Mech-Tech CCU

Kim du Toit takes a look at this carbine conversion for Glocks and 1911s. It's a really interesting piece of equipment and may be the best reason out there for buying a Glock.

Furture Terrorism

The cover story in the January/February Atlantic Monthly is piece of "future history" by Richard Clarke that sketches the next five years of the War on Terror. He does not paint a pretty picture. His worst-case scenario has a series of devastating attacks on America- suicide bombers, mass shootings, strikes with biological and nuclear weapons. After each assault, the economy sinks a little lower and we sacrifice a few more civil liberties.

Part of his nightmare scenario for future terrorist attacks is the deployment of suicide teams to suburban malls where they enact mega-Columbines. Being a good Beltway/Kennedy School-- type, he simply ignores any civilian response-- even in states like Texas and Virginia.

As Michael Bane notes:

One thing Clarke totally disregards is the deterent effect of an armed populace. Yeah, yeah...I can already hear liberals laughing. But let's take the Israeli experience, where armed civilians stopping terrorists' strikes has become almost commonplace.

See further analysis here.

Knives

Interesting discussion of everyday folders over at Geek with a .45.

FWIW, i've been carrying a CRKT M16-10K for almost a year and wouldn't trade it for anything.

Too close is not very close

THE 21 FOOT RULE .....REVISITED

In the early eighties, a young police officer named Dennis Teuller wrote an article for Chuck Taylor's Magazine titled "How Close is Too Close?". In the ground breaking article, Officer Teuller compared the time frames in which an adequately trained officer could draw and fire an accurate shot, and the time frame in which an able-bodied man armed with a contact weapon could cross a seven yard distance. The time was remarkably similar - 1.5 seconds for each.

Gun Blog

Michael Bane hosts the Outdoor Channel's "Shooting Gallery. I just ran across his blog. Well worth checking out.

First gun redux

An interesting discussion on the best first handgun over at sandcastles and cubicles (esp. the comments). I have nothing to contribute because the criteria-- no revolvers-- pretty much rules out my recommendations:

In Defense of the 38 Special

First Handgun

The 41 Mag

The guys at Leverguns have posted three articles on the forgotten magngum


The .41 Magnum - Sundays Child

Heavy Bullets in the .41 Magnum

.41 Magnum Loading Data

See also:

The Wrong Compromise

I'm For Bush

I generally avoid politics on this blog. (I save that for here.) Most of the bloggers on my blogroll do it better than me, so why be a pale imitation?

But there is an election coming up, and it is important t gun owners and hunters. That's why I'm voting for Bush. Kerry would be a disaster for the Second Amendment.

What kind of judges would he appoint, especially to the Supreme Court?

Remember how Clinton used his HUD apparatus in an attempt to sue gun-makers into submission? Any doubt that Kerry, ambulance-chaser Edwards, and their buddies will do the same?

The AWB has died quietly. Imagine what wold have happened if Sarah Brady had use of the bully pulpit and if Kerry was twisting arms and horse-trading to get it renewed. Diane Feinstein might be crowing about her victory over "the dark forces of the NRA."

Bush has been solid, if not spectacular. Kerry would be far, far worse.

.357 Carbine

Gunblast puts the Winchester 94 Ranger through its paces. Even with a 16" barrel they get 2000 fps with 125 grain handloads. And 1450 with 38 Special 125 gr. jacketed bullets.

Attention Weapons Experts

James over at Hell in a Handbasket is running a little contest. Can you identify the RPG?

Is this the best value on the pistol market?

EAA's Witness is a version of the famed CZ-75 auto. It is available in all the standard chamberings (9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP). It lists for less than $500 and my local dealer has the steel version in .40 S&W for just $400.

The price is only half the value equation. What really sets the Witness apart is their caliber conversion kits. Switch your .40 to 10mm for a couple of hundred dollars. Have a.45 ACP, 10mm, and .38 Super for the price of a single Sig or Kimber.

I like the conversion idea for a couple of reasons. First, it is the only inexpensive way to shoot .38 Super. Second, it is a solution to the problem of practice versus gun life with the 10mm. The 10mm is loaded to such high pressures that it is hard on guns. (It also beats you up at the range.) With the Witness you can practice with 9mm or .40 S&W using exactly the same gun you carry in 10mm. That's neat and efficient.

Never expected to read this

In the August Handloader Gil Sengal traces the history of the .357 magnum. He writes about Elmer Keith's experiments with hotrodding the 38 Spl. and the problems he encountered. One of Keith's loads tested at 42,000 psi when normal loads for that powder usually ran 14-18,000 psi. He quotes Elmer as writing " I knew of several Officer Models Colts that [this load] had wrecked."

So far, just your typical gun rag article and the obligatory nod to old EK's irascibility. But it was Sengal's comment that stopped me in my tracks.

"Publishing such loads is just plain criminal"

That is what i like about Handloader and Rifle. They protect no sacred cows.

Conundrum

"Think of it always; speak of it never."

