Observations
1-22-2012 Jacksonville Gun & Knife Show Report
On Saturday (1-22-2012), I had the pleasure of attending the Jacksonville Gun & Knife show at the fairgrounds. One of the things I love most about this city is that there are usually 1 or 2 gun shows every month within a short drive (either Jacksonville, Palatka or St. Augustine). In my experience, however, the ones at the Fairgrounds and the Shriner’s Auditorium tend to be the best.
I should note that the last major show was held at the Prime Osborn Convention center which, for those of you that have never been to Jax, is our largest convention facility. Sadly, I couldn’t make it to that show but it’s nice to see the shows growing to the point that they need the extra space. Continue reading
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Elle Magazine publishes pro-gun piece
Women’s magazine, Elle, has published, what I think is, a pretty fair, pro-gun article by Amand Fortini. In the article, Fortini talks about how she, as someone who is deathly afraid of guns, came to buy one. As with anything else, it’s possible to learn from the experiences of others, so I encourage you to read the article and then come back so we can talk about a few things…
Ready? Good. Off we go.
First, in a few instances, Fortini talks about women who carry a gun in their purse. Please. Don’t. Do. This. I know it’s the cliche and every woman you’ve ever seen on TV with a gun carries it in her purse, but find another way to carry it. Why? You women out there who’ve ever had your purse snatched, how long did it take? A hot second, right? With your gun in the purse, not only does this guy have your money, credit cards and phone, now he has your gun too. How long until that gun shows up at a crime scene? There are better ways to carry it and plenty of female shooters on the internet who can show you how.
Second, even after buying her gun, Fortini keeps it on her shelf, unloaded. She’s still afraid of it and even admits that it won’t do much good in that condition should she need it. Now, whether or not you keep your weapons loaded in your home is up to you, so I’m not going to say, “She should have it loaded!” because I know there are people out there in different circumstances who would not keep their weapons loaded. Maybe they have young kids and don’t want to risk it. That’s fine. Everyone must balance the risks for themselves.
I will, however, say two things on this. First, she’s not doing very well balancing those risks. She bought a gun for protection and then made sure it can’t help protect her. It’s like buying a pitbull to guard your house and then knocking all its teeth out and putting a muzzle on it. She’s still afraid of the weapon, and I get that, but there are better ways of making the trade-off. She could get a small pistol safe that opens to her fingerprints and put a loaded weapon in that. It’s not going to go off in there. The second thing I’ll say on this is that the problem she needs to overcome is the fear. My father once told me something. He said, “Never carry a weapon you’re going to be afraid to use.” Loaded or unloaded, that weapon isn’t going to help her if she’s more afraid of it than she is the danger she bought it to protect her from. Some time at the range, practicing, will do her much more good than putting it on the shelf to rust.
It’s my firm belief that if you’re a woman, or gay, or part of a community where there are people out there who want to kill you for the crime of being alive, you should learn to use a gun. Now, I know there are people who don’t like them. I get that. Really, I do. That’s a personal choice, and I respect that. I’m not saying you should OWN a gun. I’m saying you should know how to use one. In most places in the U.S., you can buy a gun in a day. But learning to use one safely and effecively takes much more time, and if you ever decide you really need one, you might not have that time. I think Fortini taking the class was probably the smartest thing she could have done. Even if she decides to sell the gun she has and never pick one up ever again, she knows how to use one should the need ever arise, and that is incredibly valuable.
TJ
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Safeties Suck
It has been said that the two most terrifying noises a gun can make are a “click” when you expected a “boom” and a “boom” when you expected a “click”. As far as dealing with the click when you expected a boom….well that’s another article. The boom when you expected a click, however, is my focus today…sort of. Continue reading
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A .22 for defense? To what end, Sir?! To what end?!
If someone breaks into my home while I’m out of town, I want my wife to have the biggest handgun she can possibly hold. I want that gun to hold 150 rounds and shoot bullets the size of my thumb. And when those bullets hit that home invader, I want them to magically turn toward his heart, pierce his aorta and explode. Continue reading
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It’s Good to Be A Noob!
My father once told me “It’s only what you learn after you know everything that counts”. I think this was in response to me being a typical know it all teenager at the time. Now that I’m older, I’ve come to fully understand what he was talking about. Continue reading
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A Real Noob
Everyone starts out as a noob, but you have to give credit to Washington Times’s Emily Miller, who’s trying to get a gun in one of the most firearm-hostile parts of the U.S., Washington, D.C. You can follow her journey in procuring a firearm in her WT blog, Emily Gets Her Gun.
TJ
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It’s ALWAYS loaded.
A Navy SEAL in San Diego has died after putting a gun he thought was unloaded to his head and pulling the trigger in order to impress a girl.
There are lessons here.
1. It’s ALWAYS loaded. Always, always, always.
2. It can happen to ANYONE. There’s no one more experienced with weapons on this Earth than a Navy SEAL, and it happened to one of them.
3. It happened because he was screwing around with something that you just don’t screw around with. If he wanted to show her it was unloaded, he could have shown her how to work the action (which, BTW, would have saved his life). Guns aren’t toys, and when you start treating them like they are, you’re more likely to have an accident with them.
Our thoughts and prayers go out PO3 Gene Clayont’s family, his friends and his team.
TJ
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Smith & Wesson pick up a couple of new customers!
Looks like Smith & Wesson found a couple of big customers for their M&P line of pistols. The Massachusetts State Police will be using their M&P45 and Vermont will be issuing the M&P40 to it state police. Agents have already started using the firearm in the field.
Always great to hear of an American company getting good business!
Read the full press release from Smith & Wesson here:
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/smith–wesson-converts-two-state-agencies-to-the-mp-pistol-135431068.html
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Emergency Preparedness Kits
A while back, during hurricane season, I had pointed out that not a single guide I had read about gathering hurricane supplies mentioned a gun + ammo. My original thought was looter protection but then a good buddy of mine, Thomas, mentioned something I hadn’t thought of. As I don’t have his original post, I’ll paraphrase it:
One of the best things you can have in a kit is a .22 rifle. Think about it, the gun is light and you can carry about 500 rounds in a fanny pack and barely notice the weight. The ammo is insanely cheap so you can stockpile a hefty amount for about $50 bucks. The small caliber of the gun means you can hunt pretty much all the edible animals in Florida if you run out of food. There are some guns that even break down into an easily carriable configuration. On top of that there’s the protection side as well. Even though a .22 isn’t known for its stopping power, it’s still better than nothing. Look at it this way: You have food and no gun. I have a gun and no food. You now have no food. Having any kind of a gun will even those odds.
Ideally, a .22 bolt action is best because the small amount of moving parts means there’s less to break.
Good advice and I absolutely love my .22 Remington (although I’m always looking to upgrade).
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Variety is the Spice of Life
The easiest way to get a feel for what is a good gun and what is a bad one is to try a bunch of different guns. In many cases that means buying a bunch of them and, sadly, that’s quite expensive. Another way is to find a gun range that rents guns. Some places have better selections than others, of course, but ultimately any kind of variety is good. Continue reading
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