I think, with all due respect, they are questioning the wrong thing. I think they are not focused on the right target.
Specifically, I have seen the question: "Would ATK rather arm the government than the people?" at Armed And Safe and at Examiner.com under the: St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner. I think the question misses the mark but I will answer it and then will explain why I think our sights best be on a target other than ATK (aka: Alliant Techsystems).
No, I do not think ATK (the parent company of Federal Cartridge Company necessarily would rather arm the government than the people. Yet, I will point out that ATK is a major manufacturer and supplier of aero-space technology, missile systems, military armaments and of sporting/law enforcement ammunition and yes that means they have a lot of government contracts. What I do believe about them is they enjoy the fruits of capitalism in the free market. I believe that they would rather make the most money they can from whomever they can get it legally. Thus, they advertise accordingly toward whichever clientele to whom they are trying to sell products at any given moment. They sell to both the government and to private citizens with ads that are attractive to both, or to one or the other, all depending on to whom they are selling. In essence, that is capitalism and marketing at its best.
When it comes to small arms ammunition, the obvious truth is that they sell by way of military and law enforcement contracts but they also sell a very large amount of ammo on the free market to non-law enforcement, non-military, private citizen customers. I personally can attest to it because I see Federal ammunition for sale at guns stores, shooting ranges, over the Internet, at places like Wal-Mart and at gun shows all of the time. As a matter of fact, I have a decent supply of federal ammo on hand right now. All this questioning, and implied criticism, of them for contracting with the government, trying to make it look as if they would prefer to sell only to the government, seems so much ado about nothing when you look at their sales to private citizens as mentioned above, doesn't it?
Now, it was pointed out, in the fine op-ed piece at the St. Louis Gun Rights Examiner, that Federal Cartridge annotates the packaging of some ammunition as having been manufactured and distributed for sale to "Law Enforcement Only". When you think about it, the 'law enforcement only' thing is very effective advertising. This is because it not only attracts law enforcement sales by making them feel special since it is marked LE Sales only but it also attracts non-LE folks who buy that type of ammunition. Why? Because people think they are tacticool when they have 'law enforcement only' items or because they think that because it is marked 'law enforcement only' it is better than ammo that is not so marked. Let's face facts, tactical stuff, especially ammunition, marked "law enforcement only", when not required to be marked as such by law, is a big seller on the open market and it often sells at a higher profit margin than ammo marked as sporting ammunition. It sells at a higher profit margin because people believe it special, they believe it special because, among other things, it is marked and advertised to make it seem such whether it really is special or not.
To believe it is actual company policy only to manufacture and sell that ammo to law enforcement as marked, as opposed to it being effective advertising to mark the product in that manner, either shows some naivety on the part of the person saying it, or probably means one of the following: that law enforcment agencies have bought it then redistributed it to dealers in violation of manufacturer policy, or that every dealer who is selling to the public is doing it in violation of the manufacturer's policy, or that the manufacturer has the policy but does not enforce it thus making it non-policy (and which in essence gets us back to the naivety of anyone who truly believes it company policy). If it were the case, that it truly was company policy, then they would no longer be selling to those departments or dealers who violated the policy. It is, I believe, mostly an advertising gimmick to mark their ammunition as 'law enforcement only' ut maybe that is just the cynic in me.
Winchester Ammunition, unless I am sadly mistaken, has been doing basically the same thing, for years, with its Ranger line of ammunition. That is marking it as for 'law enforcemen only'. I don't hear anyone complaining about them. So that makes me think, it is merely the fact that ATK has contracted with the government, especially with the extremely unpopular DHS (parent department of even less popular agencies such as ICE and TSA) that has gotten some people riled up. Because the contract is with a government department, one that is often seen as a floundering behemoth, cloaked in secrecy and wrapped up controversy, it has set up anyone who does big business with them as a target of criticism. Or, at least has some people questioning motives by asking if ATK prefers doing business with the government instead of non-government entities. This despite the fact that in all probability, ATK is just a capitalist organization, making money in the free market, by selling to all comers.
