The Way CCW Ought To Work

When Ohio passed CCW law (many years behind everyone else), they got the application wrong.  Getting licensed to carry a concealed weapon is a good idea, but the practical application of having a license has a glaring error in it.

Ammo Review - Winchester Train and Defend

About a week ago, I got an email from Anthony Welsch from Lucky Gunner offering me free ammo in exchange for a review.  I wrote about it here: Free Beer!!. The long and short of it is that the ammo arrived in time for the irregular Toledo Talk shoot and social hour.  This is where a group of opinionated, erudite contributors and lurkers to the Toledo Talk message board gather up their guns, ammunition and whiskey, then head down to Shooters of Maumee to put some holes in the backstop.  Some of us even manage to hit the paper, and I'll cover that event in a separate post.  This one is about the review of Winchester Train and Defend .38 - Train versus Winchester Train and Defend .38 - Defend and Winchester Train and Defend 9mm - Train versus Winchester Train and Defend 9mm - Defend. Keep reading for the results.

Free Beer!!!

About a week ago I got some email from Anthony Welsch over at Lucky Gunner, asking me if I'd like some free ammo for evaluation and review.  Naturally I thought the whole thing was a scam of some kind, but you never know...

Stand Your Ground and The Bully Pulpit

One way or another I stumbled across Lethal Lessons from Florida, a post on a blog by Jeff Gerritt and sponsored by the local bird cage liner.  For a solid explanation of stand-your-ground law, read Much Confusion Around Both Stand-Your-Ground and Castle Doctrine by Andrew F. Branca.

I wrote a brief response which will probably last until the censors see it, and so was inspired to write a more lengthy response here.  Keep reading to find out why I disagree with Jeff and his anti-freedom agenda.

Curtis Reeves and Chad Oulson Shooting

Curtis Reeves is charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of Chad Oulson.  You can read all about this story in any number of places.  Here's one that better than most - From CNN: Dad'S Texting to Daughter Sparks Argument, Fatal Shooting in Movie Theater, By Steve Almasy.

People are astounded by this, and in retrospect, arm chair quarterbacking it all the way, I'm not.  Keep reading to find out why, with the usual foul language warning coupled with a standard politically incorrect and unpopular opinion disclaimer.

Albert's First Gun

Some of you may recall that I have a brother, Shotgun Bob, who is married to The Girl.  They now have a son, Albert.  You may read a very brief biography of each in the official cast of characters, or not as it amuses you to do so.

All that being the case, Albert was officially adopted by Shotgun Bob and The Girl in May of 2013, so Shotgun Bob thought it would be nice to give Albert a little 'welcome to the family' party.  I decided to give Albert a .22 rifle - cue the Moonbats!  Let me hear that wailing and gnashing of teeth!  Don't worry, The Ayatollah ObamaCare will cover your dental bill! - as I was saying, a .22 rifle as a sort of welcome gift.  Keep reading to learn about the rifle and the history behind it.

Veteran's Day 2012

My grandfather served in World War I as a radio operator in the U.S. Navy.  Times were rough back then, and I remember him telling me that he didn't have a mattress to sleep on; only a bare board, but he thought it was pretty good.

My father served in World War II and was stationed in the Aleutian Islands on isolated duty.  He was there 18 months, 12 months longer than he was supposed to be in isolation.  By the time he got back the other men said he was beginning to act a little odd.

My Uncle Bud served in World War II with the OSS, helping to organize the French resistance.  He carried his pistol in his hat, and was captured by the Germans several times.  Bud never served time as a prisoner of war.

Another couple who lived in our neighborhood served in Allied Intelligence, and were offered citizenship in the United States for their efforts.  They changed their names when they accepted, and although she would never speak of what happened 'over there', he would tell a few stories now and then.  Not much, but a few.  The thing I remember was that both people were friendly, multilingual and very, very security conscious all their lives.

Realistically, if these people and a lot of others like them hadn't served in the United States armed forces, we wouldn't be bitching about our lousy government today.

