firearms
SIG History
Here's a bit of trivia I didn't know: my favorite firearms company began life in the 19th century as a wagon factory.
In 1853, Friedrich Peyer im Hof, Heinrich Moser and Conrad Neher began what they thought would become a successful wagon factory above the Rhine Falls in Switzerland. Little did they know then, that their company would become one of the world's most renowned manufacturers of small arms. Just seven years after constructing an industrial plant for building the most sophisticated wagons and railway cars, the three ambitious owners undertook a more serious venture. In part to a challenge from Switzerland's Federal Ministry of Defense, the Swiss Wagon Factory entered the competition to develop a state-of-the-art rifle with the hopes the Swiss Army would adopt it. Four years later, the award went to the Swiss Wagon Factory for its Prelaz-Burnand rifle. At this point, the Swiss Wagon Factory, with an order for 30,000 muzzle loading Prelaz-Burnand rifles in hand, changed the name of the company to the Swiss Industrial Company - Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft, known worldwide as SIG.
We have met the enemy, and he is us
So the Toad directed my attention to a rant by Kim du Toit on how the ATF views law-abiding gun owners, in light of quotes from Gerald Nunziato, the former head of ATF's National Tracing Center. I think it's pretty clear how this government bureaucracy views gun owners, simply from the name of the agency. After all, we're just a bunch of beer-swilling, tobacco-chewing or cigarette-smoking rednecks who like to go blow holes in highway signs, aren't we?
New long distance record in Iraq
A U.S. Marine, Staff Sgt. Steve Reichert, has scored a kill shot while engaging the enemy in Iraq, and the shot was over a mile away. For his actions, Staff Sgt. Reichert has been awarded the Bronze Star for Valor.
In the after-action report, the platoon leader made a remarkable account: that Reichert made the shot from 1,614 meters – about a mile away. His accuracy was the deciding factor in the outcome of the firefight. For the math-impaired, 1,614 meters translates in to 1765.0918662 yards. There are three feet in a yard, so that number times three yields 5,295.2755986 feet. Staff Sgt. Reichert scored a kill shot at fifteen feet beyond a mile. Boys and girls, that's a long, long way for a rifle shot.
"But the police will protect you, you don't need a gun..."
Tell that to Barbara Gesell and her daughter Theresa, who used her .45-caliber handgun to subdue the purse snatcher who attacked the elder Gesell, 83, in her garage as she arrived home.
"A man has attacked us in our house, and we are fighting him in the yard," Theresa Gesell said to the 911 dispatcher.
As the struggle moved down the street, a neighbor -- whom Theresa Gesell identified as "Hershall" -- stopped to help. Theresa then grabbed her .45-caliber pistol and continued running after Campbell -- despite the dispatcher's plea for her to drop the handgun.
"I am going to go get my .45 ... you all are too slow," she said.
As the call continues, the dispatcher asks Theresa to get rid of the weapon. However, after the suspect tried to escape along a creek bed, Theresa and Hershall used the pistol to make sure he didn't leave.
"You can go put that gun up now," the dispatcher said.
"No sir," Theresa replied. "We have the gun pointed at him ... he must have been a city fellow because he didn't know anything about the woods."
Seconds later, police arrived and arrested Campbell. With Hershall's help, the Gesells retrieved Barbara's purse. So let's do the math: 1 purse snatcher attacking an 83 year-old woman + 1 daughter with firearm = subdued criminal who would have escaped before police could arrive on scene. Now imagine that the criminal in question was after more than a purse, and you can see why firearms save more lives each year than they take. You just don't hear about all of those live-saving events on the nightly news. [Emphasis added. --R]
Long distance record in Iraq
The Toad reports on a new long-distance sniping record in Iraq, by a U.S. Marine sniper. I like Brian's thought:
I wonder what goes through the minds of terrorist scum...when their fellow thugs are being systematically plucked out of the gene pool from that distance. Indeed, snipers are extremely effective psychological weapons of war. Not to mention, the most cost-effective weapon available on the battlefield, even with their expensive training. A well-trained sniper with a few missions under his belt is worth his weight in gold, silver, platinum, and any other precious metal. Combined. For the math-impaired reading the story linked above, a thousand yards is more than half a mile.