I think the more important thing we need to focus our sights on is the fact that DHS has contracted for up to 450 millions rounds, of .40 caliber, ammunition over a 1 year contract, a contract that can only be extended 4 years beyond the initial year for 5 years total. I think questioning this government department as to why it needs an astronomical amount of .40 caliber ammunition is what needs be addressed. What is the motive behind DHS contracting for up to 450 million rounds of a single caliber of ammo over 5 short years?
Think of it this way: If DHS has 15 thousand armed personnel (I am just throwing out a number, it may or may not be that high, probably is higher when you consider the Coast Guard is part of DHS but do Coast Guard personnel carry pistols in .40 caluber) and each one shoots 250 rounds, of .40 caliber ammunition, per quarterly qualification - training session (a reasonable amount), then they would use 15 million rounds per year or 75 million rounds in 5 years. Multiply 75 million rounds of ammunition by 6 and you would then have them shooting up 450 million rounds over the five year contract but that would mean each armed person in DHS (if indeed they have 15,000 armed personnel) shooting 1,500 rounds each quarter. That is just a preposterous notion. Now you also could multiply 5 years by 6 and then wind up using the 450 million rounds over 30 years but the government, at least DHS, is not that far reaching in its thought processes from what I can tell. There also is no way that you would multiply the amount of my estimate of armed DHS officials by 6. The amount of armed officials at DHS is nowhere nearly as big as that - at least not yet - is it! DHS, in all likelihood, will never realistically need that much ammunition.
So the question is this: Why has DHS contracted for up to that much ammo? Does the government anticipate a major threat about which the public is unaware, one that could possibly require such a huge stockpile of ammunition? Is the DHS preparing for the end of the world with the end of the Mayan calendar later this year? (Things more absurd have taken place in our government.) Is there something I am missing as to how much ammo the personnel at DHS could possibly use in 5 years time? Is the government planning something nefarious by way of its armed civilian workforce? (Bear in mind, while running for the presidency, Senator Obama called for a civilian force as strong as our military but never said why he wanted it.) Or could it be government corruption, smoke filled room deal making, lobbying and stuffed pocket politics as usual? Maybe there is even a simpler explanation, was the contract merely the work product of skilled ATK salesmen and inept government bureaucrats? These questions are, in my estimation, much more important than asking "Would ATK rather arm the government than the people?" but that is just my two cents.
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Shooting With The Weak Hand Supported - Be Careful When Making The Transition
Throughout the training I have received in handgun shooting, I have been taught, time and time again, to shoot with both hands and not necessarily at the same time. This training has included shooting strong handed with a two hand hold, weak handed with a two hand hold, and one handed with either hand. I think it is a good idea to train in all those ways.
Before I go any further, allow me to say something about the terms strong hand and weak hand and why I use them. When I write or speak about your strong hand, I mean the hand that you use most frequently to get things done, the hand on which side you are 'handed'. Thus, if you are right handed, your right hand is the strong hand or strong side and the left is the weak hand or side. If you are left handed then your left hand is the strong hand or strong side and the right side is the weak hand or side. Over the years, that I have received firearms training, instructors have gotten away from using the terms strong and weak to describe your shooting hands. It became the politically and psychology incorrect thing to continue using those terms. Why? They said it was because the term weak hand implied a weakness of your off shooting hand and that could make you unconsciously believe that it could not get the job done as well as the strong hand could do it. So, they began to call it your "non-shooting" hand or your "off" hand. It was at that time that you started to hear range commands like: "On the command, draw with your non-shooting hand and fire 6 rounds center of mass on the target". Talk about being ridiculous was all I could think when that became a popular range command. If a hand was a non-shooting hand or even an off-hand, how is it that I would suddenly be shooting with it. I see absolutely nothing wrong with calling your weak hand exactly what it is and that is weak when compared to your dominant or strong hand. There are very few people I know who have the same amount of strength in both hands or who can use their weak hand as adeptly as they can their strong hand. Yet, you can learn to shoot with it proficiently, enough so as to be able to save your life if need be, so you should learn to shoot with both hands and with either hand being the shooting hand (essentially the hand which firmly grips he pistol and a finger of which operates the trigger).