Here's my salute to everyone who has served my country, and who is serving now.  My sincere thanks for your service.

From "victim" to Victimized to Victory

On November 21st, 2011 Lamar Allen and Joseph Hunter unsuccessfully attempted to rob Express Carryout on Mulberry Street in Toledo.  Both men were armed, one with a TEC-9.  The clerk, Bandar Abu-Karsh, did as he was told by the robbers.  He gave up the money and hid behind the counter - where he could hear the robbers discussing what to do with him.  The conversation was headed in a direction Bandar didn't care for (they favored killing Bandar), so Bandar got his hands on the 9mm pistol kept behind the counter by the store owner and popped up yelling "Surprise!  School's out!" and put some lead in the air.

On Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 (almost 9 months later) the dust finally settled and Bandar is now a free man.  Keep reading to find out what happened.

Philosophy of Carrying a Concealed Weapon

I think my views on the Second Amendment are known to everyone who's read my collection of diatribes, but just to make sure allow me to repeat myself.  The Second Amendment states that:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

That means that if I can bear the armament one way or another, my right to do so is recognized by the United States Constitution.  It also means that I'm allowed by the law of the land to carry my weapon of choice in any manner that amuses me to do so.  So, should I want to carry a Micro Tavor under my coat, complete with sound suppressor, laser sight, folding stock and any other Tennessee go faster I can buy and bolt on to it, that should be perfectly legal and should be protected by the Federal government.  Not everyone sees things this way, but I do.

Having settled the legalities of gun ownership and concealed carry once and for all, the real question becomes should I or shouldn't I carry a concealed weapon - and that's what I'm going to write about here.

Zimmerman - Martin Shooting

I've been resisting writing about this for a while, mainly because whatever I write is largely pointless. Beat and Release wrote about the Zimmerman shooting here, in This One Tells the Entire Story where he correctly predicted that Zimmerman would be arrested and charged.  The unsurpassed curmudgeon Fred Reed is the only author I've read who actually nails the problem - twice.  I recommend you read We Are Screwed - A Thought Possibly Not Unique to Fred and Some Things Detwaddled before you brace yourself for a long, hot summer.

George Zimmerman: Wanted $10,000 Reward

I thought that the commercial news media pushed the Zimmerman - Martin shooting over the top.  I still think that's true, but I've revised my estimation of just where the top is.

George Zimmerman vs. Trayvon Martin: No Winners

On Sunday, February 26, 2012 at around 19:17 hours George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin to death.  Relying on the commercial news media for something bearing a close resemblance to unbiased reporting in this case is every bit as futile as Mad Jack trying out for the US Navy SEAL Team.  Carefully picking out facts among the garbage yields a few clues to the incident as it happened, most of which is being ignored by commercial media in favor of racist outrage, screeds about police cover-up and sensationalism at its finest.  Adding fuel to the fire is the omnipresent, opportunistic Brady Bunch (spit spit) and aided by Al Sharpton.  What a field day for commercial new media.

The question isn't whether or not Zimmerman shot Martin.  Ostensibly, the real question deals with the justification for the shooting, but I think the real question is: What are the ramifications of the fallout?

Gun Safety and Personal Safety - A Dichotomy

When I was nine years old my parents bought me my first firearm, an Ithaca M-49.  Let us pause briefly while any anti-freedom Moonbats reading this are revived and the howls from the Brady Bunch spit spit are stifled by the Sargent at Arms.  Now then.

I opened the package on Christmas morning, and before Christmas dinner my father sat me down and had a short talk with me about safety.  I'd been shooting dad's .22 rifle for several months, but that was always under adult supervision.  This was my very own rifle and now I was on my own.  Although he didn't really enumerate them, what dad told me about in no uncertain terms were the Four Rules of Gun Safety.  Here they are, with credit to Jeff Cooper:

1. All guns are always loaded.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
4. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.

These rules are designed to keep gun owners from shooting each other.  This is what was drilled into me from the age of nine and it's what I practice today with special attention paid to rule number two, and that is where the problem begins.