That was how Leon Gambetta wanted France to approach the lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine after 1871. In French hearts and French minds, the matter was not closed. But he knew that hot talk would only complicate French diplomacy and possibly provoke another war with Germany-- a war she could not win in the 1870s.

The quote came to mind while i was pondering the "Terror in the Skies" mini-controversy. But it really fits with the whole question of citizen response in a time of terror.

We are fooling ourselves to think that our intelligence can ever be good enough to disrupt every terrorist threat before they get underway. We need good ground-level police work and community involvement.

I firmly believe that we citizens have a role to play in protecting ourselves and our neighbors. That is true for the terrorist threat as well as conventional street crime. It seems like an eminently bloggable subject and the sort of thing where sharing information is useful.

But it is clear that the prevailing PC mindset of the monopoly press will misconstrue and willfully misinterpret such actions. Any attempt to promote vigilance is liable to be labeled domestic spying. (Can't you hear Krugman and Dowd chanting "American Gestopo" and "Ashcroft's Stasi"? Can you hear the glee?) And any discussion of armed citizens and the threat will produce superheated warnings about vigilantes and mob rule.

Annie Jacobson is being subjected to the same treatment as Eunice Stone. They are branded dumb, hysterical, racist women making much ado about absolutely nothing. Very few are asking if pillorying them will have a "chilling effect" on others who will become less willing to come forward when their suspicions are triggered.

"If all else fails, I will retreat up the valley of Virginia, plant my flag on the Blue Ridge, rally around the Scotch-Irish of that region and make my last stand for liberty amongst a people who will never submit to British tyranny whilst there is a man left to draw a trigger."
George Washington at Valley Forge.


Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America

It's been a long wait

Backroads Blog notes that Glock is taking pre-orders on high-cap magazines now that the AWB is about to expire.

I've actually held off buying a new pistol for just this reason. I expect that some makers are going to offer high-caps while others will give in to political pressure and stick to the 10 rd. maximum. No point plunking down good money for one of those.

38 Loads

The June Guns and Ammo tests the new Speer 38+P 135 gr. Gold Dot. It looks like it works as advertised. From a two-inch Model 49, it generates 878 fps. That compares to 760 fps for the Winchester 158 SWCHP and 810 fps for the Black Hills 125 JHP.

Mike from Feces Flinging Monkey emails "I've often wondered if the solution here is to use really heavy bullets and modest powder charges - flatpoints of 200 grains or more, lots of dwell time in the barrel to pick up kinetic energy, and lots of sectional density for deep penetration."

I've wondered the same thing myself. The Brits moved from a 265 grain .455 military loading to a 200 grain .357 loading (the 38 S&W) and claimed to see no difference in effectiveness. Given their colonial activities and the troubles in Ireland, the British army had plenty of CQC experience when they made the change.

I've played around with a similar loading for the 38 SPL. They have much less muzzle blast than .357 rounds andm thus, are more controllable. Penetration at close range should be no problem given their sectional density.

Congratulations!

Jeff at Alphecca got picked as the "Website we love" in the summer issue of Outdoor Life. Always good to see a blogger get credit for their hard work.

Losing Power: .38s in .357s

Looking through Ken Waters's Pet Loads, i ran across some test results that are worth noting.

When he fired some .38 Spl +P loads through a .357 cylinder, he actually lost around 70 fps compared to the velocity obtained with a .38 Spl cylinder.

In some ways that's no big deal. Even a standard .38 Spl. will get the job done for CCW or home defense. But it does affect the load choice if 38 +P rounds are carried in a .357 revolver for defensive purposes.

The 125 grain JHP is a legendary load in the .357. It is a consistent stopper. Velocities can exceed 1600 fps in an 8" barrel. It takes a tough bullet to ensure adequate penetration at those speeds. Many 125 JHP loads for the 38 +P load go about 975 fps from a 4" barrel and so will barely break 900 fps if fired from a .357 cylinder.

A tough 125 JHP which gives good performance at 1600 fps probably won't expand much at 900 fps. If .38 +P load uses the same bullet as the .357, you are really just shooting a 125 grain round nose.

At the same time, the .38 loads are attractive defensive loads because they have less muzzle flash and muzzle blast than the magnum. This matters in the dark, confined spaces where defensive shootings take place.

There are two solutions. One is to choose .38 +P loads that were specifically developed for snubbies (like the new Gold Dot 135 JHP). Another is to use a 158 grain LSWC which does not depend on expansion to be effective.

This performance is also an excuse to save money. If you know you are going to use 38 +P rounds as your primary defense load, you can buy a 38 Spl. revolver instead of a .357 magnum. A good used Ruger or S&W 38 will cost half the price of a new .357 and will often be $50-$100 less than a used magnum. That sounds like a deal to me-- spend less, get better performance.

Perfectly Understandable

I think Kevin might be drooling. But he has good reason to.

First Gun

Jeff Soyer has a good discussion on first guns. Jeff is a really smart guy because i agree with everyone of his recommendations.....