The Truth About Guns

I remember watching All in the Family as a kid. My mother loved the show. My father not so much. While he appreciated Carroll O’Connor’s acting chops and comedic timing, he wasn’t stupid. My father that is. He knew Archie was, ultimately, a figure of fun; the show dissed conservatives even as it gave voice to their beliefs. As it does above, with the suggestion that Alabama Governor George Wallace might not have been disabled by an assassination attempt if he’d had a “rod” to shoot Arthur Bremer. What’s intriguing about that clip: Lionel’s reply to what “his people” think about guns. “Depends who’s holding it.” Someone was thinking outside the box there. Here’s Archie’s gun control editorial . . .

“We’re being attacked, Bonnie Devine thought as a brick shattered her living room window, only inches above the couch where she slept. It was just past 5AM on September 29, and luckily the brick-throwing vandals didn’t break through the second of two window panes, which would have sent deadly glass shards cascading upon her.” I’m not so sure about that deadly shard deal (unless it’s the Chardonnay I sampled at a pizzeria the other day), but you can forgive vice.com writer David P. Ball a bit of hyperbole. After all, “The attack follows six years of white supremacist violence against h

So The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) publishes the Modern Sporting Rifle Comprehensive Consumer Report [available to members]. The industry lobby group first surveyed some 22k assault rifle MSR owners back in ’10. They’ve updated the info for ’13. Not a lot’s changed. Most military-style weapon MSR owners use their gun for target practice and own more than one. “Most modern sporting rifles were purchased from an independent retail store, with the average cost $1,058, which is $25 less than the average from the 2010 study.” [NB: may not apply to

The goal of most firearms trainers: turn you into them. If a trainer’s tactical dress, clipped tones and head-on-a-swivel stance makes you suspect that they’re ready, willing and able to do wet work in Mogadishu, they may not be the best option for self-defense instruction. As Clint Smith asserts above, not shooting is the armed Americans’ primary goal. If your trainer is all about the shooting, Houston, we have a problem. Saying that, I’m not that picky about my firearms training save the safety component. I take everything I learn with a grain of salt the size of the Hope Diamond. Besides, all that tacticool stuff is fun! So how do you choose training? Price, proximity, style, what? BTW: Did a SWAT team visit Thunder Ranch recently? There’s a motionless dog behind Clint . . .

TTAG reader Danny gave us the heads up on this one, providing a “somewhat quick translation” of what is said from 0:39 to 1:28:

Bandit: Stop stop stop stop stop stop… Give the alarm!

Biker: Sure sure…

Bandit: Give the alarm! Give the alarm! Give the alarm!

Biker: It’s here! It’s here! It’s here!

Bandit: Fucking give it!

Biker: It’s here! It’s here! It’s here! You can take it! You can take it!

Bandit 2: Give it to him (or something similar).

Biker: You can take it! You can take it! I don’t have a weapon! I’m not a cop! You can take it! You can take it!

Bandit gets shot.

Biker: Thank you officer! Thank you officer! Really, thank a lot! You are going to steal in hell now crazy fuck, you are going to steal in hell, my bike you ain’t taking, my bike you ain’t taking for god’s sake!

Danny has a question

“‘The authorities are turning a blind eye. They’re being bought off by the gun lobby and it makes America a dangerous place. When Elise goes to school that will definitely be in my mind. I love America but if they continue to do absolutely nothing and the scale and volume of the outrages continues to accelerate, there’ll come a point when I think ‘I don’t want to be here with young children.’” Pier Morgan quoted in Piers Morgan’s star secrets [via mirror.co.uk]

An Indianapolis City Council member demonstrated her integrity over the last few months with regard to a new tax measure. You see, a new ordinance was passed that expanded the police taxing district from the old city limits to the county line. The problem is, there’s another ordinance that prohibits the discharge of firearms within the taxing district, so they accidentally outlawed the discharge of firearms for the entire county, including rural areas. Don’t worry, a fix is already in place by the mayor’s office. The integrity issue is that Democratic Council member Angela Mansfield, who unsuccessfully tried to expand the discharge prohibition to the county lines in 2007, was aware of the potential issue for some months, but kept mum until the ordinance was passed. “I was quite tickled to death that the mayor was able to accomplish what I couldn’t years ago,” said Mansfield. . .

Th

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“Stutsman County was created by the 1872-73 territorial legislature and named for Enos Stutsman, who was born with Phocomelia (lacking arms or legs), but who nonetheless not only homesteaded, but became a powerful politician in the early days of the Dakota Territory. The county government was first organized on June 20, 1873,”

NRA Veep Wayne LaPierre is enervated by the recent signing of the U.N. Small Arms Trade Treaty. Click here to read the text of the treaty. Make the jump for Wayne’s presser (coming to a fund-raising letter to you soon). Click here for the Gun Owners of America’s treaty takedown. Click here for Senator Jerry Moran’s six-part kvetch. Or click here to learn more about camel-cavalry.

