Sleepless in Midland

New firearm transaction form has checkbox for non-binary sex

Is this a sign of the times? Times certainly are a'changin.

The new (proposed) firearm transaction form has a checkbox for male, female, or non-binary for the buyer's sex. You've come a long way (non-binary) baby.

Links: old form, and
proposed form.

Found at Texas Scorecard.

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2:40 PM 1/4/2020

A tale of two cities' reaction to killers

Two crimes. Two cities. Two reactions.

The headlines scream at us about the killings at a church near Fort Worth Sunday morning and the stabbings Saturday evening at a Hanukkah celebration at an Orthodox rabbi’s home in New York.

The reactions were breathtaking. The TV news days later showed us New York politicians speechifying about how bad hate is. The news in Texas told us the incident there was over in six seconds when members of the congregation pulled their own guns and dispatched the killer.

Amazing contrast.

Gun control advocates can't seem to grasp the concept that someone bent on killing will unlikely be deterred by a law banning guns.

Meanwhile, a big shout-out to Texas Governor Abbott and the Texas Legislature for passing the amendment allowing concealed handgun license holders to carry in churches.

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1:57 PM 12/30/2019

Calling BS on Univision reporter who tells Trump to ban assault rifles

The headline says enough: Univision reporter Leon Krauze says President Trump must “ban assault weapons” if he really wants to help Mexico.

Mexico has very strict gun control laws, and yet firearms are the weapons of choice in growing murder epidemic in Mexico. And banning them in the U.S. would do nothing. As to the source of weaponry in Mexico, John Lott said this. (Bold added.):

So where do Mexican criminals get their guns? “Most cartels buy in bulk, and the weapons are coming from places like Nicaragua and other South American countries. Also Asia and some from the Middle East,” a Tijuana-based police authority who requested anonymity recently told Fox News.

According to data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, 70% of all criminally owned guns in Mexico come from the U.S., but these figures are based only on the limited number of guns Mexican authorities have seized, traced and submitted to the agency for checking. That’s a small subset of guns. For instance, Mexico submitted 11,000 guns to the ATF in 2007-08, though it seized 29,000 guns during that time. Of those, 6,000 were successfully traced and 90% of those traceable weapons came from the U.S. Thus by one estimate only about 17.6% of the firearms Mexico collected in total could be traced back to America.

“These kinds of guns—the auto versions of these guns—they are not coming from El Paso,” Ed Head, a firearms instructor in Arizona who spent 24 years as a U.S. Border Patrol agent, told Fox News. “They are coming from other sources. They are brought in from Guatemala. They are brought in from places like China. They are being diverted from the military. But you don’t get these guns from the U.S.” 

Señor Krauze doesn't want the U.S. military in Mexico, that's obvious -- nationalism is a powerful force in every country. But if he is trying to persuade anyone not already devoted to the left, he could do better with a pure nationalism rationale rather than the miss-aimed anti-gun tact.

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4:12 PM 11/6/2019

Ghastly murders in Mexico -- reminder, they've got very tough gun control laws

As if we didn't need a reminder of how ruthless the Mexican cartels are and how useless Mexico's gun laws are, there's this: 9 Family Members, All U.S. Citizens, Die In Highway Attack In Mexico.

Three women and six children were killed in an attack on members of a fundamentalist Mormon family as they traveled in Mexico on Monday, Mexican officials say. All of those killed were U.S. citizens, and authorities say they might have been ambushed by gang members.

Horrific! The U.S. has a narco state just across the border where just last week a cartel out gunned police who tried to arrest a drug kingpin family member.

Memo to the anti-gun movement in the U.S. -- Mexico has very tough gun control laws. Fat lot of good they do for the law abiding citizens. It's trite but true, outlaw guns and only outlaws will have guns.

The really sad part about this is that the appetite for drugs in the U.S. gives power to the cartels.

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3:16 PM 11/5/2019

David Charles Wilson case -- mirror image of Amber Guyger case

Amber Guyger dominated the headlines recently as the guilty verdict was rendered in the murder case against her. You will recall the facts of that case. She entered the wrong apartment thinking it was her own. Being a trained police officer, upon seeing a stranger sitting on the couch she drew her weapon and gave the stranger instructions. He didn't comply, and she shot him dead.

The David Charles Wilson case now pending in Midland, Texas, is the mirror image. Mr. Wilson was in his home when he shot and killed a police officer at his door.

