Gun Thread: What Would You Do Edition!

Howdy, Ya'll! Welcome to the wonderously fabulous Gun Thread! For our regulars, I want to thank you from the bottom of my shriveled little heart for making this a part of your Sunday evening routine. For any newcomers who may be joining us tonight, I want to give a doubly big howdy and thank you for stopping by! I hope you find our little corner of the internet fun and enjoyable, and in the process maybe pick up a new idea or two. You are welcome to lurk in the shadows of shame, but I'd like to invite you to jump into the conversation, say hello, and tell us what kind of shooting you like to do!

Not much happening this week, other than preparations for NoVaMoMe 2021 which are now in full swing. Not yet at fever-pitch, but getting there. Panic mode comes later. There is more info on this amazing event at the bottom of the thread, and registration has been extended through midnight Monday to allow any stragglers to sign up. If you are in the Mid-Atlantic area, I want to encourage you to come! We have Morons attending from all over the country, and it is shaping up to be a real doozy, if not an outright jamboree hootenanny. Seriously, I know some of you may be a little unsure about attending, but rest assured if you do, you can participate as much or as little a you like. It's like a big family picnic and you can simply get some food and lurk people-watching from the sidelines if that is your thing. It's hard to describe a MoMe if you have never been to one, and the biggest introverts among us always mention how happy they are to have attended one.

If you have been to a MoMe, any MoMe, please jump in tonight and share your thoughts and perspective and hopefully convince some of the undecided to take the plunge! If you want more information on the NoVaMoMe, simply email Weaselbell Productions for more info. Again, registration is extended thru July 12th with a few places still remaining.

With that, let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?

We have a recurrent discussion here on self-defense topics, and it typically ends up as a conversation on handgun and caliber selection, training objectives, and the like. We spend a lot of time on gun buying, carry techniques, and admonishments to buy ammo and getting to the range to practice. What we do not do, and I think it is a mistake, is to discuss what to do if you have to use your gun to defend yourself, or are somehow otherwise involved in a shooting incident. Statistically, it's probably unlikely you ever will, which is a good thing. However, with society unraveling as it seems to be, the odds may be increasing somewhat. Perhaps not significantly, but there is definitely a trend in the wrong direction, I'm afraid.

Last week we had a discussion of the recent case in Colorado where a good Samaritan was shot by the police responding to the scene of a shooting. As I mentioned, when the police are responding to a shooting and the situation from their perspective is unknown, you do not want to be the one standing there smiling and holding the gun.

So what if the unthinkable occurs? Imagine you go to the store to pick up a couple of items and walk in to a robbery in progress. You're armed, and a gunman turns towards you holding a weapon. You shoot and the bad guy goes down. It all happened in an instant and you're standing there with your ears ringing and your smoking weapon in hand.

What are the first things you would do immediately? What would you say or do after the police arrive?

Several years ago I purchased and read a good book, You Have the Right to Remain Innocent by James Duane, a law professor. Mr. Duane takes 152 pages to tell you to be polite and keep your mouth shut until you talk to a lawyer. I suggest you give it a look, and we can discuss how it applies to our hypothetical situation next week. It's free on Kindle, so the price is right. For those of you who don't like to read, here is a video presentation from the author. It's over 30 minutes long, so just watch it later and come to class next week prepared to discuss.

So back to the question. You just shot someone who is either dead or gravely injured on the ground nearby. What do you do? What do you do when the police arrive? Next week we'll see if your answer changed after reading or watching the video or reading the short book.

First up, our pal and renaissance man CBD relates an important story:

I have a cheap .223 Wylde upper that I bought from Bear Creek Arsenal which, if you haven’t heard of them, is a low-end AR builder. I bought the upper to try on my mid 1990s Bushmaster A1 which, while it worked, is pretty ugly.

So I bought the thing for about $225, which is amazingly cheap (before Wuhan Flu!), slapped it on the lower, and off I went to the range where it promptly failed to cycle. And then it failed to do everything. I got some bad advice from a well-meaning fellow at the range, but when I got it home I was able to fix the problem, which was a gas key that was barely hand-tight! I think they staked it with a toy hammer and a pencil. Some lock-Tite and a torque wrench fixed that problem, and until last weekend everything was just fine. It shot reasonably well, probably about 1.50 MOA with crap ammo. But then I noticed an interesting thing. The handguard was rotating a little bit. My first thought was to check the screws holding it to the barrel nut, but those were nice and tight.