FAIRFAX, Va. --(

I absolutely hate off-leash dogs in public. Whether their dog is a beagle, weinerdog, poodle or pit bull, many dog owners just know that their lovey little puppy would never hurt a soul. But dogs are intelligent and complex (and not always predictable) animals. You can’t absolutely know how they’ll react to strange dogs or strange people, and a leash is cheap insurance against the possibility that Fido reverts to his pack or hunting instincts when you’re out in public. Justin Doss (featured in the video above, near the scene of this crime) is living proof of this . . .

He may also help prove the theory that there are no bad dogs, just bad dog owners. Luckily for 74 year-old Nancy Ashworth, she was prepared with a ‘Defense In Depth’ of nonlethal and lethal weaponry when a Doss and his dog both went feral on her. Instead of getting bitten and beaten, she pwned the skateboard punk in his own crib.

The Lone Star State is not turning purple. Texas is a red state and that’s the way it’s staying. In fact, I suspect that Texas is turning more conservative, not less. Yes, there is a significant and growing Hispanic population. Yes, that demographic tends to vote Democrat. But there’s another demographic trend that doesn’t get much ink: red state refugees fleeing to Texas. You may say I’m a dreamer; anti-gun liberals will accompany the exodus and, eventually, carry the day. But I’m not the only one . . .

Out at the range today, a bearded OFWG Cowboy Action Shooter was

You watch an entire video of a shotgun recycling testing machine. Or even part of it. Your turn! What videos have you watched that non-gunnies wouldn’t notice or even consider? Full marks for anyone who’s watched an entire Nutnfancy review. In one sitting. Without fast-forwarding.

There’s a lot of suspense in the video above. Will late night chat show host Jimmy Kimmel play the shooters’ disability for laughs in a good way or a bad way? “Five for five,” he lies to the shooters. “Straight through the heart,” he jokes. The hands-up joke—”show of hands how many of you think it’s OK for blind people to carry guns?—is especially disgusting. Although not quite as reprehensible as telling a participant she shot her dog. Let’s be clear: a blind person has a natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. They are fully capable of using their firearm to defend their lives; a gun is a deterrent both before and during a violent attack, and a suitable way to end it. Put a blindfold on Kimmel and have him walk through a dangerous part of LA at night. See how that feels. Jerk.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-gun-box

There are bedside gun safes. There are bedside gun safes with biometric locks. But there are none that will charge your iPhone while you sleep. Or look like an oversized piece of metal ravioli. And while I’m not sure what an RF signature is—I know mine is completely indecipherable—if you and you alone can open the bedside gun safe just by pressing your hand on the top of the case, that’s a win. ‘Cause that fingertip deal would be useless if your hand was covered in blood. Just sayin’. Oh wait, you gotta wear a ring or a wristband. I ain’t wearin’ no ring again ever and wristbands are so fey. My preferred choice is home carry during the day and easy access at night. ‘Nuff said. [h/t DrVino]

“Law enforcement, we walk around with a target on our backs everywhere. We’re outgunned out there. These long rifles – we don’t have the ammunition to come close to that. Little loopholes like this that we can close makes it safer for us.” – Philadelphia highway patrol officer Rick Bowes, A call for background checks on ‘long’ gun buyers [at philly.com]

The technology behind the Tracking Point rifle really is pretty amazing, but at the same time, if you can reliably do this all day long, wouldn’t it get a little monotonous after the initial giggle factor wore off? Where’s the sense of accomplishment, like when I put 9 rounds (with one flyer) in a four inch circle at 200 yards in a crossbreeze with a .22LR? It’s neat to watch her go 4 for 4 out to 1000 yards, but if the technology is that reliably accurate, then is it good, or just expected? . . .

The wharrgarbl machine was in full effect shortly after California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed several of the anti-liberty bills on his desk this afternoon. The Courage Campaign (Who?) said “Governor Brown choose [sic] to put craven poli

“Republican Joe Lhota [above], fending off repeated attacks from his Democratic rival, Bill de Blasio, that he is too right-wing to become mayor of New York City, was forced to defend himself tonight after a video surfaced that showed him telling conservatives that gun permits should be easier to obtain in the city,” politicker.com reports. Wait. Lhota’s defending himself? How about New York City liberals d

Crazy Quail is revolting. According to their press release [full text after the jump] the system is “a type of revolt against the orthodoxy of trap and skeet. Skeet offers excellent practice for the field shooter, but too predictable – the targets always follow the same fixed angles. Trap does offer a greater variety of angles, but all of the shots are going away from the shooter.  Crazy Quail offers unique presentations and unpredictability provided by the 360 degree rotating base for the enjoyment of the upland bird wing shooter or the non-hunter alike.” Makes sense to me; when it comes to practicing your ability to shoot stuff, random is righteous. If any of our readers has sampled the system please let us know below. If you go to a demo, report to guntruth@me.com . . .

Geneva, IL – Crazy Quail will headline the  Schuyler County Shooters Club shoot on October 12, 2013 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm in Rushville, IL.  The public is welcome at this event.  Crazy Quail is perfect for the beginning shooter to the most experienced hunter.  It is a great warm up for hunting season, or just for plain fun.

Crazy Quail is a live bird shooting simulator based on