Keltec KSG in fun mode

More information about KSG.

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A reasonable response to Islamic terrorism

Going after coreligionists of the offenders would make no more sense than bombing the Vatican in response to an IRA attack. The actual culprits of the Paris attack could have been shot dead in the act with minimal difficulty, except that the victims were victims of terrorism twice over — the first time when their government made it impossible for them to go armed for self-defense.

So the solution is two-fold: military action against the command and control of the terrorists and, as importantly, elimination of the laws that disarm French civilians for the convenience of the terrorists. I am not holding my breath on that one, though several East European countries made defensive carry a reality after escaping from Communism. Perhaps people have to hit rock bottom before they consider making freedom legal again.

For the record, I’ve trained several Americans in the use of firearms for defense. Them being Muslim was entirely irrelevant to the process. Like many, they came to America for the benefits of legally secular, egalitarian society and have no interest in changing it. They are, as far as I can tell, the majority in America. In certain other countries, we have no idea what the majority thinks, as the general population is hostage to violent and insane rulers who control not only the expression of opinions but also, through schooling, the formation of opinions.

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Cell phone videos of attacks in progress (with corrected link)

(The chair is for concealment and steadier aim. It’s not bullet proof cover, no matter what movies show.)

An increasing number of massacres of unarmed civilians are now recorded. Most people who are able to hold a cell phone steadily enough to get a recognizable video would have no trouble holding a pistol or a carbine well enough to return fire on terrorists. And, with sound suppressors being essentially over the counter items in France, the attackers wouldn’t be able to see or hear the source all that well with the noise of their own guns masking it.

PS: A more substantive article on the terrorist attack in Paris.

Posted in pistol, rifle, rkba, self-defense, sound suppressor, weapon | Tagged , | 9 Comments

“Gun” control is people control.

In the past, the gun control strategy relied on prior licensing requirements (gradually struck down) and technical restrictions (also gradually abandoned as pointless). Their current strategy is far more insidious: removal of access for new shooters (I-594) and lifetime prohibition on gun ownership for unrelated criminal offenses and, more Soviet-like, under completely unrelated medical pretexts.

That last direction is of great relevance to the population at large. As American public ages overall and the privacy of medical records from the government prying approaches zero, it exposes everyone to confiscation. Sometimes the confiscation is administrative, in the form of a mandate, but more often it is violent and effected with police raids. The arbitrary nature of the excuses is designed to foster what psychologists term “learned helplessness”, where the semi-random outcome is divorced from personal conduct. The intended effect is to rob a few of their guns and to drive the majority into stigmatized social hiding, making it difficult and scary to share the ideology of self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency is also attacked by FDA, department of education and many other Federal agencies.

The most offensive aspect of the drive to impose lifetime legal disabilities is that a person prosecuted in New York would still be prohibited from possession of firearms upon moving to Texas, and even if the New York law is later reversed. That’s like giving full faith and credence to Nazi laws prohibiting Jews from owning guns even when the Jews move to America after 1945!

The solution, at this stage, is educating friends and neighbors about these trends. The Federal attempts to grab full control of the medical field in combination with the emphasis of certain states on misusing medical records should be enough to scare logically thinking people into resisting both.

PS: By coincidence, another article on the same topic was posted last night.

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Teaching is more efficient than fighting

If we ever have to take on the prohibitionists in combat, reducing their strength by two would require inflicting two casualties. Or, if the foes in question are support personnel, two civilian casualties. That’s not something our side would do willingly.

As an alternative, we can try to change the score by two in a nicer way. Teach freedom — including self-defense skills. Each person educated away from the totalitarian side is a loss for them and a win for us — and nobody has to die.

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Sideguard Holsters: new on AllOutdoor

Carry Solutions For the Active Lifestyle

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Equality of responsibility

Cornered Cat

Also The Unavoidable Truth About Terrorism.

Posted in interesting people, pistol, self-defense, weapon | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Boberg XR45-S

This pistol’s claim to fame are its specifications: 3.75″ barrel, 22oz weight, low felt recoil, easy to rack slide, good accuracy. The size is really pushing it for a front pocket gun, but it’s sized just right for a jacket or a tuckable holster.

