000-05:00

I was in Pearl Harbor early on the morning of Dec. 7, 1968, serving in the U.S. Navy on board the USS Mullinix (DD-944) on the way to Vietnam when a very strange "Twilight Zone" event happened.

It was a Twilight Zone kind of experience that got even weirder years later when I learned the Mullinnix actually was filmed in an early 1960s episode of the TV show.

Gun Q&A: Should I buy an old High Standard Victor .22 Target Pistol?

2010-12-06T20:22:00.000-05:00

Guess I've started a new series as I keep getting questions about guns. Might as well do another Gun Q&A.

Q: I enjoy your writing and the straight forward responses you have for the various guns and purchases. I need your objective advice before I spend $$$ on an old Victor High Standard .22 in 98% condition and 4 clips. It is a good looker. Many of the reviews on it list mag feed issues, lack of repair services, and warnings against high power ammo.

What do you know of these HS Victor target .22’s? Would the $500 be better spent on a new Ruger III Hunter? I like my old Colt Woodsman and SW K-22 for target shooting.

A: High Standard Victor models are rare and $500 is a good price. If you're looking for a collector .22 that may have some problems as a shooter, buy it. Any competent gunsmith should be able to fix any common ailments, such as spring replacements and perhaps even magazine springs or followers. But anything requiring manufacturer's parts could be an issue.

High Standard has a new owner selling guns under the HS name, but finding parts for old guns will always be a problem. You probably have some experience in that area having work done on your Colt Woodsman, which is also long out of production. But there are a few sources for hard-to-find parts, Numrich Gun Parts is one.

If you're looking primarily for a reliable shooter that can handle high-velocity ammo, a new Ruger Mk III or S&W 22A-1 would be a better choice. I would also add a Browning Buck Mark onto your list to consider for new .22 hunter/target pistols. Use should be your standard.

But speaking for myself, I doubt I'd pass up the chance to get an old High Standard Victor in good shape for $500. It's one of the great .22 target pistols of all time and was used for championship bullseye competition from Camp Perry to the Olympics.

High Standard under new management has brought the Victor model back into production with an MSRP of $800. Ouch. Patrick Sweeny reviewed the new HS Victor for Guns & Ammo Handguns magazine and he liked it a lot. And Sweeny points out the new HS Victor magazines also fit the old models. Nice to know.

Sweeny looks at the price tag for the new model Victor and asks:

Why would you want a Victor? In a world where you can buy any number of plinker-grade .22 LR pistols for half the cost of a Victor or less, why spend more than what it costs to get the basics? Because you get more, that's why.

You get more accuracy than you can shoot, more reliability than you can believe, a link to the past and incredible durability--a pistol that even if you won the lottery tomorrow you could not afford enough ammo to wear out. It's a pistol, like so many others that have been seen on the line at Camp Perry, you can leave to your heirs in your will.

If that's not enough of a return on your hard-earned cash for you, then I don't know what to suggest.

Cats do not have self-esteem issues -- Ego thy name is kitty

2010-12-03T06:50:00.000-05:00

Taking Your Own Personal Safety Seriously - HUMAN EVENTS

2010-12-02T07:53:00.000-05:00

Taking Your Own Personal Safety Seriously - HUMAN EVENTS

The sad fact is that criminals and predators enjoy the holiday season as much as the rest of us. They love the fact that we are distracted by our surroundings and many are lying in wait for us to make that one mistake that they can capitalize on...

The point is to prepare yourself, by being aware of your surroundings and avoiding any and all confrontations at all times no matter what by using your eyes and your brains. Prepare yourself by purchasing a gun, training with it and obtaining the necessary state weapon/firearm permits. Embrace it, get to know it intimately, love everything about it, the way it looks, the way it feels, its beauty in design and engineering, its disassembly and reassembly, its features and accessories. Carry it with you and never be afraid to use it to defend your life or that of your family and loved ones.

A fool and his money keep getting parted with handgun excesses

2010-12-01T18:35:00.000-05:00

I'm a latecomer to wheel guns, as some call revolvers, but I'm growing more and more fond of them daily.

My first revolver was a S&W 19 .357 Magnum that I acquired almost by accident. I had some work done on a shotgun and when I picked it up at the gunsmith's shop, I asked him almost offhandedly, "Ever get any used guns to sell?" He looked at me sorta funny and said, "Matter of fact, I've got one right now. This guy brought in a S&W to get some work done and never came back to get it. It's been here so long, I've decided to sell it." It had a pinned barrel and recessed chambers and was in great shape. I knew less then than I do now about guns but I knew enough then to know it was a great buy.

I bought it for a song, $225, and like a fool later sold it for $300. It had a 6" barrel so really wasn't great for concealed carry, at least that was the reason I let it go. But it was a great shooter and I shoulda kept it.

My second wheel gun was close to another accident. I was in a pawn shop browsing and found a S&W 29 .44 Magnum with a 4" pipe, the famed Dirty Harry model. It was also priced too low to pass up, $450, so I bought it. And I fell in love with my first .44. That one I've kept and always will.

I added a .44 Magnum single-action 6-shooter with a 6" barrel later just because I love .44s. It's a Hy Hunter Six-Shooter, a copy of the Colt Single Action Army, made in West Germany during the Cold War by J.P Sauer & Sohn. That's the German company that later merged with the Swiss arms maker Sig in the '90s to form my now-favorite pistol maker, Sig Sauer.

It's my fun gun, not suitable for carry but a lot of fun at the range. I suppose I could carry my Model 29 like Dirty Harry did, but I'm not as much of a man as he supposedly was. It's heavy.

Since I started working at a gun shop and carrying daily a couple of years ago, I've acquired other wheel guns in .38 Special, .357 Magnum and .44 Special, all with short barrels for carry, from 2 to 3".

