Now that the election is over....
A couple bumperstickers I want.
One, "Palin 2012"
Secondly, something that summarizes these posts by Scott Ott and John C. Wright.
Over the last eight years, I've gotten so sick of the hatred and vitriol directed at the current president. You know, the bumper stickers that say "Not my president" or "Bush should be behind bars" or "Buck Fush" or "Bush is poopy" (yes, I did see that one; it reflects the level of maturity I expect from the left). Even the media (especially the media) had resorted to it. Did anyone ever notice how President Bush was never referred to as such in virtually any newspaper article? Every time I saw him referenced, it was always as "Mr. Bush".
Now that there's someone I don't like in the white house it's my turn to show that I am the better man, and refrain from resorting to such infantile name-calling. I'm thinking a bumper sticker like:
"Obama is my president. He may be a liberal hack, but he's MY liberal hack."
Also, it may be time that I stopped shirking my responsibility to defense of my family and bought a firearm, before they are banned. The advice of some guy on the internet is "First, get a shotgun. If you can afford it, a Benelli M4. If you can't, get a Remington 870, preferably a 'Police Magnum'. Barring that, a standard 870 in a minimum-legal length barrel configuration will do superbly. You can also get a plain 870 hunting shotgun and get whatever barrel you want for it. There's plenty of 870 aftermarket accessories to make it do whatever you want it to. Mossberg 500s run a close second, but the safety location makes some add-ons unwieldy. If it's going to be for home defense, get a flashlight add-on. If you've got the money, a Surefire foregrip is ideal. If not, pick up a Maglite LED with a pressure switch and a mount. But a light of some variety is essential."
Reasonable advice? I know there are at least two readers of this blog who are also gun owners. What do they think? Perhaps I should head to a local gun store on December 4th?
Well, Ileana and I are going this weekend to finally get around to picking out a handgun for her. I got the Beretta 92 (M9 in the Marine Corps) because that's what I'm used to. It is a bit heavy, so Ileana would like something lighter. I'd prefer that whatever handgun she gets takes the same magazine that the M9 takes (I don't know if that's wishful thinking since my firearm experience is limited to only a few weapons which include crew served weapons which I'm betting I can't buy). I don't want to be fumbling around with the wrong magazine when I'm already stressed out (or I wouldn't need a gun then would I?). So if you get a handgun, make sure it's magazine fed because revolvers are so limited and take a while to load (no, most people can't run a speed loader like Outlaws can). Also, don't buy more than one handgun per week. The ATF and the FBI flags you or something like that. So if you both want one (Ileana and I would both like to have one at our disposal especially when we are nowhere near each other), space out your purchases.
ReplyDeleteAs far as shotguns go, the suggestions here sound good. I'd love a Benelli M4, and we are looking for that as well as a rifle this weekend (no guarantees on a purchase yet though. Though I may make a post about what we get later). I agree with the suggestion on the shorter barrel. If I get a shotgun and I don't hunt, I'm not going for accuracy which is the primary purpose of a long barrel. I need something light-weight (comparatively) and easy to wield in my own house (or neighborhood? I suppose if things get real bad). The accessories suggestions I can't argue with, nor do I even have a strong opinion on them. A flash light, a laser pointer I suppose (getting lazy?), whatever else.
As far as the rifle I would like to get, I prefer to go with what I know which would be the civilian equivalent of the M16, the AR-15. I assume that it is really pricy (I'll let you know after this weekend of looking around) so that might not be an option. I might even be open to the idea of an AK-47 considering it has better stopping power (.762 vs .556 round) and has a reputation for working under the worst of conditions where the M16 has a reputation for only working under the best of cleaning conditions. I trust the M16 for accuracy though, and besides that's what I'm used to. Whatever I get in a rifle, I want a magazine fed, semi-auto with accuracy out to at least 300 yards (I was able to hit a man sized target 8/10 times at 500 yards [or was it meters?] with the M16). Scopes, flashlights are optional. Laser pointers seem lame too me considering I want it for distance and that requires taking arc into account (unless someone has a slick distance adjustable laser pointer).
Anyhow, that'd what I'm looking for this weekend: another handgun, a shotgun and a rifle. That's more than I figure my family would ever need even in a pickle. Beyond that, we just need good neighbors. Two years ago I never would have thought of trying to get all this stuff all at once, but a recent fear over gun laws to come has added a small fire under our butts. So now we figure, now's as good a time as any to diversify our personal and home protection.
