M2

There's a rumor abound that the ATF is going to change its ruling concerning pistol-gripped shotguns, which may (emphasis on 'may') cause problems for folks that own or want to buy them... Now, before anyone gets excited, there was a reply to this that made good sense... An announcement is expected tomorrow (Monday, 24 January 2011), I just wanted to post the above info in case anyone was considering buying a shottie in the near future. The bottom line looks to be there won't be anything to worry about, but sometimes with the ATF you just don't know how they're going to respond... Cheers! M2

I just wanted to wish John Moses Browning, the man responsible for so many outstanding firearms but especially the pistol that celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, a very happy birthday on 23 January! He had 128 gun patents approved during his lifetime. Cheers! M2

Not this is a great way to sell guns! Sherwin Shooting Sports Auctions Guns selling guns! OK, a few are a little butter-faced; but at least they've got their fingers off the triggers! Cheers! M2

This story is finally hitting the wires... Hero Pilot Pulls Out the Stops to Help Grandpa Reach Funeral: 2011's Most Heartwarming Travel Story? It's about time! Cheers! M2

Nope, but that's just up Military Dr from Brooks...

WTF?

If you guys want to call him to sort this out, his number is (402) 733-3531. Otherwise, more tits!

I did chat with him a bit of Friday, he says his mods are about $300 above the price of the gun; but knowing him it's worth every penny! The guy's not in it for the money, he's one of those guys that really loves firearms and making them better. He's a bigger gun nut than I am! He did quote me on his cost for a standard Saiga-12, I don't really want to repeat it on here in that he may have meant it for me only but if you're interested drop him a line. That said, something has popped back up on my radar that may preempt my purchasing a Saiga-12; that being a Romanian FPK-style DMR by TGI with a 24" barrel... Given all the 7.62x54R ammo I have for my Mosins, it would make more sense to pick one of these up versus a PSL (which I don't like the Dragunov stock too much). So once again I am torn between several guns to buy. I still would like to pick up a Yugo M76 one of these days but many of those had issues that I don't feel like dealing with. The above FPK is most likely going to be my next acquisition, though...and I will also have to find a good scope for it! Cheers! M2

Interesting coincidence, I was just outside the AFISRA Commander's office where they have the Order of the Sword display. There have been seven awarded over the history of that organization, and Urschler was one (he retired as the ESC/CV). More side-boob action here! Cheers! M2

nsplayr, my comments weren't necessarily directed towards you... But back to more important discussions, I am not quite sure why anyone would want to shoot birdshot other than shooting...well, birds! Anyone who tells to you to use it for home defense is nuts, well, unless they are protecting themselves from...(wait for it!)...birds! I want a minimum-length shottie for one reason, to punch big holes in anything or anyone that threatens my family, me or my property. That's why I have the Mossberg 500 Persuader (pics on buried somewhere in this 100+ page thread). But I wouldn't mind getting a Saiga for a backup or even possible defensive shotgun matches (similar to IDPA, but with shotguns, of course). They have three divisions of competition (manual, auto and open), and my aforementioned buddy Alex has competed at the USPSA 3-Gun with this nice little number... Here's a bud of his who also has a Saiga 12... And another creation of Alex's... I gotta admit, those pics really raise my desire to get a Saiga! The question is, which one?!? Cheers! M2

HeloDude I forgot, someone told me that a some of the BXs that carry guns (Barksdale, Davis-Monthan, Dyess, Eglin, Eielson, Ellsworth, Elmendorf, Hill, Holloman, Little Rock, Minot, Nellis, Offutt, Tinker and Whiteman AFBs; and Ft Belvoir, Ft Campbell, Ft Drum, Ft Hood, Ft Knox, Ft Leavenworth, Ft Polk, Ft Riley, Ft Rucker, Ft Stewart and Ft Wainwright, in case you'd forgotten) have Saiga-12s for $549. I think Elgin and D-M were mentioned, but can't say for sure. The prices aren't the greatest, but no sales tax helps, as does some of those AAFES coupons if you can score 'em! Cheers! M2

HeloDude Funny you should ask, as I was just looking at some my buddy Alex builds as the itch for one recently came back. Another buddy of mine was asking about a revolver called a Rhino, and since he is just buying his first guns I asked him why he didn't pick up a shottie instead? After buying a semi-auto pistol for self-defense/conceal carry, I always recommend buying a shotgun for home defense. Once you have those two bases covered, then you can start shopping for more interesting/collectible stuff. I also recently saw a Saiga 12 with an underfolder stock that was tempting, but the seller wanted $980 for it and that's ridiculous! It's a cool configuration, and professionally done according to the seller; but I could probably get one just like it built for a couple of hundred less... I'll probably run into Alex tomorrow and will ask him what he can do, and I'll see what's a good price and source for the Saiga 12s. He competes with them so they've got to be good, and I think they're running ~$500 which I believe it a bit high so I'd be interested in hearing what he thinks. The guy's a great gunsmith and knows his shit, and his advice is usually spot on! I'll let you know what he says! Cheers! M2