And now I've done fell in love with another wheel gun, a S&W Performance Shop Model 327 .357 Magnum which some fool bought brand new and then traded it in at the gun shop. It's in perfect condition for a mere $925 on gunbroker, about $150 less than the new price.

It's made of ultra-light materials, Titanium and Scandium, so it's perfect for carry at only 21 ounces empty.

But who's going to carry it empty when it's best feature is that it holds eight rounds of .357 Magnum?

If this gently-used beauty hangs around the shop long before somebody buys it, I may have to find an excuse to add one more wheel gun to my arsenal. Somebody stop me before I commit handgun excess ... again.

Charge of the Chiappa Rhino

2010-12-01T06:44:00.001-05:00

Charge of the Chiappa Rhino

American Rifleman has tested the Chiappa Rhino .357 Magnum revolver, the first review I've seen. I took photos of one at the gun shop where I work and got a chance to play with it a bit and as I posted earlier, I was underwhelmed. The grip is a bit small for my large hands and the first impression I got was not a good one. Maybe when I get a chance to fire one, the second impression will be better. It's a great concept for a revolver.

I was for Sarah Palin before it was cool to be for Sarah

2010-12-01T06:21:00.000-05:00

True genius is revealed when the general public begins to come around to your way of thinking. I don't know who said that, so I'll take credit for it. I was for Sarah Palin before it was cool to be for Sarah, since the day John McCain pulled her out of his magic hat during the 2008 campaign. And everything that has happened since has strengthened my conviction that she's like what they said about Maggie Thatcher running as the first woman prime minister of England, "She's the best man for the job." Run Sarah run!

Yet another CZ pistol to add to my ever-growing gotta-have list

2010-11-28T16:23:00.000-05:00

My CZ P07 Duty 9mm is one of my favorite carry guns. I configured mine with the safety-only option included in the box, replacing the safety/decocker as issued so I could carry it cocked and locked.

Sixteen+1 9mm rounds with a compact 3.5" barrel, it's a great concealed-carry package of firepower.

But then I happened to pass by Angus Hobdell's CZ Custom Shop site and saw one of his latest custom creations, a P07 Duty with a few tweaks by the master to create what he calls the SP07 Duty.

It's got a fiber-optic front sight on the P07 slide, but the lower is a shortened SP01 frame with a full-size grip and a 19-rd. magazine. So many guns I want and so little money to buy them. Life's continuing dilemma.

Inside the Gun Locker: CZP-01 - HUMAN EVENTS

2010-11-27T19:31:00.001-05:00

Inside the Gun Locker: CZP-01 - HUMAN EVENTS
The best pistol I ever owned was a Custom CZ SP01 from Angus Hobdell's CZ Custom Shop. I shouldn't have sold it but did so as I transitioned into concealed-carry handguns.

The CZ P01 is the concealed-carry version of the SP01. I've never seen one "in the flesh" yet, but when I do, I'll probably buy it.

Start working on your TEOTWAWKI /WTSHTF survival plans today

2010-11-24T08:03:00.000-05:00

Speaking of the impending apocalypse, check out Preparing for the End of the World at Guns & Patriots.

Close your eyes and imagine a world without electricity: no Fox News, no Facebook, no email, no Blackberry, no cold drinks, no heat in the winter, no automobiles, no food and no way to cook it even if you had it. It’s the end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI) and you and your family are going to die.

Unless, of course, you are prepared.

I was at church last week, and I met a new friend. When I told him I taught concealed carry classes, his first response was “Oh, I’ve been meaning to buy a handgun, but I don’t know what to get. Can you help me?” I asked him why he wanted a gun, and he confided that he was concerned that society would soon collapse and he wanted to defend his family. I was nice and didn’t explain to him that he should have been preparing for years, better late than never I suppose. Instead, I told him that one gun doesn’t fit all, that he’d be better off buying a pistol, a 22 caliber rifle, a battle rifle in .223 caliber, a pump shotgun, and a large caliber hunting rifle and thousands of rounds of ammo. The look on his face told me he was overwhelmed. Like most people seeking to survive societal collapse, the actual nuts and bolts of how to do it, was totally foreign to him.

Read the whole thing and start working on your TEOTWAWKI or WTSHTF plans today.

Smith & Wesson loads up an emergency survival tool kit just for you

2010-11-23T16:55:00.000-05:00

Doth the apocalypse draweth nigh? Perhaps. If so, here's what you just might need to survive it.

So what's in it? I'm glad you asked.

All sorts of goodies for survival, the chief one being what's close to the World's Largest Snubby, a S&W 460 Magnum revolver with 2.75" barrel. The only snubby larger is a S&W 500 Magnum.

The 460ES kit contains a Smith & Wesson 460XVR featuring a safety yellow rubber grip with a 2-3/4” barrel. The kit is packaged in a waterproof and durable yellow Storm case with several survival tools including the firearm. Each ES kit contains a S&W Extreme Ops folding survival knife in black nylon belt sheath, tree saw, whistle, compass, signal mirror, lighter, fire starter, two emergency blankets and a book with tips on preventing bear attacks, "Bear Attacks of the Century."

In addition to all that cool survival stuff is a really cool knife, the S&W Extreme Ops folder.

But the star of the show is the .460 Magnum 5-shot snubby, which also can chamber and shoot .454 Casull and .45 Colt, both being shorter cartridges of the same bore.

As you can see from the powder burns, this S&W 460 Magnum has actually been shot. My gun shop is selling it as Like New In Case for a mere $1250 (no decimal point). Get loaded for bear today.

I could probably afford the knife but the entire kit is way outa my league.