Wow, my second hand-tight part on the upper was the BARREL! So into the vice block it went, and two minutes later the barrel nut was properly torqued.

The moral of the story is that assuming anything about a complex tool is probably not wise. What I should have done was to strip it and then check everything from the charging handle to the muzzle device with my eyes and a torque wrench.

Luckily they are resilient machines, so nothing broke and nobody was injured. The parts themselves seem okay, it's just that Bear Creek cut corners to save money on the assembly. I won't rule out buying something from them in the future, but it will get a complete overhaul before one round is fired.

And the best part is that I have learned quite a bit about the function of my rifle, and in the process had some fun. I have a difficult time NOT having fun when I muck around with guns, even when something isn't working and I am not sure what or why. It's part of the pleasure of guns; learning how they work, why they stop working, and gaining the knowledge and skills to fix them.

Great story, CBD! A teachable moment as it were. It's best not to take anything for granted, especially around firearms. A few minutes spent performing a function check is a great idea, and when you're cleaning a weapon, take time to inspect it and anything attached to it for proper alignment and tightness. A quick once-over before every range trip can save a lot bigger problems down the road!

Just recently purchased ammo through a site called ammoshoponline.com. They are in Ellabell, Georgia, near Savannah. I found 154gr 9mm for $26/box of 50. They do have sales and a fairly wide selection of rifle and shotgun ammo, as well. I have not been to the range since purchasing, so the jury's still out.

I didn't see that particular deal, but there are some other decent looking offers on the 9mm page. Thanks John Juan!

Also, for the second week in a row, I received ammo offers from Widener's Reloading and Shooting Supply. Still not much in the way of reloading supplies, but there seems to be plenty of ammo in stock with prices continuing to moderate. Check it out!

Next up, our pal Butch asks a great question:

I just received my NRA ballot. Have you provided links to sites recommending candidates to clean up the mess?

Well it just so happens the June 20th edition of the Gun Thread contained the following from a Lurker and there was considerable discussion in the comments. Here is a LINK to that thread. I have turned the comments off, since commenting in an old thread is bad ju-ju.

"Who among the current board candidates do you believe should be elected, or should not be elected, and why"

In my opinion, Wayne LaPierre and his cronies have turned the organization into their personal piggy bank, have seriously mismanaged things, and need to go. The only way to make that happen, short of prison sentences, is to replace Wayne's board members with independent members who will clean house. The problem I have is, with one exception, I don't know the candidates, and don't know who will start to fix things, and who will continue with business as usual. I'd like to hear suggestions from other AOS-GT readers on that topic.

I've been an NRA member for almost 40 years and I'm old enough to remember the battle for control in the late '70's. In my opinion, the present situation is much more serious. I believe that Wayne and Co. don't realize the existential threat to the Association and are only concerned with keeping themselves out of jail. If they aren't ousted the NRA will cease to exist. The NRA isn't the only game in town and I don't believe it's been as effective as it could be on the legal front, but they do a lot as far as training and organizing competitions, over and above lobbying.

And here was what I had to say:

I have to admit my personal opinion of the NRA isn't the greatest anymore. Although I think their competitive shooting division does a good job, I have never been a fan of Wayne LaPierre. I don't know him, but he seems to exist in a constant cloud of controversy which is a problem. A little of that is to be expected in any large organization, but when it becomes too much it becomes a distraction and makes a leader ineffective. I think LaPierre is considerably past that point now, and on the basis of that point alone, I agree it's time for a change.

I do know a couple of other NRA board members who are good guys, die-hard shooters and unquestioned 2nd Amendment advocates. I have done quite a bit of shooting with the two, and consider them friends. Since I do not know their opinion of LaPierre I am going to refrain from mentioning their names here. I'm not certain if a complete house cleaning is in order, or rather just an overthrow of the LaPierre regime whatever that entails. However, if making a substantive change means throwing all of the babies out with the bath water, so be it.

Here's an article on the matter from Ammoland which addresses the situation and makes a few recommendations.

NRA members eligible to vote should have received their ballot already. Does anyone have anything to add?

This week we have not so much a question but rather a PSA from our pal Winston

From the KIRO TV news site in Seattle
An AP story, with their usual poorly written blather about a 63 year old man being sentenced to two years in federal prison, having spent the last year and a half in the Spokane Co jail because he was found to have in his possession a cannon of 1 1/4" bore. It was discovered during a, "Welfare check", (quotes mine), by local police who called the BATFE.