The prosecution side of the argument will contend that the police officer was responding to investigate an automatic burglar alarm, opened an unlocked front door, identified himself, and was shot by the homeowner, Mr. Wilson.

Wilson was charged with manslaughter. And we learned in September that his attorneys have filled a motion to dismiss. Caitlin Randle describes a brief filed to support the motion in Court brief: MPD was mistakenly alerted. Here are some excerpts from that MRT article:

MPD was alerted about an alarm breach in the Wilsons’ pool house, according to the brief. The Wilsons’ have separate alarm systems in the pool house and the main house.

Heidelberg and the other officer first checked the backyard, but the gate was locked, the brief states. The officers then proceeded to the front of the house where they tried the front door and found it to be unlocked.

Once the officers opened the front door, a door alarm chimed, according to the brief. The chime woke Wilson’s wife, who then woke him and said she thought someone was in the house.

“Mr. and Mrs. Wilson can hear and see silhouettes outside with flashlights,” the brief states. “But they have no idea who is outside, what they are saying, or what they are doing. There were no red and blue police lights.”

It continues, “No one has contacted the Wilsons in any way to tell them it is the police outside. All they see are surreptitious silhouettes lurking with flashlights outside their home after midnight.”

The brief states that after seeing unidentified figures outside with flashlights, Wilson frantically retrieved his gun and ran from his bedroom at the same time Heidelberg fully opened the front door and shined his flashlight inside. It does not say that Heidelberg entered the home.

Wilson fired one shot before closing the door and calling 911, according to the brief.

The brief filed Thursday was in support of a motion by Wilson’s defense lawyers to dismiss the indictment.

Mistakes were made on both sides of that early morning mishap. We'll see whether this goes to trial.

Previously on these pages: Cop shot by homeowner in Midland fearing home invasion

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2:46 PM 10/6/2019

FBI crime stats 2018 -- weapons used in murders

The FBI crime statistics for 2018 have been published. And one interesting segment of it addresses weapons used in murders. The table you see below was adapted from Table 20.

Table 20 - Murder - Types of weapons 2018
Total murders	Total firearms	handguns	rifles	shot-guns	firearms unknown	knives or cutting	other weapons	hands, fists, feet etc
14,123	10,265	6,603	297	235	3,130	1,515	1,671	672
100%	73%	47%	2%	2%	22%	11%	12%	5%

As you can see, roughly 73% were committed with firearms with almost half, 43%, with handguns. Rifles only 2%, same as shotguns. But with 22% being unknown firearms then some of those other percentages would probably be higher.

In any event, it's an interesting set of stats the FBI has put together.

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4:24 PM 10/1/2019

suicide by firearm -- there's has to be a better way

A psychiatrist named Brian Barnett has published a piece titled National support for ‘red-flag’ gun laws could prevent many suicides in which he advocates for red-flag laws to add mental health providers to the list of those authorized to petition a court for removing guns from individuals in those states which have such laws. His concern is for the well being of those individuals, and the removal of guns would eliminate the easiest means of suicide for those people. It makes sense up to a point.

A firearm suicide leaves a mess. Anyone contemplating it should consider what the person who stumbles onto the scene will have to see. It would probably be very traumatic for whomever that person is and probably more traumatic if that person happened to be a family member.

But lack of access to firearms wouldn't necessarily prevent a suicide -- there are other ways to terminate one's life. According to CDC.gov only half of the 47,173 suicides in 2017 involved firearms.

My objective with this post isn't to prevent suicides, although that would be a nice result. There are plenty of better places to seek help, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention would be a good place to start. (The chart on the right came from there.)

And here's an interesting finding among the Research & Suicide Prevention: Top 10 Findings: "Ninety percent of people who die by suicide have an underlying — and potentially treatable — mental health condition." Help is out there.

Most of us, while not being suicidal or having a mental health condition, can contemplate a situation which might inspire suicide. And if suicide really is the only resort, please don't use a gun.

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10:41 AM 9/25/2019

Democrats' bizarre focus on honest gun owners instead of criminals

Beto O'Rourke's noisy campaign to confiscate citizens' guns always gets an eager cheer of approval from his audience. Many gun owners believe Beto's followers and other Democrats are motivated less by crime reduction than by the urge to sock it to those who don't subscribe to the progressive agenda.

