The Truth About Guns
Exploring the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns
Updated: 1 week 13 hours ago
Complete Dashcam Video of Illegal Arrest of Army Master Sergeant CJ Grisham
OK, so now we see the whole sequence of events leading to an open carrier being fined $2000—the maximum allowed under Texas law for “interfering with the duties of a Temple police officer,” a Class B misdemeanor. And it’s crystal clear that the Temple Texas police officer Steve Ermis’ gun grab put the LEO into a situation where he (the cop) felt threatened. And justifiably so; Grisham reached to regain control of his rifle. But again, Ermis initiated and then escalated the situation. After he cuffed the soldier, well, things just played out as they do these days. Except maybe the cop lasering Sgt. Grisham with his own .45 (3:40 in). At the end of the day, Grisham’s anger is more than understandable. Their decision to arrest him seems to be based on nothing more than their own stupidity.
Daily Digest: Follow-Ups Edition
The latest, but probably not final, installment in the saga of C.J. Grisham came yesterday when the jury sentenced him to a $2000 fine and no jail time for being found guilty of interference with the duties of an officer. Grisham says he’s pleased he wasn’t sentenced to jail time, but that he plans to appeal the verdict. He apparently rejected giving the jury the option of sentencing him to probation, saying if he had to go to jail, that was something he was willing to do rather than go through the risk of being on probation. “I didn’t want to be under the thumb . . .
and give the state another reason just to get me to violate parole. It’s just too easy these days. Obviously if a guy can get arrested for walking down a road while hiking with his son, I have no guarantees that I wouldn’t be charged with another bogus crime,” he said. “I would much rather go to jail for my convictions
OMG! IL Police Must Deal with Legal Concealed Carry! OMG!
“Illinois, the last state to allow concealed carry, is expected to begin issuing permits in April under a law that goes into effect on the first of the year. Traffic stops already are among the most dangerous activities for officers, and throwing newly legalized handguns into the mix could have tragic consequences, officials said.” Before I get to C[r]ook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s asinine comments about the prospect of American citizens in The Land of Lincoln exercising their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms [via mychicagotribune.com] I just want to say this: Illinois cops have to deal with concealed carry during traffic stops
Gun Hero of the Day: The U.S. Army
U.S. Army Press Release:
FORT BENNING, Ga. – Soldiers from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) recently spent a week sharing their expert marksmanship skills with the nation’s future leaders and competitive shooters. Members of the USAMU Action Shooting team hosted the annual Action Shooting Junior Clinic at Fort Benning, then packed their bags for the Lone Star state and visited the cadets at Texas A&M University. ”From working with junior shooters to future leaders in our military on how to improve their marksmanship skills, it’s been one of the greatest and most rewarding feelings I can say I’ve had in my military career,” said Staff Sgt. Lee Dimaculangan . . .
The junior clinic’s sixth iteration was amon
Tiger McKee: Shooting Consistency is Not the Hobgoblin of Little Minds
By Tiger McKee [via tacticalwire.com]
Becoming efficient and effective with any tool relies on consistency; performing everything the same way, using proper technique regardless of the circumstances. This is especially true for defensive skills, when success or failure depends on your ability to perform under stress. Applying the Four Safety Rules consistently allows you to operate firearms safely. Let your mind wander for a fraction of a second, forget you’re holding a lethal weapon, and you make a mistake. Mistakes with firearms are embarrassing at best, but tend to be on the ugly side . . .
Not only do you have to focus on what you’re doing, you also have to pay attention to those around you. How many ti
Felonious Photo of the Day: The Ugliest Mosin Nagant in the History of the World Ever
There was a discussion on Reddit the other day about what makes someone a “mall ninja.” If you’re unfamiliar, that’s a derogatory term for someone who fancies themselves a “tactical operator,” dresses solely in tactical clothing and buys a lot of useless crap for their firearms. Some of the Reddit readers wanted to put a numerical limit on the number of attachments, like “anything more than three is a mall ninja” or some such. My argument is that it isn’t the number of attachments — it’s the quality. This pile of junk is exactly the example that proves my point. On a quality rifle with a real silencer, this would be a pretty good setup. But done on the cheap, this POS isn’t only the ugliest rifle I’ve seen in months, but also possibly the most illegal. The guy claims to have bought the oil can can through an FFL, but is it really registered, or did the FFL just sell him a thread adapter he picked up off the internet? Who knows.
Long-Term Gear Test Update: Leupold VX-R Patrol 1.25-4×20 Riflescope
Now that RF has summoned me back to the TTAG ranch in addition to manning the helm at The Truth About Knives, I’ve decided that it’s time to check back in with some of my old gun and gear reviews to see how they’ve held up in the long run. I’ve been running the Leupold VX-R Patrol for over two years now, which is almost as long-term a test as TTAG can boast of. How’s it doing? . . .
Let’s Get Re-Acquainted, Shall We?
A bit of catch-up is probably in order, since the original gear review went live in December of 2011. The Leupold VX-R Patrol is a variable-power tactical riflescope with a 1.25-4x adjustment range, a 30mm main tube, and a 20mm objective. On the outside, the scope is 9.5 inches long and weighs 11.5 ounces without a base or rings.
NM State Cop Shoots At Minivan Full O’ Kids
“Two New Mexico state police officers are under investigation and a mother and her 14-year-old son are facing charges after a routine traffic stop turned to chaos when the teen physically confronted one officer and another officer fired shots at a minivan carrying children.” Now there’s something you don’t read about every day. The money shot [from officer.com]: “[Officer] Elias Montoya, shot at the vehicle as it drove off. Montoya wrote that he fired his weapon ‘at the left rear tire in an attempt to immobilize the vehicle.’” Strangely, I believe that. Which doesn’t make it any better. Nor does this . . .