Call 9-1-1

A long time ago I called 9-1-1 to report a crises in progress, namely a violent, drunken woman who was outside my home and trying to get inside and make my life miserable.  Or something.  The woman in question was an ex-migraine who hadn't quite fully accepted her new role.  I have no patience with drunks, especially violent drunks, but I knew an entire department of upstanding men and women who did - and I'm not talking about grade school teachers.  The Sylvania Township Police have all the patience in the world, plus they are unfailingly kind, helpful, thrifty, goodnatured, witty and experienced.  They know how to deal with drunks.  So I called nine one one and explained the situation to the helpful voice on the other end of the line, requesting a car for one along with reservations for a room with a view.  Then I sat back and waited.

45 minutes later the phone rang.  It was the Sylvania Township Police department.  They couldn't find my house.  No, I'm not making this up, but I wasn't all that surprised either.  My home is difficult to find and the police haven't been out here in many, many years.  The thing is, a lot can happen in 45 minutes.

Shooting "Victim"

Let's say that you're a clerk at a convenience store in a bad part of Toledo.  For your protection the owner of the store has installed security cameras, which is what Toledo Police Chief Navarre advocated.  Being a somewhat practical man with more than a modicum of common sense, the owner has also install a 9mm handgun under the counter - also for your protection.  Nice, huh?

All you (the clerk) want out of life is what most men want.  You want to finish your shift and go home, have dinner, maybe have a drink and pat momma on the ass.  One morning around 10:00 you run into a little opposition.  Two black gang bangers come into the store, pull out their guns and start yammering away at you.  For your part, you pick up the handgun that the owner has thoughtfully provided for just such an emergency.  The three of you put lead in the air, and when the smoke clears the authorities find one robber dead right there.  The other robber sought safety in flight.  The local bird cage liner announces that the victim of the shooting was the robber that you ventilated.

February 14 is Starbucks Appreciation Day

The Brady Bunch, a demented sub-group of the anti-freedom moonbat crowd discovered that the friendly folks over at Starbucks coffee shop are refusing to ban firearms from their premises.  Clearly that ain't right, so the moonbat powers that be directed their loyal sycophants, the National Gun Victim's Action Council (NGAC), to boycott Starbucks on St. Valentine's Day.

By way of retaliation for attempted oppression and to keep the Brady Bunch awake nights, Ohioans for Concealed Carry launched a counter attack with Starbucks Appreciation Day, the idea being to go on down to your local Starbucks and buy a cup of joe.

I support the right to bear arms, and by that I mean any armament an adult chooses borne in any manner the adult chooses and done so wherever the adult is legally allowed to be, armed or otherwise.  So to show my opposition to the Brady Bunch, I'm going to stop by Starbucks tomorrow and have a cup of coffee.  After that I'll buy Main Lady a nice gift certificate to Starbucks.

How do you like them apples, Sarah?

CCW: The Light Goes On

I'll repeat myself yet again.  If you feel the need, by all means pack your pistol with you.  Your right to do so is guaranteed to you in the Bill of Rights, specifically in the Second Amendment.  Not everyone believes the same way I do.  Case in point, Main Lady's eldest little darling (Flopsy) stands firmly against guns and all that they (the guns, I would guess) stand for.  Now me, being a warm, sensitive man of the '90s (and here I'm referring to that era that began in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety and terminted abruptly at the beginning of the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand - the time span, not my age and not my mileage.  Get it?) - as I was saying, a warm, sensitive man of the '90s as well as being considerate and generous into the bargain, I would often instigate a short discussion on gun control with Flopsy, generally referring to some local news item, then I'd suffer the anti-gun tirade in my usual quiet, tolerant manner - then I'd invite Flopsy to go out shooting with Big Mike and I.

November Election

The up and coming election is providing bloggers and blowhards everywhere with more fodder, grist and cow pie targets then they've seen in four years, so I thought I might just as well throw a few bricks of my own.  Here in the gravel pit that is Toledo, Ohio a red hot topic that's certain to start flame wars everywhere is the infamous Senate Bill 5, a carefully crafted document certain to drive Ohio back into the stone age... where some of us would be a lot happier, or rescue Ohio from guaranteed destruction, proving conclusively that there is, indeed, a fate worse than death.