NRA opposes gun-grabber's appointment to head the BATFE

2010-11-23T06:54:00.001-05:00

Oh joy, just what we need, a gun-grabber appointed by Obama to head the BATFE.

The NRA strongly opposes President Obama’s nomination of Andrew Traver as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). Traver has been deeply aligned with gun control advocates and anti-gun activities. This makes him the wrong choice to lead an enforcement agency that has almost exclusive oversight and control over the firearms industry, its retailers and consumers. Further, an important nomination such as BATFE director should not be made as a “recess appointment,” in order to circumvent consent by the American people through their duly elected U.S. Senators.

Traver served as an advisor to the International Association for Chiefs of Police’s (IACP) “Gun Violence Reduction Project,” a “partnership” with the Joyce Foundation. Both IACP and the Joyce Foundation are names synonymous with promoting a variety of gun control schemes at the federal and state levels. Most of the individuals involved in this project were prominent gun control activists and lobbyists.

The IACP report, generated with Traver’s help, called on Congress to ban thousands of commonly owned firearms by misrepresenting them as “assault weapons,” as well as calling for bans on .50 caliber rifles and widely used types of ammunition. The report also suggests that Congress should regulate gun shows out of existence and should repeal the privacy protections of the Tiahrt Amendment—all efforts strongly opposed by the NRA and its members.

Traver also participated in an extremely deceptive NBC Chicago report (http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Assault-Weapons-Surge-in-City-69620227.html) in which he referred to “the growing frequency of gang members and drug dealers using heavy caliber military-type weapons” and described them as if they were machine guns: “Pull the trigger and you can mow people down.” Traver and his agents provided the reporter with a fully automatic AK-47, with which she was unable to hit the target. He then said that stray bullets are “one of the main problems with having stuff like this available to the gangs.”

As the Agent-in-Charge of Chicago’s BATFE office, Traver knows that fully automatic firearms are not available through normal retail channels—the opposite of what was implied in the report.
An agency involved in the regulation of a fundamental, individual right guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution should not be led by an individual with a demonstrated hostility to that freedom. For that reason, the NRA strongly opposes Andrew Traver to head the BATFE and urges President Obama to withdraw this ill-advised nomination.

Full circle with pistols from single-stack to double-stack and back

2010-11-21T18:17:00.002-05:00

Life in some ways is a circle. We go from childhood to adulthood and then at least in some ways back in old age to what is gently humored as our "second childhood."

And in my lifetime of relations with handguns, in particular with pistols, I've made a full circle from single-stack magazine pistols to double-stack and now back to single-stack again.

My first love was a Colt 1911 .45 ACP which my daddy brought home one day when I was about 10. He let me shoot it and though it was heavy, I was really surprised at how easy it was to shoot. Daddy tossed an old peach basket out in the yard about 10 yards away and proceeded to put a few holes it it. Then he handed the 1911 to me and I finished off the magazine of seven by putting more holes in the basket with every shot.

The recoil of that all-steel .45 was no big deal at all to this 10-year-old kid, and I shot the 1911 just like my daddy did, with one hand. From that day forward, I was a 1911 .45 guy, so by the time I joined the Navy, boot camp held no surprises on how to field strip and shoot 1911-A1 .45s.

I carried 1911 .45s while on guard duty aboard various Navy ships from 1967-71 and took every opportunity for some target shooting off the fantail of the ship, which was occasionally allowed. I well remember one day on the fantail of the USS Mullinnix, DD-944, on the way to Vietnam in 1969.

The captain called for target shooting and led the party shooting his personal Browning Hi-Power. And after he put a few holes in a target, I stepped up after him with one of the very loose 1911s from the ship's armory and shot a tighter group than the skipper did.

He made no comment and I was an impertinent idiot to expect him to admit that a lowly sailor just outshot him. Impetuous youth.

But I never got around to owning my first handgun until shortly after 9/11. I had been reading one of Jeff Cooper's books where he opined that the .45 ACP round had "almost enough power" and extolled the new 10mm round which he helped develop as a superior cartridge for self-defense, hunting and all purposes.

So when the decision was made to buy a handgun, I went looking for a 10mm and found a S&W 1076. I later learned on researching it that the 1076 was the FBI issue handgun from 1990-95. Its adoption largely stemmed from the infamous Miami shootout where agents armed with .357 Magnum revolvers and 9mm pistols were badly outgunned by a pair of heavily armed bank robbers. Two agents died that fateful day and the FBI decided to upgrade to 10mm pistols.

The S&W 1076 is an all-stainless-steel pistol with a Commander-sized 4.25" barrel and a 9-rd. single-stack magazine. The FBI abandoned it for smaller, lighter pistols in 1995 and that's what I later did also as I began a transition into concealed-carry handguns. You can carry and conceal a 1076, but it sure ain't easy or very much fun carrying an all-steel handgun.

My first concealed-carry handgun began a love affair with .357 Sig, a pistol cartridge developed to provide similar ballistics to the classic .357 Magnum 125-grain revolver load. But instead of being limited to six rounds, you get as many as a magazine will hold. Even single-stack magazines hold more than a typical .357 Magnum revolver.

So I bought an Austrian-made Steyr M357-A1 in 2006, a compact pistol with a 4" barrel and 12-rd. double-stack magazines plus a polymer frame like that other plastic pistol made in Austria. I later added a M9A1, the 9mm version.

And from there, if a pistol didn't have double-stack magazines and a lightweight frame of polymer or alloy, I wasn't interested in it. I carried occasionally and was perfectly happy with my Steyrs and other double-stack-magazine pistols I acquired in 10mm, 9mm and more in .357 Sig, plus my first 1911 .45, a Llama I-XC double-stack version of Browning's classic.