The Opinionated Amphibian Diatribes
SuperToad has redesigned the Pond, giving up his home-baked PHP model for a site generated by PostNuke. At least this way, his PHP knowledge doesn't go to waste. Now if I could just talk him in to another font for his logo... ;-)
Defend your family, go to jail
At least in New York, Brooklyn to be specific. Ronald Dixon discovers an intruder in his son's room, going through drawers. Intruder rushes Mr. Dixon, screaming to go upstairs with him. Mr. Dixon fears there may be others in the house that intend to harm him, his wife, and his children. Mr. Dixon shoots intruder twice, wounding him. Mr. Dixon legally obtained his 9mm pistol in Florida, before moving to New York. New York requires all firearms to be registered. (Why? To make it easier to trace them back to criminals, presumably. To make it easier to confiscate, at worst...) Mr. Dixon made an attempt to comply with the law and register said firearm, but was unsuccessful. Mr. Dixon was able to plead down to a charge of disorderly conduct, but he could still spend up to a year in jail; at least he won't have a criminal record when he's done. An anonymous letter to the Brooklyn D.A. sums it up pretty well:
"If you were in the same position that Mr. Dixon was in, I would be willing to wager that you would also use whatever means you had on hand to defend your loved ones, as any of us would.
"By prosecuting Ronald Dixon on spurious charges, you are sending a very dangerous message to the residents in your jurisdiction: Defend your family, go to jail. You are also sending an equally dangerous message to the criminal element, who would realize that law-abiding citizens would now be hesitant to defend themselves for fear of criminal prosecution, and therefore make prime targets for violent crime." A naturalized citizen, Mr. Dixon immigrated from Jamaica, and served in the U.S. Navy for three years. He works two jobs seven days a week to provide for his family. And now his American dream has been crushed by an anti-gun, anti-personal protection, anti-liberty district attorney. Kudos, D.A. Hynes.
Armey on Clinton/Lewinsky
Back on 15 September 1998, then-House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) held his weekly meeting with Capitol reporters. When a reporter provided him an opening by inquiring what he would do if he were in President Clinton's shoes, the Los Angeles Times captured the conference's atmosphere: bq. ...the jam-packed room burst into raucous laughter as one reporter prefaced a question about the Lewinsky scandal by saying, "If you were in the president's position..." Armey didn't miss a beat. "If I were, I would be looking up from a pool of blood and hearing my wife say: 'How do I reload this thing?'" The situation would be similar in my household; except my wife knows how to reload! (Thanks to Ricky and Snopes.)
Is it or isn't it? (Hint: It is...)
Brian has a good analysis and links of the infamous 9th Circuit Court's refusal for a full court hearing on California's "assault" weapons ban. By definition, an "assault" weapon is one capable of fully automatic fire; full-auto firearms are illegal to own anywhere in the U.S. unless you have a Class III Federal Firearms License. The fact that a firearm may look like an "assault" weapon doesn't make it one, despite how the news media continues to call semi-automatic (one squeeze of the trigger, one shot) firearms "assault" weapons. I hope and pray that the Supreme Court does hear this case, and rules it as the individual Constitutional right it is. Yes, the fact is that the Second Amendment is an individual right. Read your Federalist Papers; all of the Founding Fathers believed this to be so. Why would they place a state right within nine other individual rights? And place it so highly in status? The Second is for individuals, not the states, and not for the state.
S.W.A.T.
Another trailer, this time for the Sam Jackson-Colin Farrell-LL Cool J-Michelle Rodriguez vehicle, S.W.A.T. Loosely based on the 1970s television show of the same name (apparently the only similarity is an updated theme song), it looks pretty good. This was one of my favorite shows when I was about four or five years old. For the uninitiated, S.W.A.T. stands for Special Weapons And Tactics. The first S.W.A.T. team in the United States was fielded by the Los Angeles Police Department, and next to the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), they are considered the elite such force in the nation. (Of non-military units, that is. The Army's Delta Force and SEAL Team Six are also antiterrorist units, but are used for overseas operations.) All of the above units are modeled on the antiterrorist division of the British SAS (Special Air Service), which remained secret until Operation Nimrod, the 1980 Iranian Embassy hostage siege in London, which was broadcast worldwide.