The "tell" is that Democrats have no realistic proposal to disarm criminals. It's only the law abiding citizens they want to disarm.

Time and again researchers have produced studies telling us that criminals have ways of obtaining firearms that bypass the legal channels. Here is a sampling with excerpts:

The Armed Criminal in America:

Based on interview with more than 1,800 incarcerated felons, the study found that few of the gun-owning felons had bought their guns from a retail source. Rather, the majority usually obtained them from family members or friends or on the street. Often they stole them.

Source and Use of Firearms Involved in Crimes: Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016:

An estimated 287,400 prisoners had possessed a firearm during their offense. Among these, more than half (56%) had either stolen it (6%), found it at the scene of the crime (7%), or obtained it off the street or from the underground market (43%). Most of the remainder (25%) had obtained it from a family member or friend, or as a gift. Seven percent had purchased it under their own name from a licensed firearm dealer.

The Last Link: from Gun Acquisition to Criminal Use:

The CIS respondents were almost all barred from purchasing a gun from a gun store because of their prior criminal record—as a result, their guns were obtained by illegal transactions with friends, relatives, and the underground market

It's trite but true. Outlaw guns and only outlaws will have guns.

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2:56 PM 9/17/2019

New Texas Gun Laws -- Not as scary as Democrats might want you to think

The state of Texas has some new gun laws effective as of 9/1/2019. And while pundits are still exercised about the recent mass shootings, knee jerk reactions could easily be anticipated. Politico kindly clears the air by advising readers about those new laws in Hours after shooting rampage, Texas gun laws loosened. Here's a summary of Politico's summary of some of the new laws:

HB 1143 Prevents schools from regulating how guns and ammo are stored in vehicles on a school parking lot.
HB 1387 Removes limitations on the number of faculty and staff that can be designated as armed school marshals per campus.
SB 535 Churches must give notice if guns are banned on their premises.
HB 1177 Citizens who are not prohibited from having a gun can carry without a license for a week after a disaster declaration and shelters must accommodate them.
HB 302 Residential lease agreements can't restrict lawful possession of a firearm.
HB 2363 Guns in foster homes can be stored together with a trigger-locking devices.
HB 121 License to Carry holders can simply leave a property prohibiting guns if asked.

Many Democrats want more control over anyone who might own a gun, but they'll have to wait, at least in Texas.

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3:17 PM 9/10/2019

gun control reality -- prohibition isn't working in Mexico

Gun law expert Dr. John R. Lott, Jr., is the founder of the Crime Prevention Research Center, and their website always contains some interesting information about the relationship between gun laws and gun related crimes. And this particular headline jumps out at the reader: Mexico’s murder rate is twice the US rate, but only about 1% of Mexicans are legally licensed to own a gun.

Simply put, if laws against gun ownership are intended to take guns out of the hands of outlaws and reduce crime, those laws don't make a heck of a lot of difference. Outlaws can get guns. The Odessa shooter was a good example. He wouldn't have been able to purchase a gun legally. But he obtained one anyway.

It's been long believed by gun owners that the gun control movement's ambition is less about safety than about control.

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1:24 PM 9/4/2019

Democrats, not letting crisis go to waste, lost no time bashing gun ownership

I love the title of this article: Democrats Pounce On Odessa Shooting To Boost Their Political Campaigns.

"Democrats Pounce!" Ha ha! It's nice to see a conservative writer use the phrase against Dems. It's usually the other way around as the msm try headline Republicans' reactions to something rather than focusing on that thing.

Anyway, Ryan Saavedra's article provides several examples of Democrat presidential hopefuls proclaiming that guns in citizens' hands are the problem. They've got lots of support for the idea among their voter base. But the rest of us see guns as a deterrent of bad behavior, not a cause.

We don't know why the Odessa shooter went on a killing spree. If there is even the slightest evidence that he was a Republican or a Trump supporter, the msm will waste no time telling us. Too bad they can't address the real problem, and that's the disorder caused by the disconnect that society has with young males.

The more these things happen, the lower the threshold for the next disaffected person to go over the edge.

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1:24 PM 9/1/2019

Gun Silencers Tested

I received a very pleasant email from an individual asking that I post a link to this website. It's about firearm sound suppressors, titled Silencer Guide with Decibel Level Testing. There's lots of background information about suppressors as well as testing results.

Here's a flavor: "That’s an average reduction of 34 dB when using a silencer with a 9mm firearm."