Oh, and last tip. Stock up on ammo. The sneaky little trick that many politicians have tried is to say that they are pro-gun but then they try to regulate the sale of ammo (like "you can't sell ammo in the same place you sell a gun" laws). Ammo is not that cheap. I like to keep at least enough for 4 full handgun magazines (like 40-60 rounds?) which is not much. I'd suggest pushing into the hundreds now (some people would probably say I'm still too low). Go take a day to fire at a shooting range (actually you should take several days to get used to your weapons and then a make regular thing of it like every month to keep up your skill. Imagine only driving once a month. How good do you think you'd be then?), and see how many rounds you go through in not too much time. Now use your imagination to extrapolate out to a one man burglary in your house. You can go through a full magazine pretty quickly. Now imagine two guys in your house. I imagine the number of rounds you use to grow exponentially with the number of targets when you factor in fear, chaos, etc.
That's all I gots to say. I'll make a post after this weekend on what we get/find out.
Tom, hurry up and get your website back up so I can link to your article on the responsibility of self-defense. Or go ahead and post it here, if you still have a copy of it.
ReplyDeleteOk.
ReplyDeleteMy wife has a Remington 870 Wingmaster---- a absolutely stunning piece. (Her mother's shotgun, yeah for heirlooms)
ReplyDeleteMy "wedding shotgun" is a Mossberg 500 with a full length magazine tube and the swappable pistol grip.
Remember, in California you only need a permit to carry a "concealable weapon".... concealable is defined as having a barrel shorter than 18". So your 18" barrel shotgun can be carried around with you all day, if you so desire. (unloaded, of course).
As for shotgun accessories.
Get an adjustable beam flashlight, not a laser.
The grip mounted flashlight is designed so that it turns on when you squeeze the grip.
The "adjustable beam" is used for aiming. You go to a shooting range, set a target at 15 feet (or 21 feet if you have a large house) and fire. Adjust the angle of the beam so it only illuminates the holes in the target.
Now at 15-21 feet whatever has light on it will get shot. No more having to aim.
I also highly recommend practicing firing a shotgun from the hip. Just as you are able to use a flashlight from the hip without correcting your aim, so too you are able to hit a target from the hip without additional aiming. Holding a gun at the hip keeps you from suffering tunnel vision looking down the barrel of the gun.
As for pistols, I always liked my Sig Saur P220. Anything less than a .45 looks like a toy when staring at it from the business end. But a .45 looks like a sewer pipe when you have it pointed at you.
Regarding "kick".
.45 cal. = ~800 feet/sec
9mm = ~13700 feet/sec
Just because it is a smaller bullet doesn't mean that it "kicks less" when you shoot it. A .45 is a loud bang with a pretty even push. A 9mm is a loud snap with a stinging flick.
The error people make is they don't know how to hold their wrists steady and cause fatigue from whiplash. (This can be compensated for by having a "longer slide"... as opposed to a smaller gun with a shorter slide.
Typically a "pro-carry" or "compact" pistol is harder to shoot than it's bigger brother version, due to slide length.
The other benefit of a .45 cal pistol is they often hold between 7-9 rounds in a single stack. Where 9mm guns tend to have a double or triple stack of rounds in the magazine so that it can hold between 12-21 bullets.
If you have "smaller hands" there is no sense in holding 12, 18 or 21 rounds in the magazine, this will just make the gun harder to hold.
Besides the pure number of rounds and configuration of the magazine, many pistols offer a wide variety of after market parts for customizing to personal preferences, such as replacement handgrips.
I could probably go on for a long time on this topic.
If your state still allows it, buy a AR-15. They are tons of fun for target shooting and the aftermarket seems to be endless for them. However, if you are unlucky, like me, California banned them since they look like an "assault rifle".
Crappy ban, assault rifles ought to be legal.
Your wish is granted here.
ReplyDeleteOne of these might also be nice.
Oooo... nice suggestion on the adjustable flashlight, Jeff. I hadn't thought of that. I will look into grabbing one of those when I shop tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteTom:
ReplyDeleteIf you are trying to get an AR-15, you had better move fast. They are already mighty scarce. I am trying to buy one (order was called in Friday). DPMS has a 6-12 MONTH backlog at this point in time. I also hear that DPMS has a 40,000 unit backlog on stripped lowers. I assume the other manufacturers are in a similar situation. It may not be possible to get one in time. If you find a good source, let me know.
God bless!
Wayne
Here are some interesting items:
ReplyDeleteIt seems gun sales are soaring since the election: Obama's Election Sparks Gun Sales.
"Yes We Can . . . Ban Guns"--Obama Announces Gun Ban Agenda Before The Final Vote Count Is In.
And here's Obama's urban policy agenda from his own "change.gov" web site (scroll down to "Address Gun Violence in Cities").
Update to my Nov. 8 post:
ReplyDeleteApparently the administrator of Obama's Change.gov web site has taken down the pages with his detailed agenda for his presidency. The page I linked to is gone now, and all that appears is the message, "The page you requested is not available right now."
Chris Horner at Planet Gore says that the page with Obama's energy policy agenda is gone, too.
Verrrrry interesting.....