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The short and the long of riot response.

(click on the photo for 1920px wallpaper)

A carbine with a 16″ barrel, 37mm launcher for smoke or (more useful) CS gas.

While the cement abutment and steel utility pole are not the ideal cover, they are likely to stop pistol bullets and buckshot. Poking the muzzle past cover reduces concealment but cuts down on the muzzle blast reflection. Poor visibility to the left requires an overwatch to prevent flanking by rioters.

An SBR with 8.1″ barrel and a sound suppressor cuts down the velocity to about 2400fps (with 55gr ammunition), below fragmentation range for military ball. Solution: load up expanding hunting bullets, like Barnes TSX. With the 1x prismatic scope shown and even more so with red dots, sighting is faster than with iron sights. The entire gun fits into fairly small bags, especially with a 20rd magazine inserted.

Again, the dumpster only protects against buckshot and pistol bullets. Stopping rifle fire requires a bit of luck with the angles. On the plus side, it offers a convenient steady firing position high enough above ground to see a ways out. Pulling back about six inches would better safeguard the forward hand from ricochets.

Again, poor visibility to the left and lack of protection from the right pretty much requires an overwatch. A small team can succeed where several unconnected individuals would likely fail.

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A serious young man.

Nighthawk Custom shotgun, Federal Trueball slugs.

Posted in self-defense, shotgun, weapon | Tagged | 2 Comments

A very upgraded M&P15-22

When training with a rimfire equivalent of your serious rifle, it makes sense to make it a similar as possible. In this case, Magpul furniture and sights, Geiselle trigger and Lucid HD7 sight were used.

HD7 offers four reticles, from a simple dot for CQB to rangefinding reticles for longer distances. This rifle also comes with an upgraded model shooter, one who is politically active. You, too, can support GOCRA and other pro-RKBA organizations.

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White shirt

Old photo, new edit.

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Movie review: Renoir

Another film about artists and models. In this case, a painter and a film-maker and a model who works for one of them and falls in love with the other. While the film-maker’s persona hasn’t been examined in sufficient detail, the painter’s has but through the model’s eyes rather than from the more omniscient author’s viewpoint. Excellent supporting cast, good props and lighting add up to a well done film overall. I do wonder how many of the subtle nuances went missing in translation.

Acting: 9
Lighting and camera work: 9
Plot: 8
Props: 9
Overall: recommended.

Set in 1915, this film would have been better watched prior to The Artist and the Model.

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Movie review: The Artist and the Model

A somewhat darkly humorous story of an elderly sculptor in a hurry to create at least one masterpiece before death. His wife arranges for a new, inspiring model for him. Set in 1943 France, the film is done in black and white.

The actors are far more complicated than expected from the first impression. The story goes into directions quite unexpected. Combined with excellent visuals, it made for a very engrossing viewing. I kept thinking that the sculptor ought to be more polite to the model — happy models are far better!

Plot: 9 (a couple of twists made no sense to me)
Lighting: 9 (pleasing and realistic but too high in contrast at times)
Acting: 10 from the main actors, 8-9 from the supporting cast
Camera work: 9
Overall: excellent!

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A more purposeful shotgun user

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The contemplation of St.Ballistica

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Just returned from Minnesota

Caught up on time with family and friends.

P64, M1941 Johnson

Played with several oddball firearms, too.

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Film review: Populaire

An excellent modern parody of the 1950s films,  Populaire is a classic romantic comedy differentiated by excellent acting and lighting, good camera work and a cute plot. Plenty of oft-used tropes, but they work because of the parody angle.

Lighting: 10
Acting: 9
Plot: 8
Overall: recommended!

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Happy New Year!

I wish a happy 2015 to everyone! May you have a healthy and peaceful year — all other good things will come through your own efforts given these two conditions.

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A problem with dust on the camera sensor.

My A7R developed a persistent piece of dust on the sensor that’s resisting dry (with Dust grabber) or wet cleaning (with Eclipse liquid and Pec pads). Short of sending it to Sony for service (slow, expensive, uncertain of the results), any suggestions on what I can do more locally to Nashville?

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