Silencers aren't cheap, but on a home defense weapon one would pay for itself with a single indoor shot.

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4:52 PM 7/13/2019

Shootings in New Zealand and Brazil -- governments go in opposite direction on gun control

Mass shootings in two countries, and the reaction by lawmakers is the opposite. For an example of government reaction in New Zealand see New Zealand's Prime Minister Says Gun Reforms Are Coming. "Reforms" means tighter gun control laws.

Move on to Brazil and we see this: Deadly School Shooting Renews Debate on Gun Laws in Brazil:

Shortly after the shooting, Senator Major Olimpio, one of Bolsonaro’s main supporters in Congress, said the tragedy could have been avoided by an armed teacher or school worker. “Disarmament policy has failed,” he later wrote on his Twitter account. “We can’t allow anyone to take advantage of this tragedy to say that disarmament is the solution.”

President Bolsonaro has made it easier for Brazilians to own firearms. And it should be noted, the opposition is trying to damage him for it.  However, he should go farther and seek to allow citizens to carry firearms.

Meanwhile, leaders in both countries might do well to consult gun crime researcher Dr. John R. Lott, Jr., founder of Crime Prevention Research Center, for evidence that guns in the hands of law abiding citizens is more likely to save lives than cost lives.

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3:29 PM 3/18/2019

Should sheriffs be deciding what is or isn't constitutional?

In one sense, it's amusing and somewhat admirable to see the left's sanctuary city tactic turned around and used against them. Defiant U.S. sheriffs push gun sanctuaries, imitating liberals on immigration:

(Reuters) - A rapidly growing number of counties in at least four states are declaring themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries, refusing to enforce gun-control laws that they consider to be infringements on the U.S. constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

Organizers of the pro-gun sanctuaries admit they took the idea from liberals who have created immigration sanctuaries across the United States where local officials defy the Trump administration’s efforts to enforce tougher immigration laws.

And this. Rural Sheriffs Defy New Gun Measures:

For instance, in New Mexico, 30 of 33 county sheriffs have signed a letter pledging to not help enforce several gun-control measures supported by Democrats in Santa Fe, according to the state’s sheriff association. The sheriffs, who are elected, say they are heeding the wishes of voters in the counties they serve. More than two dozen counties in the state have enacted “sanctuary” resolutions backing the sheriffs and affirming that no tax dollars in their jurisdictions should go to enforcing the proposed laws.

Nationwide, some see their battle as a conservative version of the “sanctuary” resistance to the Trump administration’s illegal-immigration crackdown led by Democratic mayors in major cities like New York and Los Angeles.

“If a state or city can become a sanctuary for illegal immigration, then we can become a sanctuary for Second Amendment rights,” said Russell Shafer, sheriff of Quay County in eastern New Mexico.

That's a cute turnabout. Maybe the publicity points scored with the tactic might be worth it. But is it really the job of law enforcement officers to interpret the constitution? Actually, that's the job of the Supreme Court. They should take another page from leftist's book and find a friendly forum in which to sue for enforcement of the 2nd amendment.

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3:19 PM 3/13/2019

Cop shot by homeowner in Midland fearing home invasion

Texas homeowner's have a dilemma. Someone enters the front door at 1:00AM while shouting. The homeowner grabs a gun, fires a shot, and the potential invader is killed.

If the invader was a police officer, then the homeowner gets arrested, faces a grand jury, and may face trial for manslaughter.

That's what happened yesterday in Midland, Texas, according to the morning paper in Affidavit: Officer hears Heidelberg announce presence of police before shot was fired:

Midland Police Department officers who were dispatched to a residence early Tuesday morning with Officer Nathan Heidelberg heard a gun shot and then found Heidelberg face down, according to documents released late Tuesday night by the Midland County District Attorney’s Office.

Homeowner David Charles Wilson told Texas Ranger Cody Allen that he was inside the residence in the 3300 block of Eagle Cove and fired a handgun in the direction of Heidelberg, according to Wilson’s arrest affidavit.

Wilson faces second-degree manslaughter charges, according to the affidavit. He was released on a $75,000 bond, according to a previous Reporter-Telegram article.

Heidelberg and Officer Victoria Allee were dispatched to Wilson’s home at about 1:16 a.m. Tuesday in reference to an alarm/panic alarm call. Upon arrival, officers walked the perimeter of the residence and did not observe anything out of the ordinary. Then Heidelberg noticed the front door of the residence was unsecure, according to the affidavit.