Then in January 2009, I went to work at a gun store and began carrying all day, every day. After an attempted armed-robbery of the shop, I began carrying a main and a backup, or as the late famed New York cop Jerry Cerullo dubbed it, the New York reload. Shoot one dry and pull another. Faster than reloading.

My gun collection grew at a much faster pace over the past nearly two years working at the gun shop. To date it includes two more double-stack .45s, a full-size Para P14-45 and a compact P12-45, in addition to four more .357 Sig pistols, two Sig P229s and two S&W M&Ps, compact and subcompact. I also added more 9mm pistols, plus several revolvers from .327 Magnum to .44 Special.

My love of Sig pistols brought me back to single-stack .45s as I acquired first a full-size P220 then a compact size. I discovered to my amazement that I can actually shoot a P220 more accurately than my 1911 .45s, all three of which are double-stackers.

And then the daily toll of double-carry caught up with my aging back and translated into back pain. So I scaled back on carry to a lightweight .38 or .44 and my single-stack Kel-Tec PF-9 9mm ultracompact or a subcompact Steyr S9A1 I recently acquired when Steyr-Mannlicher began importing pistols to the U.S again.

So in light of that decision, I decided I needed another .357 Sig pistol in a subcompact design with a single-stack magazine. Enter the Sig P239 SAS Gen2 Two-Tone, which I now have on special order from Sig. I have a Sig P229 SAS Gen2 Two-Tone which is currently my favorite pistol to shoot. I liked it so much I bought a plain-Jane P229R .357 Sig, too.

The SAS Gen2 model line includes night sights and the Sig Short Reset Trigger, in addition to the Sig Anti Snag treatment of slide and frame to smooth off all edges and corners on the slide and frame. But the SRT is the best feature, I can shoot double-taps with my P229 SAS virtually effortlessly.

I love my P229s, but I think I'm going to love the P239 even more for its lower weight for daily carry. As with all special orders from Sig, I have no schedule for delivery, but I'm hopeful it will be a pleasant surprise like my P229 SAS was, which arrived in a little more than a week after the order was placed.

When it does arrive, you'll read more about it here. I can hardly wait but I'll have to anyway.

Auto-Ordnance M1 Carbine has hiccups but finally gets "shot in"

2010-11-20T18:37:00.001-05:00

I finally got a chance to shoot my new Auto-Ordnance M1 Carbine today. I bought the Tactical Folding Stock Model at the gun store where I work because I liked being able to shoot it with the stock folded "from the hip."

With the stock folded, the butt is on the right side and makes for a extra hand-hold, as my range buddy Leon McRae demonstrates. Note the flying brass I caught with this shot, a blur against Leon's jacket.

It's a good thing I was shooting with Leon, a retired U.S. military guy with a lot of experience with all types of military weapons. He has a collection of a few hundred military guns, including several M1 Carbines.

Right off the bat, the brand-new A-O Carbine performed like a single-shot. One round would fire but it would fail to chamber the next. Leon suggested lubing it down good as he said the action was so tight it wasn't allowing the bolt to fully cycle to load the next round. So I lubed the dickens out of it and kept shooting.

It still stove-piped and jammed fairly frequently, but at least it wasn't a single shot anymore. And it's a good think I brought 150 rds. of FMJs and three new 30-rd magazines in addition to the one 15-rd. mag supplied by Auto-Ordnance. I found some new Korean military 30-rd. mags at CDNN for $15 each and all three got a workout. Between Leon and myself, we burned through all 150 rds. to "shoot it in" as Leon put it.

I fired it from the shoulder and I fired it from the hip and just kept loading magazines and shooting. At first she would fire and cycle reliably from the shoulder, but not from the hip. So I just kept on shooting.

And it worked. This is toward the end of the ammo and I was just watching the bolt cycle, waiting for the next jam shooting from the hip. By the time I got to the last 30-rd. magazine, she worked great from the hip and from the shoulder, no jams, just blam, blam, blam until slide lock.

We did have one hiccup that will require a bit of attention to figure out by my buddy Leon, the Carbine gunsmith. The metal handguard kept falling off as the barrel band on the forearm jarred forward while firing. Here's a shot of me firing without the handguard.

And with all that shooting in a short period of time, it became painfully obvious why an M1 Carbine needs a handguard. We kept putting the handguard back on and retightening the barrel band screw and getting our fingers burned in the process if we touched that hot barrel. Ouch!

Leon finally figured out the spacer on the barrel band for the sling swivel was too wide to allow tightening the band screw enough to keep the handguard in place. So we took the sling swivel off, tightened down on the screw and no more flying handguard. Leon is going to file down that spacer a bit so I can put the sling swivel back on. With the sling attached and the stock folded, this a very handy package of easy-carry firepower.

So I ended the day without the sling attached, but with an Auto-Ordnance Carbine that has been "shot in" and works just fine from the shoulder or the hip. I'm gonna have to buy a lot more Carbine ammo. I'm having almost more fun that the law allows and I see a lot more fun in the future with this new M1 Carbine.

Start small and work up with handguns, or start large and go larger?

2010-11-19T19:52:00.000-05:00

David Fessenden at Tactical Gear offers a good primer on training in the use and carry of concealed-carry guns.

I can't say I agree with everything he writes, particularly his negative opinion on starting a novice shooter on a .22 pistol.

In the NRA Basic Pistol classes I've taught, I've started new shooters on .22 pistols and shown them they can hit what they aim at, always a good start.

And from there I've moved them up to 9mm, .357 Sig and .45 ACP with no problems in the same class over the span of about four hours at the range, beginning with bench rest and moving up to standing two-handed.

But Fessenden makes some good points so it's worth your time to read what he has to say.