Eighth Judicial District Attorney Donald Gallegos th
Bloomberg: Ban Plastic Guns. Again. Still. And Parts. Them Too.
“Twenty-five years ago, it took the specter of a deranged dictator sending agents to the U.S. with plastic guns to get Congress to pass a law banning undetectable weapons,” bloomberg.com “reports.” “Now that law is about to expire, and though the dictator is dead, the threat is more real than ever.” Although Libyan bad boy Muammar Qaddafi isn’t a
Question of the Day: Cops in Schools?
After the Sandy Hook slaughter, NRA Veep Wayne LaPierre called for an armed cop in every school across the length and breadth of this great land. Wrong answer. The correct response: eliminate Bush the Elder’s Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990. (If Second Amendment protections didn’t end at the school doors, anyone with a gun could protect kids through force of arms.) As we discovered in our post-Newtown spree killing school simulation, an armed cop in the school is nothing more than a sitting duck. I lie. These “school resource officers” are more than “shoot me first” targets. They’re law enforcement officers. Bored law enforcement officers. What’s an armed school-bound cop to do (
Product Review: KG Coatings Camo Coating
Sometimes in life you do something for no other reason than, “Hey, that sounds cool.” When a company like KG Coatings offers to bake on a custom camo scheme that matches the area you hunt, the answer is, “Yes!” Always. Forever . . .
Maybe I should back up. Above is a photo of my trusty hunting gun. A Ruger M77 Mark II in .243 WIN. I’ve taken to the field for nearly a decade with this gun and have taken down countl
BATFE to Submit New Regs on Stolen and Missing Guns
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) is expected to release a draft rule dealing with stolen firearms. The rule is under review by the White House, which has 90 days before it is required to release it to the public for comment. No one knows what the rule will do or what purpose it would serve, other than to make already burdened gun dealers subject to more bureaucratic snares and tripwires. Since this process started in 1992 in the Clinton era, the number of gun dealers has plunged from 248,000 in 1993 to a bit less than 51,000 in 2012, a decline of nearly 80% . . .
The smaller the dealer, the more burdensome the bureaucratic record keeping becomes and this concentrates the dealers into smaller
Incendiary Image of the Day: Sandy Hook Video Game Outrage
The above still was taken from the Flash game The Slaying Of Sandy Hook Elementary. Click here to play. Although one wonders why one would unless one was a very sick individual. Or wanted insight into the mind of Australian game designer Ryan Lambourn. Mr. Lambourn created the game (and Super Columbine Massacre RPG and V-Tech Rampage!) as anti-gun agitprop. “Here we are, a year after the Sandy Hook shootings, in which 26 people were killed, 20 of which were first-graders, and absolutely nothing positive has come out of i
Quote of the Day: Certain Kinds of People Edition
“A recent Mayo Clinic study points out that mass shooters tend to meticulously plan their crimes weeks or months in advance, undermining the idea that the mentally ill simply “snap” and go on shooting rampages while also complicating the notion of effective gun control through gun registries, since a methodical planner has plenty of time to obtain weapons through illegal channels.” – Zach Weissmueller, The Truth About Mental Illness and Guns [at reason.com]
Daily Digest: Strange Bedfellows Edition
The two cofounders of Orcish Operator have created a series of six gaming targets (three above, click to embiggen) for arms and archery with the goal of creating a product that would not only appeal to current gun enthusiasts but attract new people into the world of gun ownership and shooting sports. The targets draw inspiration from fantasy games and movies and are available in two sizes, 24”x36” and 12”x18”. Unfortunately, they do not appear to be “visible shot” targets like Shoot-N-C or Dirty Bird. Images of their other targets are available at their website and they are currently seeking crowdsourced funding through Indiegogo. . .
Shoulda been a Philly DGU. Really thin on information, but police are
EDC For CCW: Chris Reeve Sebenza (Full Review)
Chris Reeve makes some legendary knives and the Sebenza is his masterpiece. This amazing knife is sharp enough to shave with and tough enough to stand in harm’s way. But it’ll cost you almost the price of a brand-new GLOCK (which is obviously not shown here.) Tyler Kee kindly lent me his pride and joy and I’ve been testing and playing with it for far too long. Jump over to The Truth About Knives for the full review . . .
Civilian Disarmament Twisted Word Watch: “Rapid-Fire Assault Weapon”
“In most parts of Florida, you can buy a rapid-fire assault weapon at a private gun show without a criminal background check. But you do need one, complete with fingerprints, to help consumers sign up for health insurance,” William E. Gibson of sun-sentinel.com reports. To be fair, Gibson goes on to make the distinction between Americans exercising a Constitutionally protected right and entrusting personal health data to strangers sucking off the tit of political patronage. For our purposes, the appearance of the term “rapid-fire assault rifle” is more worrying. It’s a brazen attempt to [further] conflate semi-automatic rifles with fully-automatic machine guns. The People of the Gun may laugh, but this kind of Orwellian dou
Ammo Test: Cor-Bon .380 JHP
ShootingTheBull410′s been conducting extensive testing to find out if there’s any ammo out there that will turn a .380 micro-pistol into an effective personal defense weapon. So far he’s conducted 25 different tests in his “Ammo Quest”. Could this Cor-Bon entry be the one .380 round to rule them all? Find out by playing the video below, and check back next week when the final results of all the testing will be released right here on TTAG.