Another article provides Mr. Wilson's side of the issue:

"We would like to express our deepest sympathies to Officer Heidelberg’s family and the Midland Police Department for the events that lead to his death.

We are cooperating with investigators to attempt to learn all the material facts as soon as possible.

David Wilson believed that his family was experiencing a home invasion and only fired his weapon to protect his family."

There are some substantial questions so far unanswered. Was the police officer inside the house when the shot was fired? Other than shouting, was there anything else any of the police officers did to alert a homeowner that they were, in fact, police officers? Were the red lights on the police car flashing?

It's a homeowner's dilemma -- hold back and hope like hell that the person shouting is a police officer and not a home invader attempting to mislead the homeowner into compliance.

I've written about this issue at this blog. In particular, see this post from 2009 titled Citizen Police Academy about a question I asked of a SWAT team officer, who, by the way, is currently the Chief of Police. Here's that part of the post:

Here's one little tidbit that may or may not be helpful to know. A SWAT team leader gave a lecture and showed some of the gear they use. And he answered questions.

Sample question: "A Midland citizen is lying in bed at night, he's got his handgun by the side of the bed, and he hears a commotion at the front door. If it's the police he would comply with what ever they demanded. But how does he know whether it's a home invasion or the SWAT team?"

Long answer made short: "There have been home invasions in Midland where the invaders said they were police. ... You don't know."

So when a homeowner hears someone shouting and banging on the door, how does he/she know whether the potential invader is a police officer or a home invader intent on doing harm?

It would certainly help the homeowner if police car red lights were flashing in view of anyone occupying the house. If the counter argument is that the lights would scare away a burglar, well, that's one outcome, but it's preferable to the death of police officer or the homeowner.

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8:59 AM 3/6/2019

Many crime novelists don't know guns

Just finished reading a pretty good crime novel titled "August Snow," a first novel by Stephen Mack Jones. It's about a former Detroit cop with the same name as the book title. And the tale involves lots of conspiracies in high places along with some close-in combat with lots of gunfire. Fans of David Baldacci will feel right at home with this book.

Here's my issue, and it's relatively minor. In several instances the hero pulls out his Glock handgun and clicks off the manual safety. Huh? Glock handguns don't have manual safeties.

Gaston Glock, the man who developed the Glock brand intentionally omitted a manual safety because he was trying to mimic the ease of handling a revolver. And besides, it was too cumbersome. (I've written previously about that issue.)

A novelist can't know everything his readers know, but many novelists talk to lots of experts to avoid amateur mistakes. So hopefully Mr. Jones can learn from his mistakes and continue crafting good yarns.

Previously at Sleepless in Midland: Where Glocks came from

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6:06 AM 3/2/2019

Guns on display at Shot Show don't have firing pins -- thieves who stole guns there got busted after trying to buy firing pins

Here's an interesting way that some thieves got caught. The annual Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show, aka "Shot Show," in Las Vegas is a huge gun show open only to people in the shooting, hunting, outdoor industry. That exclusivity may cut down on shoplifting. However, two individuals who had worked as forklift operators during the show may have lifted a few guns.

But here's the thing the thieves may not have known right away. Show rules required all firing pins to have been removed from guns on display. After the thefts were discovered the ATF issued a bulletin advising gun shop owners to be on the lookout for anyone wanting firing pins. And sure enough, a shop owner reported that some customers were looking for firing pins. The ATF located one of the individuals with the license plate number of the vehicle they got in when they left the store.

The requirement that guns at the show be displayed without firing pins may have been for safety reasons, but in this case it served as a tracking device.

Gun thievery is a problem. Last September we talked about that in this blog with reference to some stats that came from Lubbock. The Lubbockonline.com reported that as of September, 2018, there had been 170 firearms stolen from vehicles in the city.

So theft deterrence is a challenge. Perhaps removing the firing pin might at least make a gun inert until repaired. But then it wouldn't stop a thief.

Meanwhile, some links:
2 Las Vegas men charged with stealing guns from SHOT Show
Two Men Stole Guns at SHOT Show. Here’s the Hiccup They Didn’t Anticipate.
Police stress vehicle gun thefts in Lubbock, urge responsibility
Gun owners, don't let your guns slip into the criminal market.

