Thor’s Hall

There has been a “meme” floating around  from the Firing Pin Journal that I thought I would try my hand at.

The premise: One Handgun, One Rifle, One Shotgun. You are able to choose just one of each for self defense with NO modifications.

• Handgun:  .45ACP Springfield XD
• Shotgun:  Mossberg 590A1
• Rifle:  AR-15:  A2 Style

I could just as easily go with a 1911 for the handgun but, I like the XD and I like the larger magazine capacity over the 1911.

Mossberg vs 870 vs Ithaca Pump….  I give the nod to Mossberg but it is personal preference.

While I would typically prefer a heavier round than the 5.56 of an AR-15, it is a proven and “debugged” weapons system.  I know it well, and with an A2 style I can consistently hit what I aim at from 500m in to close range.  Others that came to mind:  M1,  M1A, AR-10.

Evidently something unusual has been taking place at PSU.  Even though I matriculated from PSU oh so many moons ago, I tend to skim through news items and ignore the goings on there.  The school and I parted ways when I left Portland.  This morning, I am running through my rss feeds and Say Uncle pops up with a story at confrontations at PSU.

I am intrigued and click the link up pops an Oregon Live page with the story.  I read through thinking (among other things) :  Interesting stuff…. Oh Shit, I know him….  FBI Informant….  WTF???

I finish the article, kind of shake my head at the reported chain of events and reactions of some people and then look at the web page again.  Right there at the top of the page is an advertisement that looks like this:

Now it gets really weird.  My mother was the Office Manager for the PYP for many years.  My sister played violin in the PYP for many years.

To semi randomly find a link from a blogger that I believe is in Tennesse, that links to an article about someone I know, in Oregon, at a place that I have not been for 15 years or more is amazing.

To run across an advertisement on that same article that relates so closely to my family history….  very, very weird.

I have shamelessly lifted the below text from here.  It is just too funny not to share.  How can you possibly take anything seriously after reading through this.

HOW GUN MAGAZINES WRITE ARTICLES

Instruction From The Editor To The Journalist:

Frangible Arms just bought a four page color ad in our next issue. They sent us their latest offering, the CQB MK-V Tactical Destroyer. I told Fred to take it out to the range to test. He’ll have the data for you tomorrow.

Feedback From Technician Fred:

The pistol is a crude copy of the World War II Japanese Nambu type 14 pistol, except it’s made from unfinished zinc castings. The grips are pressed cardboard. The barrel is unrifled pipe. There are file marks all over the gun, inside and out.

Only 10 rounds of 8mm ammunition were supplied. Based on previous experience with a genuine Nambu, I set up a target two feet down range. I managed to cram four rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. I taped the magazine in place, bolted the pistol into a machine rest, got behind a barricade, and pulled the trigger with 20 feet of 550 cord. I was unable to measure the trigger pull because my fish scale tops out at 32 pounds. On the third try, the pistol fired. From outline of the holes, I think the barrel, frame, magazine, trigger and recoil spring blew through the target. The remaining parts scattered over the landscape.

I sent the machine rest back to the factory to see if they can fix it, and we need to replace the shooting bench for the nice people who own the range. I’ll be off for the rest of the day. My ears are still ringing. I need a drink.

Article Produced By The Journalist:

The CQB MK-V Tactical Destroyer is arguably the deadliest pistol in the world. Based on a combat proven military design, but constructed almost entirely of space age alloy, it features a remarkable barrel design engineered to produce a cone of fire, a feature much valued by Special Forces world wide. The Destroyer shows clear evidence of extensive hand fitting. The weapon disassembles rapidly without tools. At a reasonable combat distance, I put five holes in the target faster than I would have thought possible. This is the pistol to have if you want to end a gunfight at all costs. The gun is a keeper, and I find myself unable to send it back.

An interesting Supreme Court case coming up.  I’ve been following it as it has ramped up but, this month (tomorrow) the oral arguments are actually scheduled.

There are some good discussions of the issues in question out there.  The best that I have found so far is here.

Go read it.  This issue is about so much more than “gun rights” and is one of those opportunities that the SCOTUS rarely has to address precedents that are widely recognized as “bad law”.  The complete impact of this decision will be interesting to see in the coming decades.

A tragedy struck today in Tacoma. Kind of close to home as I have a lot of extended family that lives in the area. The story is here.

Over the past few years I have become a big advocate for self defense.  Close in to moderate distances.  These are the kinds of stories that drive me nuts.  Here we have a school teacher who has done all the “right” legal things to protect herself from a known threat, and she is slain by that threat because he has no qualms about violating the law.

There are many things that could have been done to prevent this tragedy,  including the deceased taking an active role in carrying a weapon for defense.  In this case nothing less than a firearm would have been appropriate.

I pray that the victim is not one of my relatives (so far no word), and hope that people begin to separate themselves from the emotional arguments about gun control and start to focus on the facts and statistics.  The phrase “An armed society, is a polite society” rings very true.

I played hookie from work for a couple of hours this afternoon and got some much needed trigger time in.

I rounded out my handgun collection recently with a Sig Sauer 1911. I haven’t had nearly enough time with it yet but I do enjoy shooting it. I probably enjoy it more than any of my other handguns which is actually a bit disappointing since it was the last weapon I purchased. The XD’s are nice, the CZ 75 is good and I shoot it well. But that Sig with it’s really short stroke trigger, and quick reset is a dream to shoot.

Now that I have some quality trigger time under my belt, I am in a much happier frame of mind.

At 1500m, maybe not quite surgical but I SO do want one of these.

Maybe in another life.

Every once in a while you wind up one of those situations where…

I have stayed away from the Sotomayor confirmation debate.  This is a battle that is not going to go the way that I would like it to.  There are too many in the Senate that need to play the political game of giving in on somethings and calling in those favors on other issues.

She will be confirmed, and it will be bad for the country.  I think Joe Huffman summarized one of the biggest things that has bothered me in the initial hearings.

Bitter and Sebastian has been pointing out just how bad nominee Sotomayor is on the right to keep and bear arms. This is probably the most damning.

She does not want to admit that people have a right to self-defense. She is smart enough to know it is a slippery slope to the acknowledgment of the right to keep and bear arms if she were to admit that. The British have learned that lesson sliding down the slope in the other direction–if there is no right to keep and bear arms then there is no right to self-defense.

Alan Korwin gives Sotomayor some pointers on what the U.S. Supreme Court has said about self-defense. It’s not a question mark at all. The conclusion:

The Supreme Court has recognized, addressed and answered all the most fundamental questions about self defense. The idea that they have never addressed this core American issue is completely false, as the numerous cases clearly demonstrate.

In my view, the woman may be very well qualified to be an attorney where she can argue the merits of a case from her particular view point.  The flip side of that is that because she brings those views to the bench, and applies them as her “wisdom” to her judgements she is disqualified from being a judge.  Much less a Supreme Court Justice.

I have been spending a lot of time recently contemplating the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the principles and values that this country were founded on.  Ted has managed to sum this up in less than 5 minutes.  Of course Ted does tend to go a little bit over the top in the words that he chooses but he covers the concepts nicely.