God bless 'em! I am glad we fly Southwest on occasion, as that was a very good thing they did! Cheers! M2

This "debate" is pointless until facts or other evidence are presented supporting the claim that innocent people are at risk because of legally-armed citizens. Discussing “feelings” may be fun on Dr Phil, but this is not the place nor time for it, so either put up some facts to support your clams, or shut up. Here are mine... The “fear” (in quotes because it is unfounded) that a law-abiding armed citizen could cause more deaths in such a situation as Tucson has been disproved numerous times. It is anti-gun hyperbole much like claims that allowing people to conceal carry will increase “shootouts” in public. That was a “fear” raised when Suzanna Huff--who lost both her parents in the 1991 Killeen Luby’s shooting--fought to get Texas to issue concealed handgun licenses. She was in the Luby's during the shooting, and testified that she had several opportunities where she could have easily stopped the shooter had she been armed; but under Texas law at the time she was unable to carry thus George Jo Hennard was able to kill 23 (to include her parents) and wound an additional 20 before comitting suicide. But in 1995 Texas became a “shall issue” state, and in the 15 years since there has not been one instance that I could find where an innocent victim was injured or killed by a CHL holder intervening during a crime. However, in 2005, Felix Vigil was attacking his ex-wife with a knife behind a Albuquerque Walmart deli counter where she worked when a 72-year-old armed customer named Due Moore intervened and shot him, saving the woman’s life. Also, just last week here in San Antonio, a CHL holder intervened when he saw a pit bull attacking a woman on the side of the road. He shot the dog and was credited by the police for saving the woman’s life. And, as stated, there was a armed citizen who wisely chose not to use his firearm in the incident in Tucson. Most states require training in the legal use of lethal force as well as weapons qualification before issuing a permit. Claims that they are “Dirty Harry wannabes” are utterly ridiculous, as evidence proves that given the millions across the country that have been issued conceal permits, these alleged events do not happen. They are the result of an overactive imagination, and have no basis in reality. As a matter of fact, Texas tracks crimes committed by its CHL holders versus the total population, and it has been found across the board that the former are far less likely to commit a crime. Here are some more “facts,” courtesy of Gun Facts: Countries with the strictest gun-control laws also tended to have the highest homicide rates (source: Violence, Guns and Drugs: A Cross-Country Analysis, Jeffery A. Miron, Department of Economics, Boston University, University of Chicago Press Journal of Law & Economics, October 2001). Brazil has mandatory licensing, registration, and maximum personal ownership quotas. It now bans any new sales to private citizens. Their homicide rate is almost three (3) times higher than the U.S. (source: Homicide trends in the United States, U.S. data: Bureau of Justice Statistics, September, 2004. Brazil data: Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2005.). Only 0.1% (1 in a thousand) of the defensive uses of guns results in the death of the criminal (source: Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America, Gary Kleck, New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1991). Every year, people in the United States use guns to defend themselves against criminals an estimated 2,500,000 times – more than 6,500 people a day, or once every 13 seconds. Of these instances, 15.6% of the people using firearms defensively stated that they "almost certainly" saved their lives by doing so. Firearms are used 60 times more often to protect lives than to take lives.. In 83.5% (2,087,500) of these successful gun defenses, the attacker either threatened or used force first, proving that guns are very well suited for self-defense (source: Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Fall 1995). Washington D.C. has essentially banned gun ownership since 1976 and has a murder rate of 56.9 per 100,000. Across the river in Arlington, Virginia, gun ownership is less restricted. There, the murder rate is just 1.6 per 100,000, less than three percent of the Washington, D.C. rate. (source: Crime in the United States, FBI, 1998). So go ahead and “feel” all you want, the “fear” of someone being accidentally shot or killed by an intervening armed citizen are unfounded. There has been little to no evidence of that ever happening, and statistically it is so remote that it would make more sense not to let you family ride in a car because they are much more likely to be hurt or killed doing that!

Just one man's opinion...and I disagree, in case that even needed to be said! That said, stricter gun laws have never had an effect on crime; all it does it keep law-abiding citizens from owning the prohibited items. As a matter of fact, most myths about gun control have been disproved, but that doesn't stop the anti-gun coalitions from spewing their rhetoric. Honestly, does anyone think that Loughner, Cho or Hasan would have been curtailed in their efforts if such laws existed? Would not having a 33-round magazine made much of a difference in Arizona? A trained individual can reload in less than a second. Was there a push to pose limits on passengers in cars after Chappaquiddick? It's all ridiculous hyperbole that politicians spew to make their constituents feel that they are actually "doing something" after an event such as this. It happens every time and it always blows over, and I suspect it will do the same in a couple of weeks... Cheers! M2

And I am just capturing your comments so we all know what a fucking idiot you are! Well, you have every right to be a fucking idiot, the First Amendment protects that; but care to explain why you think those rights are absolute while there should be limitations on the ones expressed in the Second?!?