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3:42 PM 2/18/2019

In Europe as fear of terrorism rises so does gun ownership

This is enlightening. Strictly controlled gun ownership means a strong black market in guns. Certain jurisdictions in the U.S. demonstrate that. And Europe provides a pretty good example, too. Take a look at this quote from For the black market, everything stays the same:

But Europe’s shift has been rapid, and notable in part because of strict national restrictions. In most European countries, gun permits require thorough background checks, monitored shooting practice and tests on regulations. In Belgium, France and Germany, most registered guns may only be used at shooting ranges. Permits to bear arms outside of shooting ranges are extremely difficult to obtain.

Strict registration requirements don’t account for—and may exacerbate—a surge in illegal weapons across the continent, experts say.

Europe’s unregistered weapons outnumbered legal ones in 2017, 44.5 million to 34.2 million, according to the Small Arms Survey. Many illegal weapons come from one-time war zones, such as countries of the former Yugoslavia, and others are purchased online, including from vendors in the U.S.

[Bold added for emphasis.]

Making outlaws of people who only want to protect themselves is not a good government practice.

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3:33 PM 1/14/2019

Gun laws won't stop criminals from getting guns -- DOJ convict survey says half of guns were stolen or obtained from friend or family

If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will ... oh, you know the rest. The point is that the only people who will honor gun control laws are those you don't need to worry about.

The DOJ's Bureau of Justice Statistics produced a report summarizing the results of a survey among prisoners asking about gun possession and use. One of the most interesting tables tells us where they said they got their guns. About half of the guns were stolen or obtained from a friend or relative. Table 5 can be seen below.

The full report, published in January 2019 -- Source and Use of Firearms Involved in Crimes: Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016 -- can be downloaded here: Link, PDF.

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2:46 PM 1/13/2019

Gun manufacturers prep for silencer sales

I clicked on a link at a blog post about a new Ruger handgun -- Review: Ruger Mark IV 22/45 Tactical -- and was surprised to see that it has threads on the barrel to accommodate a silencer. See it in the photo below.

Ruger didn't miss a beat. They'll sell you the silencer, too.

A hasty web search revealed that there aren't many new handguns with that feature other than the Ruger and Sig Sauer.

There was a meager effort by Republicans to get the law changed to eliminate the tax a gun owner would have to pay to own a silencer. But the bill's sponsor, Matt Salmon of Arizona, retired before the bill ever got out of the committees. And now that the Democrats have taken over the House we can say goodbye to the Hearing Protection Act of 2015 .

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2:41 PM 12/4/2018

Guns at TSA checkpoint

Stories about people who inadvertently attempt to carry a firearm in a carry-on bag through the TSA checkpoints used to be big news. But it happens so frequently that it's now a ho-hum non-story.

What happens to those people? Anecdotes tell us that police are brought in, the FBI is contacted, and those two agencies typically declare they won't arrest or prosecute. The individual is either told to take the gun out to their vehicle or the gun is taken into possession by the police for safe keeping.

But there's also the TSA. They can assess a huge fine. So it was interesting to see some numbers in this WaPo story. TSA goes for guns and money:

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) levied civil penalties of approximately $1.45 million against travelers who violated firearms regulations at airports around the country last year, records show.

The TSA filed more than 4,000 actions against gun-carrying travelers in 2017, according to data obtained through a request made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA.)

If my math is correct, that came to $362.50 per errant gun carrier. But that would be an average, and if correct, the person I heard about who was tagged with a $1,400 fine got a raw deal.

More from the article:

Many of the civil claims arose from guns taken into a handful of U.S. airports that are among the busiest hubs and in the South or West.

Best to stay mindful of the firearm carry laws.

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2:22 PM 10/23/2018

Anti-gun activists invest in gun manufacturers to gain influence

Anti-gun activists sneak into the back door to sabotage gun makers by making new rules for them. A case in point is the recent resolutions forced on the maker of Smith & Wesson guns. See Investors Push Gun Maker*. Excerpt:

Investors in American Outdoor Brands Corp. on Tuesday won a shareholder vote urging the top U.S. firearm maker to do more to address gun violence.

The proposal asks the maker of Smith & Wesson guns to track shootings involving their products and consider investing more in technology to prevent their unauthorized use. Nearly 70% of investors in Sturm, Ruger & Co. backed a similar shareholder proposal at that company in May.