For the selection of a concealed carry weapon, many instructors will advise their students to purchase a .22 Long Rifle pistol and train up to a larger caliber firearm. The thinking here is that the student will adjust to the lower noise, recoil and shock of this smaller caliber handgun and will eventually be comfortable enough to move up to the larger caliber pistol with ease.

I view this as a colossal waste of time and money. I prefer to advise my students to bring a .38 Special revolver or 9mm, .40 S&W, .38 Super or .45 ACP semiautomatic to start the class. We teach the student how to properly and safely control and manage the recoil and push of the weapon, even when firing the multiple target drill. This is done with the application of proper stance and grip instruction in an acceptable period of time, usually just a few hours. Students quickly become very confident with their marksmanship and gun handling skills.

Any concerns about noise and recoil quickly are forgotten. I’ve taught many women without any prior firearms training or experience how to shoot a Glock Model 23 in .40 S&W with ease and precision, and after several hours they have openly thanked me for insisting that they start out with the weapon that will, in all likelihood, end up being their carry weapon.

Happy Holidays from Barack Hussein Obama and Joe Biden

2010-11-18T06:48:00.000-05:00

Ho, Ho, Ho, Merrrrrrrrrrrrrrry Christmas! Get your Obama-Biden Happy Holidays cards here.

2010-11-18T06:35:00.002-05:00

What's your favorite movie guns? I pick two Clints and one Duke

2010-11-16T18:29:00.002-05:00

What's your favorite movie gun? Obviously mine is Dirty Harry's S&W 29 .44 Magnum 'cause I got one just like it except mine has a 4" launcher. The NRA's American Rifleman magazine picks their 10 favorites. P.S. Movie trivia note: Did you know that the revolver Clint used in the first Dirty Harry movie was actually a S&W 57 .41 Magnum? For some unexplained reason, the movie substituted guns even though the script still identified it as a Model 29 "the most powerful handgun in the world" which it wasn't even back then.

The Duke's 1982 Winchester big-loop lever-action rifle in True Grit is also one of my top two. Do not attempt this maneuver with a loaded gun. Note where the muzzle is pointing in this shot, right at Rooster Cogburn's noggin.

And Clint's 1851 Navy cartridge conversion in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is my close third. Never mind that if such a pistol ever existed it would have been a custom job and almost certainly would not have existed during the Civil War period which the movie portrays. Hollywood hardly ever gets guns right.

Pick your favorites and post them in the comments.

Firearms have been a part of the movies since “The Great Train Robbery” flashed onto the Silver Screen in 1903. In many movies the gun is as important as the character, and often is what makes a scene iconic. AmericanRifleman.org has put together a list of 10 favorite movie guns and why they are so remembered.

Another lovely sunny fall day in the Sunny South

2010-11-15T17:56:00.000-05:00

Weather today in Rockingham, NC, high of 70, clear and sunny in my backyard. Ain't my sweet wife's garden with rocky-path walkway pretty?

Not that I'm a gloater, but eat your hearts out up in the frozen northlands.

Steyr pistol trapezoid/triangle sights work perfectly for first-time user

2010-11-14T17:08:00.001-05:00

I've been a Steyr pistol fan since I bought my first one in 2006 and I bought all three calibers of the MA1 compact version, .357 Sig, .40 S&W and 9mm. IMHO it's the best pistol made in Austria and one of the best in the world, including that other Austrian pistol that everybody knows about.

When I teach a monthly N.C. Concealed Carry Handgun Class at the gun shop where I work, I usually use one of my Steyr pistols for the show and tell portion of the class when I demonstrate how to safely handle and operate various types of pistols and revolvers, double-action and single-action, full-size to subcompact.

The one feature that always seem to impress my students about the Steyr pistols is their unique trapezoid/triangle sights.

Keep an Eye on the Target
The unique trapezoid sight offers a new dimension in rapid target acquisition. The sight's shape guides the eye onto the target, and thus the target is captured exactly and quickly.

I used my new S9A1 pistol at the class I taught Saturday, the subcompact version of the MA1, and as usual I demonstrated how its striker-fired double-action-only design works.

But one student was really impressed by the triangle/trapezoid sights and asked at the end of the class if he could shoot it at the indoor range where we do the firing qualification part of the class.

I allow the students in the class to shoot any of my pistols in the qualification part of the class for a fee of $10 if they buy the appropriate ammo at the gun shop. I figure it's a good service that allows them to try handguns they may not get another opportunity to shoot. So of course, I said yes and the student bought a box of 9mm at the gun shop after the class.

The student whose face is hidden behind the S9A1 in the photo is the one who wanted to shoot it. He used his own Ruger Security Six .357 Magnum revolver for the firing qualification at the range.

And after the class was over, I set him up a new target and let him try out the S9A1. Here's his very first magazine of 10 at the full-size-man target at 7 yards. Guess where he was aiming?

Now it this isn't proof positive that the Steyr M&S pistol trapezoid/triangle sights aren't the best at fast target acquisition and accuracy of any handgun on the market, what is it?

Browning/FNH-USA says a special thank you to all veterans

2010-11-12T16:13:00.001-05:00

Browning has a special tribute to veterans. I missed it yesterday, but found it today.

From all of us at Browning we would like to say "thank you" to all the veterans who have sacrificed in the past and continue to sacrifice in the cause of freedom on behalf of all Americans and freedom loving people throughout the world.
In honor of all veterans we would like to share this video tribute produced by our good friends at FNH-USA.

My poor excuse for not much blogging lately

2010-11-12T11:38:00.000-05:00

As my daddy used to say, a poor excuse is better than none at all. And I offer one to my blog readers. My job at the gun shop has kicked up a notch as I am now doing gun sales on two websites, gunbroker and gunsamerica, and quite frankly it's working my ancient ass off. I've got some 800 guns listed on each site and adding more three days a week when I work at home. Keeping up with sales as well as new guns listed is keeping me busier than a one-armed paper hanger. So I just haven't had time lately to do much blog posting.