Now, I fully expect anything AP writes to be full of lies, misleading nonsense and general ignorance deliberate or otherwise. But, I seem to recall someone had mentioned a year or so ago that they wanted to build a cannon for the Texas MoMe. Not wanting to see any of the Horde get caught up in some retarded nonsense from the feds or state, I thought you'd want to perhaps pass this on.

Welp, in this case the AP appears to be correct. A quick check confirms the half-inch dealio.

Section 5845(f), Title 26, United States Code, classifies certain weapons as "destructive devices" which are subject to the registration and tax provisions of the National Firearms Act (NFA). Section 5845(f)(2) provides as follows: (f) Destructive device.--The term "destructive device" means (2) any type of weapon by whatever name known which will, or which may be readily converted to, expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or other propellant, the barrel or barrels of which have a bore of more than one-half inch in diameter, except a shotgun or shotgun shell which the Secretary or his delegate finds is generally recognized as particularly suitable for sporting purposes; . . ."

So keep your cannons at one half inch or less to avoid spending the rest of your life in jail and missing future Gun Threads.

Stabby Things PSA
We occasionally feature knives and other stabby things here on the 'ol Gun Thread, and it's a topic of interest for our pal Otto Zilch who is considering a Philly area MoMe.

Anyone who is coming to USA Fencing Nationals in Philadelphia and wants to cheer or razz fellow morons is invited to e-mail moronfencing at gmail dot cee oh emm and we'll see about a get-together.

Reminder: If you're emailing me, please remember I have switched to a new address for Gun Thread stuff, and that is gunthread at protonmail dot com. I seldom check the old gmail account and sometimes still find messages there. Thank you!

The social and cultural event of the season, NoVaMoMe 2021 is on the calendar! That's right, you people have a chance to meet many of your online pals on Saturday, July 24th beginning at 1pm until dark, or such time as it gets busted up by the cops. We have an exciting new location in the Northern Virginia area which we think will be more better than before and allow extended time for visiting. Admission is $25 which includes food and soft drinks, with a cash bar. This year all of the food is prepared from the greatest non-fiction literary work in modern history, The Deplorable Gourmet. Want to find out if your recipe made the cut? Want to be one of the cool kids? Just send an email to novamome at protonmail dot cee oh emm, pass the rigorous screening process to obtain registration details, then sign up to attend! Easy-Peasy!

It promises to be a great day, including our customary raffle of AoSHQ themed gift baskets. That's right! Each of the AoSHQ weekend threads has a specially themed gift basket chock full 'o theme related gifts!

Win a Dream Date with Weasel!
This year, a separate raffle for the Gun Thread gift basket will be held. This fabulous prize includes an entire day of shooting and personalized one-on-one handgun & rifle coaching and instruction at Weasel Acres on a mutually agreeable date with yours truly. The lucky winner will be able to not only bring and shoot their own weapons, but also try out a variety of WeaselWeapons using WeaselAmmo! The winner will take home 150 rounds of quality 9mm ammo to practice what they have learnt, a signed photo of WeaselDog and Fun Size Joe, and a complimentary video of the WeaselAcres experience, as parting gifts.

We will end the day with dinner at a good Mexican place in nearby Appomattox. Pretty much a dream date with Weasel! The winner will be responsible for their travel to and from Central Virginia, hence the separate drawing.

Don't be a pathetic girly-man loser, register today!

Link-O-Rama

I'm really very seriously not kidding around anymore. Buy Ammo
AmmoSeek - online ammo search tool
GunBot - online ammo search tool
SG Ammo
Palmetto State Armory
Georgia Arms
AmmoMan
Target Sports USA
Bud's Gun Shop

This week's funny is courtesy of hrothgar via MisHum.

Please note the new and improved protonmail account gunthread at protonmail dot com. An informal Gun Thread archive can be found HERE. Future expansion plans are in the works for the site Weasel Gun Thread. If you have a question you would like to ask Gun Thread Staff offline, just send us a note and we'll do our best to answer. If you care to share the story of your favorite firearm, send a picture with your nic and tell us what you sadly lost in the tragic canoe accident. If you would like to remain completely anonymous, just say so. Lurkers are always welcome!

That's it for this week - have you been to the range?

posted by Weasel at 07:40 PM

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