I'm undecided about SB 5, which is an unusual state for me.  My inclination is to vote against it, but I haven't really made up my mind as yet.  Here's why.
Warning! The following discourse is lengthy, inflammatory and somewhat seditious.  Moreover, I present an interminable situation likely to dishearten even the most seasoned drinker. 

Applied Freedom of Speech

Anyone who has read my disjointed ramblings for any length of time may have correctly drawn the conclusion that I support the Second Amendment.  Here it is, courtesy of Cornell University Law School:

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

We the people don't enjoy the benefits of the Second Amendment as it was written and as it was intended.  Opponents of bearing arms argue that no one should own a machinegun except the government, which includes the police.  Other opponents campaign vigorously to get the U.S. government to make it illegal for anyone outside the police to own a gun of any kind at all.  As for me, I believe that everyone who wants one should be able to own a minigun, but I'm probably alone in this.

These are the two extremes about the observance of the Second Amendment.  On one side you have Mister and Mistress Fruitcake Moonbat who can't get a decent night's sleep all because of yours truly, Mad Jack, who, while in casual conversation with Fruitcake and his wife Ballcutter, let it slip that my new machinegun finally arrived and it test fired beautifully, never jamming once.  Now I'm all set for home defense.  There's another reason that the Moonbats next door can't sleep, and that's due to observance of the First Amendment.  It seems that there is an inconsiderate young man who lives down the block and who owns a boom car.  The fool comes home at 11:30 PM weekdays and plays his music loudly enough to wake everyone up, including the Moonbats.  It's a shame that nothing can be done about this, but we can't make him be quiet because we'd be infringing on his right to free speech.  Here's the First Amendment, courtesy of Cornell:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Reasonable people will argue that the boom car is not freedom of speech; it's noise pollution.  On the other side of the fence we have a group of anti-intellectual, non-erudite people (AKA differently abled) who defiantly scream that they have a right to play their music - or words to that effect.  So why am I writing this and rehashing old topics?  I was inspired to do so by a post I saw on SwampBubbles, a privately owned BBS style site driven by user input.  While it's certainly true that many of the users engage in or start flame wars at any opportunity, this one went over the top.  Here's the screen shot:

Click to Zoom In

Likely you'll have to zoom in to read the post, but that's just as well.  SwampBubbles is owned by Chris Meyers, who ran for the Toledo School Board in 2007.  A few years ago Chris tried to limit free speech on SwampBubbles by installing a profanity filter, which was not well received by the users but did serve to illustrate an important point.  Chris owns the site and he can allow or prohibit content as he sees fit - there is no freedom of speech involved at all.  Moreover, the US Government in its infinite wisdom has chosen to hold providers harmless, meaning no one can sue Chris over this little faux pas and have any hope of winning.  So what, you say?  So this.

I find it frustrating and disheartening that the government and a significant number of the populace will approve of the official limitation of one amendment and not another.  These people will zealously prohibit a peaceful, law abiding citizen from owning a modern weapon that has never been used to harm them, their friends, their family or their property and yet will tolerate noise that deprives them of enjoying their own home by awakening them in the middle of the night.  By tolerating this kind of abuse, they are giving their tacit approval to continue the noise pollution.  Likewise with the written word, by allowing this kind of inflammatory racist speech to exist unchallenged, tacit approval is given by the owner of the site.

My hope is that Chris deletes the comment and the account, then tracks down the alleged perpetrator and bans them from the site.  He'll likely delete the comment.  Likewise, it is my hope that police start (or continue) to bust a few boom cars and issue citations for noise ordinance violations, but they probably won't.  According to the Toledo Blade, we've had 24 shootings just in the month of June and chief Mike Navarre has declared war:

Police Declare War on Gun Violence
Toledo Police Chief Mike Navarre calls for a task force aimed at getting guns off the streets...

Emphasis mine.