I've got my monthly concealed-carry class tomorrow so maybe I can get some photos and do a post on that.

Hank Williams Jr. Colt SAA 1st Gen. goes custom via Hamilton Bowen

2010-11-05T07:35:00.000-04:00

I've seen a lot of "firsts" in firearms since I started working at a gun shop almost two years ago. This week, I saw two firsts in one, my first Colt Single Action Army 1st Generation Revolver and my first former Hank Williams Jr. gun.

The Colt SAA is probably the most famous firearm ever made, according to Bluebook:

One of the most well known handguns, and certainly the most collected revolver in the world, the Colt Single Action Army has been produced almost continuously since 1873, with only a minor interruption between 1940 and 1955. It is without a doubt, the most copied revolver with over fifteen clones currently in production.

Better known as the "Peacemaker", this firearm has appreciated in value at an accelerated rate over the last fifty years. Spurred by the popularity of television westerns in the 1950s and 60s, a standard pre-war, 1st generation single action in excellent condition has gone from $250 in 1960 to approximately $8,000 today, and in some cases much higher.

The Colt SAA .44 Special 1st Generation with Bisley grip frame the gun shop purchased is in excellent condition, but it's probably not worth the Bluebook value, which in the case of all Colt pistols, is usually quite a bit lower than market prices. This one has been customized, which is pretty close to blasphemy to Colt collectors, but on the other hand the connection to Hank Williams Jr. may well offset that with its value to Hank Jr. fans as well as Colt fans.

The story on this Colt begins with gun writer Mike Venturino, who gave Hank Jr.'s fax number to John Bivins of Charleston, S.C., as a possible source for a Colt .44 Special revolver that he wanted to purchase and customize. Venturino is a long-time friend of Hank Jr. and has written numerous articles about Williams' gun collection.

This SAA Colt was purchased from Hank Jr. in 1999 by Bivins, who directed Williams to send it directly to Hamilton Bowen of Bowen Classic Arms in Louisville, Tenn., for some custom work. It arrived at Bowen's shop with a 5.5" barrel, which was replaced with a 7.5" EMF barrel, and here it is.

Bowen also did quite a bit of other custom work, including installing Micro adjustable target sights front and rear, gold-plated trigger with overtravel-screw adjustment, custom wood grips, replacing hammer/trigger springs, action tuning, stamping Colt rollmarks on the EMF barrel and rebluing the entire gun.

The original 5.5" Colt barrel was sent back to Williams by Bowen at Bivins' request.

At some later date after his 1999 purchase and custom work, Bivins sold the Colt and we purchased it from a third party. One thing I've learned at the gun shop is that customized guns are hardly ever worth what "stock" ones are, and usually the value drops precipitously. In this case, if it was still in original condition, we'd probably be asking more than $10,000 for this 1st Generation SAA, even if it had no connection to Hank Jr.

We're asking $4,500 for it and only time will tell whether some Colt fan and/or Hank Williams fan will buy it.

Let the ass whupping begin as voters drain the swamp in Washington

2010-11-02T19:58:00.000-04:00

I know it ain't polite to say I told you so, but this election is indeed shaping up to be one gigantic can of whup-ass on Barack Hussein Obama and all the other leftwingnuts who've been in power for the past two years.

I'm quite hopeful that when I wake up in the morning, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will both be out of power, if not out of office entirely. It couldn't happen to two more deserving morons.

And now let the campaign begin for 2012 when we bring about the "end of an error" and send BHO packing as our first woman president takes office, Sarah Palin. As they said about Maggie Thatcher when she ran to become the first female prime minister in jolly old England, Sarah is the best man for the job.

Gun magic: Broke S&W .22 transformed into a new M1 Carbine

2010-10-30T19:19:00.001-04:00

Now for some gun magic. Watch me while I transform a S&W 317 .22LR 8-shooter that broke when I first shot it -- and was replaced with a brand-new one by Smith & Wesson in a gracious act of customer service...

...into something entirely different. Ready? Abbra caddabbra, shalakazammmmmmmmmmm!

It's an AOM160 Auto-Ordnance M1 Carbine "Tactical Folding Stock Model". I figured I could use a home-defense semi-auto carbine more than another .22 pistol, so when the new S&W 317 came into the gun shop from the factory, I traded it for the carbine. (I'm one of the few gun nuts on the planet who don't like ARs or AKs. I shot an AR, "not my style, said Casey." I owned two SKS models, regular and paratroop, shot both and found them to be accurate enough to barely hit a barn door, sold them both.)

I scored three 30-rd. South Korean-military mags from CDNN, stocked up on 200 rds. of .30 Cal. Carbine ammo from the gun shop and was all ready to go shooting today. Then I came down with an attack of old age.

As one of my senior friends said (who has since gone on to his eternal reward) "Old age is not for sissies.)

Bad questions and bad advice from across the gun shop counter

2010-10-29T08:19:00.000-04:00

Marko at Munchkin Wrangler and Caleb at Gun Nuts Media are trading riffs. Marko starts with a list of questions and comments a gun store clerk never wants to hear -- a good list of "Uh oh" starters.