SNAP, you don't know me very well... And where in the hell in the Second Amendment does it state "firearm ownership lines have to drawn somewhere?!?" I am exercising the right I defended for almost 25 years. If you have any problems with that, then

WTF? Ain't that Cody Underwood? Damian, what's the dealie dude? Are we gonna blow up this tree line or what? Tuk-Tuk and Kim got the blue balls and I wanna let em squirt it for a go... Peter, can he hear me?

Shooting at a single target with a semi-auto Glock, it still takes about 10 seconds to go through 30 rounds. Just watch this U-tube vid... Notice the gun jams once; but even without that (he clears it pretty quickly) the shooter can still fire about three rounds per second. But remember he was shooting at a single target, which speeds things up considerably. I am not sure how close in proximity the victims were to each other, but since Loughner shot multiple individuals (20), it would have added considerably more time to re-acquire each. In my opinion, I would guess he would have been able to shoot for at least 20-30 seconds before he was tackled; so you can’t really claim it was “immediately.” Given the crowd at the location, there had to be many people within a few feet the shooter who could have taken him down while he was going through that 30-round clip. A person could have also drawn a weapon and shot him within 3-5 seconds (I can draw my weapon in a second or so, which is about normal). Now, considering the number of people present at the time of the shooting, it would have been a very risky shoot. Even with JHPs, there is a good chance of hitting innocent people even at a short range. Studies have shown few actual hits occur at even during close distance gunfights by professionals such as law enforcement officers; so the probability of someone else being hit would have been very high. So what's the answer? I don't know, I wasn't there and it would be tough for anyone to speculate what they would have done under such circumstances. Honestly, most people's first natural reaction would be to flee from the threat; and I believe it would have taken an armed individual a few seconds to evaluate what was going on and react. Could an armed individual have stopped the shooter? Sure, it's very possible; but it's just as likely that more innocent people could have been injured and/or killed. Also, you have to take into account that if an armed citizen intervened, to responding police officers or other people they would have been just a person with a gun and there is a high likelihood that they too could have been tackled or even worse shot and killed while being mistaken for the original shooter. It's a tough situation with numerous scenarios as to how it could have played out. We can Monday morning quarterback it to death, but the only facts are what happened and the tragedy of it all. I too am worried about the fallout from this incident, it wasn't surprising that someone has already used it for more anti-gun fodder much like after President Reagan was shot. Arizona has some of the most liberal gun laws in the country, to include open carry; it will be interesting to see what affect, if any, this incident will have on them. But the bottom-line truth is they can pass all the laws they want, it doesn't stop tragic events such as these from happening... It all makes me glad I picked up a Bulgarian 75-round drum for my AKs a few weeks ago, as well as a 1260-round can of Romanian ammo at the gun show yesterday! Every time gun control nuts pipe up, prices follow! I wish the surviving victims a quick and full recovery, and hope that the deranged shooter and any accomplices he may have had are brought to justice quickly and feel the full extent of the law! Cheers! M2

Not quite, read Neil Armstrong's history on Wikipedia. In 1947, Armstrong began studying aerospace engineering at Purdue University under the Holloway Plan. Applicants were committed to four years of study, followed by three years of service in the Navy, then completion of the final two years of the degree. But in January 1949 he was called-up to the Navy and reported to NAS Pensacola for flight training. During his 18 months of training, he qualified for carrier landing aboard the USS Cabot and USS Wright; and on August 12, 1950--a week after his 20th birthday--he was notified that he was a fully qualified Naval Aviator. He then served, to include flying combat missions in Korea, until 1952 when he transferred to the Naval Reserve and returned to Purdue. After he graduated, Armstrong decided to become an experimental, research test pilot. More details at the link, but while it was NROTC, things were very different then than they are today... Cheers! M2

OK guys, better pics of the Vietnam bring-back T53 I got earlier this week... The bolt is mis-matched but from what I've read that's not uncommon. Otherwise, it's all matching (even the stock), to include the paperwork! Only $300, which is a frigging deal! Cheers! M2 p.s. The guy that brought it back 40 years ago was from Tucson. I know a retired police detective out there who is checking to see if he can find out any info about him. An online search found his name mentioned in an obituary as "having proceeded his brother (the deceased) in death" but I can find no obituary for him. I don't want to bother him (if he's still alive) or his family (if he's not); but if he did pass away and there was an obituary, it might provide some more info on his military service during the Vietnam War...

Yeah, 'cause guys like this don't know shit about war! Just look at all those uniform violations!!! And not a single reflective belt in the bunch!

Looks like they're pushing for more people to go the IAS/PAS/RAS route...

Just trying to keep pace with you, my brother! Nice Glock, I think we're both gonna have a nice arsenal and a depleted savings account! Cheers! M2

Lots of funny comments in that link, but you could've included the pic! Cheers! M2