Category: Shooting
A Strange New World
So I reported a few days ago on the Joe Manchin ad, where he’s shown shooting the cap and trade bill. Well, the GOP has apparently become worried that the Democrats, the wild, crazy gunslingers we all know them to be, are promoting a bad message when it comes to children being able to safely handle guns:
At the same time, Mike Stuart, chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party, chastised Manchin for not wearing safety gear when he fired the rifle.
“My children were watching,” Stuart said in a news release. “Where was his blaze orange clothing, his ear protection, his eye protection? … It is too bad the governor sent some very bad messages to the youth of West Virginia.”
Stuart believes Manchin should’ve been wearing orange clothing when taking aim at the cap-and-trade bill.
I’m not sure about the blaze orange. Who wears that shooting paper? Plus, as far as I know, there’s no season or bag limit for rent seeking, federal power grabbing bills. At least there shouldn’t be, since I’m pretty sure we can all agree that congressional bills have been responsible for significant depredation of the country.
This is a strange world we’re living in, folks. When the Democrats have become the wild gunslingers, and the GOP are the stodgy, “You better do that safely, lest my little Johnny start handling my guns with reckless abandon,” it’s hard to argue we haven’t completely won the culture war on the gun issue, at least in some parts of the country. I can only imagine the abject horror the Bradys must be feeling as they are watching all this go down.
It’s a Feature, Really
Apparently none of the shot timer apps for iPhone will work with the iPhone 4s noise canceling microphone. I guess it works if it can silence gunfire. Sounds like Apple should put an API in to disable noise cancellation, assuming it’s not built directly into the hardware.
Start of the New Season
Sorry for the light posting. Last night was the start to our club 2010/2011 Indoor Silhouette season. Last year I had to skip out way too much. This year I’m hoping to get there more. For not having pulled the trigger in well over a month, I did surprisingly well, 27 and 29. Normally a decent score for me would be 30-32 out of 40 for indoor smallbore pistol. Of course, my 27 may have been a 26, depending on whether this counts:
I couldn’t have made the animal do this if I tried, and I’m still not sure how it ended up this way. I think the bullet just barely brushed the base, based on the paint patterns, and the fact that it took a bit of time to tip all the way. Originally I didn’t count it, then someone told me that because it would have fallen off a pedestal, it counts. Then someone else said it didn’t, but I had already changed the score. Ultimately, I decided shooting better the third relay was the better option, so I didn’t end up beating someone with a questionable animal.
Celebrity Shooter
This may well qualify as weirdest headline of the day:
His rep says he was just dehydrated and collapsed. People at the range say he had been shooting.
For a guy who is putting boatloads of money into the hands of groups trying to end hunting, shooting seems like a weird hobby for him to have on the side. But, here’s to hoping he goes shooting a lot and owns a lot of guns. If he does, maybe he’s contributed a fraction to our side compared to what he’s given to them.
Earning the Brady Love
Apparently Obama can find some room to praise Texas Christian University’s shooting team, and mentions he shoots with the Secret Service (color me skeptical on that one). Either way, this likely is an indication he still does not want a fight. After the EPA incident, he’s looking to back away from the issue visibly, and calm nerves.
That’s not to say I’d trust the guy. He’s still going to nominate anti-gun Supreme Court justices, and for that reason he has to go, but he’s definitely no Bill Clinton. At least not yet.
The History Channel – Cracked Up
Cracked on the History Channel. Top Shot gets a (small, but favorable) mention. Most of the other shows … don’t.
NJ Firearms Forum plug
One of the places I can be found arguing on a forum is the NJ Gun Forums, which is a pretty handy resource for shooting in the Garden State. One of the things I found there was this handy google maps mashup showing the location of our hidden rebel bases guns stores and ranges across New Jersey.
Welcome to Central Pennsylvania
While we would obviously fight any attempt by a township in this state to shut down a legitimate shooting range, shooting across roadways is to be generally frowned upon. Now a man’s quest for 1000 yard shooting (hard to find in PA) has run into his Township. The money quote here is:
Lavelle asked what London was doing in the photo Beatty took, and what the object identified as a target in DeBoer’s video was. London said he was shooting at a groundhog that was about 1,060 yards away, and the object was a five-gallon drum suspended by ropes used as a deer feeder, not a target.
[…]
Choman questioned if hunting groundhogs with a sniper rifle at a distance of 1,060 yards was extreme.
“I don’t think so,” said London.
If the guy is shooting over township roads, which he has admitted, and doesn’t have the appropriate safety measures in place, he needs to stop. While a .50BMG can’t travel “a distance of 45 miles,” as one Township Supervisor said, It can certainly travel quite a bit.