“Can I buy, like, just one bullet?”
“Say, do you know what time the bank across the street opens?”
“You got anything that will go through a bulletproof vest? Like, the kind cops wear?”
“Phased plasma rifle in the forty-watt range.”
“I’ll take this one…according to prophecy.”
“I’ll need a few more magazines for that, too. Let’s see who gets laid off today, huh?”
“The voices say I want that Remington pump-action.”
“Uh, you guys need, like, I.D. for buying a gun?”
“I need something for…deer. Yeah, a deer. A cheatin’, no-good slut of a deer.”
“Will this pistol show on a metal detector? Say, at an airport?”
“I need something with a scope. The anti-psychosis meds make me too loopy for iron sights.”
“I need a what to buy a fully automatic weapon? I’m law enforcement! I work the tactical team at Pheasant Lane Mall!”
“So, is this rifle easy to convert to full-auto? Just a bit of file work, right?”
“I want some practice targets. You got any that are shaped like squad cars?”
“Can I just rent this thing for a few hours?
Then Caleb responds with stuff you don't want to hear from a gunstore clerk.
A little lady like you needs a snub nosed revolver
The Taurus Judge is a great defensive weapon (for any reason)
You don’t want to use buckshot in a house, use birdshot.
You don’t want to see Gun Y, you want to see Gun X because I think it’s better.
“10mm”

Feel free to add your own favorites/unfavorites for either side of the gun store counter.

My current topper for dumb gun shop customer questions is "Is a .44 bigger than a .45?"

And even though I'm a fan of 10mm pistols, I never recommend one unless the customer asks first. It is a powerful round and probably a bit too powerful and sharp in recoil for novice shooters to handle.

Remember November: The Final Act: The reality show you can play

2010-10-28T19:48:00.001-04:00

Have you voted yet? Remember in November is our battle cry!

Remember November: The Final Act from Republican Governors Association on Vimeo.

New Sig Sauer subcompact 9mm DAO pistol announced

2010-10-28T19:43:00.000-04:00

I work in a gun store that's a Sig Sauer dealer and I'd never heard of this one until I saw it online a minute ago.

SIG SAUER® P290™ Sub-Compact 9mm Pistol
Full Size Power in the Ultimate Conceal Carry
10.28.2010– EXETER, NH – SIG SAUER, the leading manufacturer of military, law enforcement, government agency and commercial firearms, introduces the SIG SAUER P290™ Sub-Compact 9mm pistol. The latest addition to SIG SAUER’s innovative conceal carry line-up puts all the power of a full-size 9mm in a lightweight and versatile polymer pistol design in the hands of responsible citizens and law enforcement officers.

The P290, in Double-Action-Only, has a snag-resistant, sleek design for conceal carry or used as a back-up for plains clothes or security personnel. The Stainless slide carries the popular SIG SAUER serrations and is finished in either natural stainless finish or a black Nitron® finish. Unique to the P290 are polymer customized grip plates in aluminum, wood and polymer that can be engraved with your initials for a truly personalized pistol (coming soon.)

SIG SAUER P290™ Specifications:

Caliber: 9mm
Overall Length: 5.5 in.
Overall Height: 3.9 in.
Overall Width: 0.9 (1.1 in. w/ slide catch lever)
Barrel Length: 2.9 in.
Sight Radius: 4.3 in.
Sights: Contrast/SIGLITE® Night Sights
Weight w/Mag 20.05 oz.
Frame: Polymer
Slide: Stainless
Frame Finish: Black
Slide Finish: Nitron® or natural stainless
Mag. Capacity: 6 – 8 rounds
Trigger: DAO
Grips: Customizable – aluminum, wood, polymer
Features: Customizable grips, optional laser
MSRP: P290 Nitron, 9mm, SIGLITE NS, 6-rd. mag. $530.00
P290 Two-Tone, 9mm, SIGLITE NS, 6-rd. mag. $550.00

I love Sig pistols so I guess one more just got added to my want list.

Paradise will be when I can be sedimentary for as long as I want

2010-10-28T07:19:00.000-04:00

Let the vote-stealing season begin early in eastern North Carolina

2010-10-27T10:04:00.000-04:00

As usual here in North Carolina where Democrats vote early and often, the cheating has begun, reports Gateway Pundit:

Another incident of voting machine irregularities was also reported yesterday in North Carolina. A voter said he pushed the button for a straight-party Republican ticket and the voting machine screen displayed a ballot with all Democrats checked. The problem was reported in two different counties.

Eastern NC has long been a bastion of Democrat voters and a little thing like a tidal wave of dissent with the powers that be in Washington, DC, won't change the way things are done in polling stations down east.

Which reminds me, think I'll go downtown and vote early today. Mark me down as hard-core right-wing conservative, somewhere to the right of Jesse Helms and Attila the Hun.

How cats think -- one of the greatest unknown mysteries of life

2010-10-27T07:01:00.000-04:00

Our house is kitty paradise. My sweet wife has at least one basket suitably padded with pillows and/or blankets in every room, some rooms have two as we have two cats. So where does Lucy choose to bed down this morning in my office, which has a suitably-outfitted basket in the window? In the middle of a pile of gun rugs in the corner on the floor.

If anybody ever figures out cats, please write a book and I'll buy it.

The saddest sight in Dixie is a pool covered up for winter

2010-10-26T07:52:00.000-04:00

Is there a sadder sight than the pool covered for winter? Harry the pool dog don't like it and neither do I. C'mon spring!

Back from Caswell, 'tanned, rested and ready' to serve the Lord

2010-10-25T06:32:00.001-04:00

I'm back from Fort Caswell and as Nixon said in '68, I'm tanned, rested and ready. Here's a sunset at Caswell, looking toward the lighthouse on the Cape Fear River side of Oak Island.

And here's moonrise just after sunset at the point of Oak Island, looking southwest toward Bald Head Island.

And here's the men from my church, Sweet Haven of Rockingham, NC, and Calvary Baptist of Hamlet, singing the songs of Zion in the kitchen of one of the cottages at Fort Caswell. The bald-headed fellow picking the guitar is my pastor, Rev. Mitchell Roller, a former mill-hill boy and hell-raiser, now serving the Lord.