Blaser LRS2
From the Reach Out And Touch Someone Department: One of the things that brought on the previous post was the review Guns Magazine did of the SIGARMS-imported Blaser R93 LRS2 tactical rifle. I had hoped to post a link to the review, but alas, it is not the feature of the month for the February 2003 issue. (FYI, it's pronounced "blah'zer.") In some respects the LRS2 is your typical tactical precision rifle, with the usual accoutrements: a heavy, free-floated, fluted barrel; rear adjustable spacers to alter stock length; one-piece stock; and a fully-adjustable trigger, so you can adjust the length of trigger pull. The LRS2 also features a novel action that sets it apart from nearly all other rifles: a manually-operated straight pull bolt. For the uninitated, on your average bolt-action rifle, after a shot has been fired, to eject the spent casing and chamber the next round, you must rotate the bolt as you pull it back. The LRS2 eliminates this need, speeding up the time to get back on target. Very nice. To quote reviewer Charles Cutshaw: "The smoothness and ease of operation of the R93's straight pull bolt action defies description." Of course, priced in the $2K range, the R93 LRS2 is out of range (again, no pun intended) for most shooters. Like most things in life, though, you get what you pay for.
Firearms 'zines need to increase online presence
Something I've noticed from the various firearms magazines I read: their online presences suck. The various publications from Harris, for instance, only show the latest cover and table of contents, and a link to subscribe. No links to articles listed in the TOC. Nope, nothing from that issue available online. Guns Magazine fares only slightly better, giving you the feature story from each month to read. Whoever is uploading the accompanying pictures for those features needs to be fired (no pun intended); they are abhorrent. Granted, nothing would compare with the high-resolution glossies in the paper mag, but these are ridiculous. Come on, guys, get it together. I can sort of understand not putting up anything from the current month's magazine; you don't want to gut your off-the-shelf sales. At the very least you should be uploading all of your back issues, with all of the articles and columns, not just the monthly "feature." If you want to charge a nominal subscription fee, a la Consumer Reports, Playboy, et al, then go for it, but give us a chance at more content than a solitary article and a cover picture.
Debating the war on terror
This is from an email sent to me, presumably posted by some radio personality, to show an illustration of the ongoing debate on how we should handle those who would terrorize and kill us: Question: You're walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children. Suddenly, a dangerous looking man with a huge knife comes around the corner and is running at you while screaming obscenities. In your hand is a Glock .40 and you are an expert shot. You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family. What do you do? Liberal Answer: Well, that's not enough information to answer the question! Does the man look poor or oppressed? Have I ever done anything to him that is inspiring him to attack? Could we run away? What does my wife think? What about the kids? Could I possibly swing the gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand? What does the law say about this situation? Is it possible he'd be happy with just killing me? Does he definitely want to kill me or would he just be content to wound me? If I were to grab his knees and hold on, could my family get away while he was stabbing me? This is all so confusing! I need to debate this with some friends for a few days to try to come to a conclusion. Conservative Answer: BANG! Texan's Answer: BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! click... (sounds of magazine being ejected and fresh magazine installed) Wife: "Sweetheart, he looks like he's still moving, what do you kids think?" Son: "Mom's right Dad, I saw it too..." BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Daughter: "Nice grouping Daddy!"
SIGARMS Academy
One of the reasons why SIG is my favorite firearms manufacturer is the SIGARMS Academy. Located in New Hampshire, the Academy provides all types of firearms training to law enforcement personnel as well as to civilians.
Two upcoming courses I would love to send my wife and myself to: Women Only Weekend: a Rape Prevention Seminar, Self Defense Keychain Course, and a full day of Handgun Orientation for Women.
Civilian Armorer Course: get the same kind of basic armorer’s course normally reserved only for law enforcement personnel.
The Academy’s ongoing education mission reflects the SIG philosophy of a right to self-defense coupled with personal responsibility.
Blast from the past
Well, not that far past. October 2001, to be exact, but rather timely since there is new gun regulation being discussed in the wake of the DC metro serial sniper attacks:
"There are so many laws concerning the purchase and use of guns, including background checks, that it is hard to understand why any more are needed. Guns will always fall into the wrong hands, and criminals are not going to be governed by any of the gun laws. The gun laws have but one purpose: to discourage honest citizens from purchasing and owning firearms. No amount of laws will ever prevent someone intent on getting a gun from doing so." —Dick Boland, nationally syndicated columnist