Month: May 2008
Still At Large
Police are still looking for the third suspect in the Bank robbery which lead to the murder of a police officer.
Small Arms – Threat to Peace and Security
More on the international front, this time by the UN:
“We have all witnessed how these weapons have been used to maim and kill; plunder and rape; instil fear and insecurity; block humanitarian aid; hold communities at ransom; destroy the social fabric of entire countries; and how their excessive accumulation and misuse has hindered stability and development in every way possible,†said Hannelore Hoppe, Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs.
Representative for Disarmament Affairs? Why are we still paying for this crap, and allowing them to occupy some of the most valuable real estate in the country? The problem is guns can also protect against all these things, and disarmament efforts tend to take guns away form the people who most need them.
Olympic Shooting: Just Say No
From Jeff Soyer, it seems that activists for gun bans in the UK don’t want to ease laws on olympic shooters, because pretty clearly this is a menace to civilized society:
What do they have to say?
Gill Marshall-Andrews of the Gun Control Network hit back: “We oppose any kind of change, even for training. Why should we put society at risk for the sake of a few sportspeople?â€
And I’m supposed to believe these folks aren’t going to ban my sporting guns? These types of hysterics don’t know limits. They have an irrational phobia. It shouldn’t be my problem, but in the UK, at least, they have made it everyone’s problem.
George W. Bush – Destroyer of Coalitions
I couldn’t agree more with this.  I would also add, as someone who still supports what we’re doing in Iraq, Bush has been an unmitigated disaster for that policy. He did not lead the country to war. If a Democrat is elected, and we pull out, with all the horrible consequences that will entail for the region, Bush will share much of a blame for that because of his mismanagement.
Pennsylvania – The Battleground State
Classifications
Well, I finally joined IHMSA. My rating, pretty much across the board, will be A, except for Big Bore, where I’ll get a B rating. The only pistol I have that can shoot big bore is my Smith & Wesson 629, which not only is a bitch with recoil, you can’t taco grip a revolver. I think, at this point, I will stick to field pistol with the 629.
A rating sounds good, until you realize it’s like baseball. A is the lowest category of any consequence. From there you go to AA and AAA, and if you’re really good, go into the top International Class. From the rules, it looks like as soon as you shoot into another class, you get a leg up, which earns you a ‘+’ classification. If you shoot into that class again, you then enter that class.
My goal now is to enter into AA class before the end of this season. We’ll have to see if I can do it. So far I am very happy with the Volquartsen Trigger Kit I put into my Mk.III. I managed to shoot 19 this time, which is better than I have been able to do previously, and I lost a few animals raising my sights too high on the turkeys and rams. Live and learn. Air pistol was a disappointing 13. But airgun is harder than it looks. It looks like it should be easy, because the animals are so close, but trying to hit 1/10th scale animals at 10 to 18 yards is harder than you might think.
Quote of the Day
From West, By God:
I have to say, I was honestly expecting the 6.8 to feel significantly different from a .223. Other than the sound, there really isn’t that much difference. Well, that’s a lie. The difference you feel is just in your wallet instead of your shoulder.
This was in reference to Robb’s range report. You’re not kidding about that! I love the 6.8 cartridge, but you basically have to reload.
When the Personal Becomes the Political
As much as Bryan Miller might want to use the death of a police officer as a segue into attacking one of his pro-gun commenters, I tend to find it to be as repugnant as what he accuses VeroFeritas of. I’d rather not make a political issue of what happened to Bryan Miller’s brother, but I’m not the one who has done that. It’s Bryan that has chosen to bring that personal tragedy into the public light and use it to promote a political position. I’m not condeming that, because all sides of the debate do this. It’s not just anti-gunners, we do this too. But it seems to be rather disingenuous to bring your tragedy into the political area, and use it to stump for your position, while crying foul when others bring it up in support of a position in contra to yours.
But that’s not the real issue here, while I have no doubt that Mr. Miller’s sympathy for the family of Officer Liczbinski is genuine, I’m going to suggest that we not use this incident as political fodder for one position or another. Let the family grieve. There will be plenty of time to argue over the politics later. At this point, the right thing to do is keep the Liczbinski family in our thoughts and prayers.
Officer Down
Another police officer killed in Philadelphia. Apparently they already have the low lifes in custody. I missed this one yesterday because I was busy doing things with Bitter. Our thoughts and prayers go out of officer Liczbinki’s family.
Cop killers are a dangerous breed of criminal. They will kill anyone as soon as look at them. They have no regard for life. What’s also important, most of them are actually competent shooters, which seperates them from your typical criminal. It’s a very good thing the Philadelphia police were able to catch these guys as quickly as they did.