It was a fun three days, but most of all, it was a genuine retreat to get refreshed in the service of our Lord.

Off to Fort Caswell for three days of porch sittin' and cigar smokin'

2010-10-21T06:40:00.001-04:00

I'm outa here for three days for my church annual men's retreat to Fort Caswell on the NC coast, where I plan to do exactly what these old farts are doing on the front porch of a cottage there -- absolutely nuthin'.

Got my cigars, a good book, a couple of changes of clothes and a few guns packed. This trip we might do some shooting if I have time in between sitting on the front porch watching the ocean roll by.

I will probably also find time to take some sunrise and sunset photos as Caswell Beach is one of the few places on the East Coast where you can see the sun rise and set over the ocean. I have yet to get a decent sunrise shot at Caswell, but sunset photos are easy to get. This is one of my recent favorites.

Later...

Bad news and good news from Smith & Wesson on a used S&W 317

2010-10-19T20:05:00.000-04:00

I got some good news and some bad news today. First, the bad news. A nice gentleman from Smith & Wesson customer service called me at the shop to report that the used S&W 317 .22LR revolver I had sent in for repair was "unrepairable." Broke. Can't be fixed.

But even though I am not the original owner and never even registered it for warranty, then came the good news. Smith & Wesson is going to ship me a brand-spanking-new Model 317 as a replacement!

Now that is how a good company does customer service. I've known for years that S&W does a good job of customer service. But now I have a personal example that proves the point beyond all doubt. S&W rocks!

I already own nine S&W handguns, pistols and revolvers, but I am quite sure more are in my future.

Nikon eyeglass lenses produce a miracle: Sharp in-focus front sight!

2010-10-19T07:35:00.000-04:00

This is a photo of something I haven't seen in sharp, clear focus in many years. The front sight of my Para P12-45.

But finally, after numerous attempts at getting prescription glasses that will allow my aging eyes to see a pistol sights clearly and in focus, I have got a pair that actually work!

The eye doctor I went to is a shooter who understood exactly what I wanted. And he did it. With safety glasses ground from Nikon lenses, I can now see clearly to shoot a pistol for the first time many years.

I can't wait to try them out at a range. If my plans work out, this weekend will be the first live test. Now I have no more excuses for missing the bullseye. I can see the sights, now all I gotta do is trigger control.

With a nation of gun owners, why are there only 4,000 NRA coaches?

2010-10-17T17:53:00.002-04:00

I read in one of the gun magazines a while back that the NRA has about 5,000 certified instructors nationwide.

That seems a bit low to me, assuming geographic equality that's only 100 per state. Of course, we can't make that assumption as more populous states likely have more than the average number of instructors.

(Of course that also assumes there are 50 states. If President Obama is right, we have 57 states in the union so the average number is even lower.)

But then I saw this just today from the NRA blog:

The NRA's Education & Training Division is pleased to announce its Coach Education Program has reached 4,000 coaches, setting a new record.

The program, which has experienced tremendous growth in the past few years, trains people to becomed NRA Certified Rifle, Shotgun, or Pistol Coaches. NRA's cadre of coaches work with shooters of all skill levels, from recreational shooters to Olympic athletes.

So the total is only 4,000, which is a new record. There's something seriously wrong with this statistic. If an old fart like me can learn new skills and become an NRA Basic Pistol Instructor, almost anybody could do it.

How on earth are the shooting skills of this nation to grow and spread if we don't have instructors to teach the new shooters, as well as sharpen up the skills of the old shooters, like me? So here's my challenge to my fellow gun nut readers. You wouldn't be reading my blog if you ain't a gun nut, so click on one of those NRA links above and get yourself signed up to become a pistol, rifle or shotgun instructor. Or all three.

Help overturn Obama's Historic Ban of 1 million Garands & Carbines

2010-10-14T09:45:00.002-04:00

In case you haven't heard, President Obama has banned the import from South Korea into the U.S. nearly one million U.S. M1 Garand and M1 .30 Cal. Carbine surplus World War II rifles, using the flimsy excuse that they are "dangerous assault weapons." Well, so is any semi-automatic rifle. What good is a rifle if it's not dangerous? The danger here is to Obama and his leftwingnut comrades and their hold onto political power. Watch this video and then sign the petition to overturn this high-handed weapons ban. You can sign the petition here: http://nagr.org/M1garand.aspx?pid=WEB

M1 Garand and Obama's Historic Rifle Ban

And one more thing. If you aren't registered to vote, get it done today. And then vote early and often. Let's make this a November to remember when all us bitter clingers to God and guns show up at the polls and kick Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barney Frank and all the other leftwingnuts out of office.

Calibers:	9mm Luger 9 x 19 mm
Weight unloaded:	12.7 oz. 360g
Loaded magazine:	5.5 oz. 156g
Length:	5.85" 149mm
Height:	4.3" 109mm
Width:	0.88" 22mm
Barrel Length:	3.1" 79mm
Capacity:	7 + 1
Trigger Pull:	5 lbs 22.2N

Slide Material:	Through-Hardened Alloy Steel	Slide Finish:	Blued
Barrel Material:	Alloy Steel	Barrel Finish:	Blued
Barrel Length:	3.12"	Length:	6.00"
Width:	0.90"	Height:	4.50"
Weight:	17.10 oz.	Sights:	Adjustable 3-Dot
Capacity:	7+1	Grip Frame:	Black, High Performance, Glass-Filled Nylon
Twist:	1:10" RH	Grooves:	6
MA Approved & Certified:	No	CA Approved:	No
		Suggested Retail:	$443.00