The percentage of shareholders who backed the proposal at American will be disclosed in later financial filings. American Outdoor said it would prepare the required report by February, but made no further concessions to investors who have won backing from some large fund managers.

(Alternate link.)

*The web version is titled: "Shareholders Win Vote Urging Smith & Wesson Maker to Review Safety Efforts."

The New York Post casts it as a Nuns vs. guns fight in Smith & Wesson loses duel with nuns over gun safety.

Is the camels nose in the tent? Whatever their long term goal, it's a sneaky way to try to defeat gun rights.

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2:43 PM 9/28/2018

Gun owners, don't let your guns slip into the criminal market

Gun owners need to take care that their firearms don't get stolen. When guns are stolen, they are in the hands of criminals from the moment they are removed from the rightful owners home or vehicle. And they may ultimately end up being sold to another criminal whose intentions are more violent than burglary.

A lot of guns get stolen every year, and one loose in a vehicle is awfully easy to nab. I haven't seen statistics for Midland, TX, in a while. But in nearby Lubbock -- population 252,506 in 2015 -- "So far this year, 170 firearms have been stolen from unattended vehicles in Lubbock, and more than 350 firearms were stolen from vehicles in 2017, according to police." Source: Police stress vehicle gun thefts in Lubbock, urge responsibility.

Nationwide ATF reported that 9,062 pistols and 2,126 revolvers were stolen in 2017. Source: Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) Theft/Loss Report. Although those were totals, not just vehicle burglaries.

In any event, there are plenty of hot guns on the black market. Some of them kill, e.g., case of Kate Steinle.

Needless to say, gun owners need to tighten up the security for their weapons. A friend told me that he uses a cable lock to secure his handgun to the bracket holding the seat to the floor of his vehicle when he leaves it in the vehicle. Smart idea. A determined thief could get it, but the time involved serves as a practical deterrent.

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1:14 PM 9/17/2018

Remarkable three mile rifle shot strikes target

Taking advantage of cool weather, Bill Poor and his team did this back in January of this year at a ranch near Midland, TX, using a .408 CheyTac rifle ($10,000 to $14,000) and Cheytec ammo ($750.00 for 100 rounds). Ouch.

Dallasnews.com initially said in West Texas marksman reportedly breaks distance record with 3-mile shot that the Guinness World Records would likely decline to give him the record, but an update to the article said they relented and gave it to him.

See also Abilene Reporter-News article World record might be a longshot for Tuscola man which embeds a 51 second video.

What a remarkable shot.

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2:35 PM 8/21/2018

The left wants Trump to ignore fed court ruling -- hilarious

For over a year federal judges have ruled against Trump administration initiatives. And the left cheered.

So it's ironic and funny to see them wring their hands over a ruling on 3d printed guns. And take a look at this Associated Press article, noting particularly the underlined words.

"Gun-control groups made a last-ditch effort Friday to block the Trump administration from allowing Americans access to blue-prints for 3D printable guns on the internet, ..."

What exactly is the Trump administration supposed to do? How exactly does a president overrule a federal judge? That certainly isn't a power the left would want to bestow on Donald Trump. It's laughable.

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11:24 AM 7/29/2018

The spread of a hollow point bullet

The other day at a local outdoor shooting range there was a segment of a target board backing laying on the ground with a bullet fragment stuck in it.

insert three pics here

It appears to be a hollow point bullet jacket minus the lead. The lead must have either fallen out, presumably, after it struck the target backing. Anyway, there's no lesson here, it was just an interesting find, particularly since the jacked appears to have been turned inside out and it didn't penetrate the target backing.

Meanwhile, for a handy comparison of self defense rounds, see Luckygunner.com's review: Handgun Self-Defense Ammunition Ballistics Test.

P.S. They were smart to call the bullets "defense ammo." The anti-gun folks would probably call them "assault bullets" if they thought they could get away with it.

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1:27 PM 7/21/2018

Hey gun controllers, here's the only place on Earth where gun control might work, only it's not on Earth

As just about everyone who has given it any thought knows, it would be impossible to make the U.S. a gun free country. It's trite but true, outlaw guns and only outlaws will have guns.

I've made the observation previously, gun controllers' best bet is to concentrate on some new place that is currently uninhabited and inaccessible. Colonize it and restrict any gun imports. So here's that opportunity. 'Space kingdom' seeks citizens for life beyond Earth very soon:

VIENNA (Reuters) - Feel like the world is going to the dogs? Want to get away from it all? Here’s a solution: become a citizen of the nation of Asgardia and hope it makes good on its promise to colonize the moon.

Asgardia was founded just 20 months ago, and it already has about 200,000 citizens, a constitution and an elected parliament. It has a leader, Igor Ashurbeyli, who was inaugurated on Monday.

It also has grandiose ambitions. It wants to build up a population of 150 million within 10 years. It plans to set up “space arks” with artificial gravity in outer space where humans could live permanently.

They are already collecting taxes!

Asgardians now pay an annual membership fee of 100 euros. It plans to collect taxes on businesses and private income, which it says will be kept very low.

What could possibly go wrong?

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2:59 PM 6/27/2018

What kind of ammo did that dancing FBI agent have loaded in the gun that went off?

News articles about negligent discharges seldom identify the type of gun involved. But yesterday we speculated that it was a Glock. But what kind of ammunition was loaded in the gun?

A WaPo article dated October 31, 2015, titled FBI returns to 9mm rounds, once shunned as ineffective said that the FBI would be adopting the 9mm 147 grain Speer Gold Dot G2.

[FBI’s Defensive Systems Unit Special Agent Ray] Cook says that the lighter the bullet, the faster the gun can “drive” the round into the target. For the FBI, that translates into 12 to 18 inches of penetration into the human body. The 9mm’s weight, Cook added, also increases an agent’s accuracy in a gunfight, according to the findings of a 2014 FBI report that was leaked online last year.

Luckygunner.com conducted extensive defensive round testing in 2015, and the Speer 147 gr Gold Dot Speer 147 gr Gold Dot passed the test.

Going back to the news report about the discharge:

He picked the gun up and it went off, shooting another person in the leg. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital in "good" condition, according to police.

A bullet capable of 12 to 18 inches of penetration could go clean through a typical human leg. Bullets tend to deflect off of bones, so it's possible that no bones were broken. But still, a bullet engineered to expand on impact and stop a human being could do some significant damage to the muscle and connecting tissue in a leg. We'll just have to wait for further reporting to know the ultimate outcome.

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10:35 AM 6/5/2018

FBI agent demonstrates tricky dance move and how to initiate a negligent discharge

Glock handguns are amazingly easy to shoot. With no manual safety and a light trigger pull, apply the slightest pressure to the trigger and BAM!

That's apparently how this particular negligent discharge occurred: FBI agent accidentally shoots bar patron when gun falls out of holster while dancing.

Reporters seldom include the gun brand and model in their reports. They don't care, so why should anyone else?

We learned in 2016 that Glock was selected as the supplier of handguns to the FBI, so we can probably assume the gun involved in this discharge was a Glock.

The lessons here are simple. As with all handguns with no manual safety, don't try to catch a falling handgun, and keep the finger out of the trigger guard when picking it up.

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3:24 PM 6/4/2018

NYPD says goodbye to the service revolver

That phrase, "service revolver," has been around for a very long time, but it's seldom that one sees a law enforcement officer carrying a revolver these days. Most agencies phased them out years ago in favor of the semi-autos, especially Glocks. Glock conducted a very successful campaign to get agencies to convert to Glocks. And they made a fortune.

So it was surprising to see this so late in that transition process: NYPD officially phases out revolvers as 25-year vets transition to 9-mm:

The last crop of cops transitioning from the old-school revolver to the modern semi-automatic handguns reported to the NYPD shooting range in the Bronx for training Wednesday.

The remaining 150 police officers — who all joined the force before 1993, when the the .9-mm semi-automatic became the department's service weapon — had until Aug. 31 to be be trained on new guns. ...

The swap out is a matter of safety. The revolver holds six bullets, each of which have to be loaded individually. ... The contemporary gun has a 16-bullet capacity and can be reloaded quickly. NYPD officers are trained to shoot a 9-mm. Glock or Sig Sauer.

Having all those bullets would certainly help in a genuine shoot-out. But it's also likely that the police officers will outnumber the potential shooter when bullets fly. Recall the Amadou Diallo case in which an unarmed man was shot at by police 41 times and struck 19 times.

Most handgun users prefer semi-automatic pistols, although the revolvers remain reliable and are probably safer. This blog used to cover Glock mishaps on a regular basis. For a sampling, click the guns category at this blog and scroll down for posts about Glock.

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10:06 AM 5/31/2018