The reasoning behind shooting with either hand should be obvious but if not, I will spell it out for you. You should learn to shoot one handed using both the strong and weak hands so in the event your hand one of your hands or arms is ever incapacitated you can reliable depend upon the other to get the job done. The incapacitation I am talking about can be because of a wound, and in most events would likely be due to injury, but there are other things that can incapacitate a hand such as you being caught up in a awkward position and not being able to bring hat hand into play.
The reasoning behind learning how to shoot strong handed, using a two hand hold, should be just as obvious if not more so than why you would train to shoot one handed with either hand. You shoot strong handed because that is the hand that you use to accomplish most things you do with your hands. it is your dominant, go to hand and that is a natural thing. You use the weak hand to support the strong hand, thus using two hands to shoot because the weak hand lends steadying support to the strong hand and support is a good thing when you can do it relative to shooting. When using two hands to shoot, things like accuracy, and shooting speed usually increase markedly. When I say shooting speed increases, I do not mean getting off the first sot gets faster but do mean that getting off subsequent shots is usually faster.
You may wonder though, why on earth you would ever want to train to shoot with your weak hand supported by your strong hand. After all, didn't I just write that it is more natural to shoot strong handed supported by the weak hand? In answer, let me just say, there can be some positions in which you find yourself when it would be best to utilize your weak hand as the shooting hand and your strong hand for support. These situations usually arise due to the surroundings in which you find yourself at a time when you must shoot to defend yourself. For example, the only cover you can find may be the corner of a building that you have to shoot around and it may be that you have to shoot around it from your weak side because of how it is situated. Yes, you can shoot around it from your weak side while firing the pistol with your strong hand and supporting it with your weak hand but chances are you will be exposing more of yourself that way than if you switched the gun to your weak hand to fire it while supporting it with your strong hand. Another reason you may decide to shoot with your weak hand supported by your strong hand is that your strong hand may have been injured to the point where you can no longer reliable use it to fire the gun but it still can be used for support.For instance you have had a couple of fingers shot off. Think that is far fetched, just wait until you are in a life or death struggle and it happens but you have not trained to shoot with your weak hand. You will wish you had.
If you do decide to train while shooting with your weak hand supported by your strong hand, there is something you have to be very aware about. It is only relevant when shooting semi-automatic pistols as opposed to revolvers. That is, you should not cross your thumbs over the backstrap of the pistol. If you are a long experienced shooter, there is a good chance you have done this once before, while shooting strong hand supported by weak hand, and then never did it again because of the pain that resulted. For those of you who have neverenjoyed this pleasure been raked by a slide across your thumb, allow me to explain what I mean.
If you grip the pistol in a two hand hold and cross your thumbs over the backstrap then one thumb, the one on top, becomes more elevated than the other and thus closer to the bottom of the slide. When the gun fires and recoils, the slide travels backward and the upper of your crossed thumbs may then be raked by the slide. In other words the slide comes into contact with your thumb during the slide's reward movement and then maybe again during its forward movement as the gun goes into battery. Not only is this painful, it can cause a serious laceration that can require stitches and I have seen shooters stop shooting when it has happened and even have seen two or three actually drop their pistols when it happened. That is not something you need to do if you are fighting for your life and dependent upon your hands to be fully functional and your pistol to be in your hands. As I said though, you may have done this once before and then made sure to never do it again, that is if shooting with strong hand supported by weak hand.
Chances are though, if you draw strong handed and then transition to the weak hand for a two handed hold, weak hand supported by strong hand, your thumbs may be found to be crossed, one over the top of the other across the backstrap. If you don't believe it, then next time you are at the range try it. Don't try it on yourself because you will be thinking about it and will know what to avoid. Try it on someone who has not ever transitioned like that before. Have the shooter draw with the strong hand, then safely transition from strong hand to weak hand as if to fire from around cover (cover can be simulated if need be). Do this with an unloaded gun since you do not want the shooter harming him or herself. Try it with more than one shooter. Sure enough, if you have 4 or 5 shooters in front of you, at least one, maybe two of them, will have the thumbs in the crossed and potentially unsafe position.
Why does this happen? I do not know but my guess is because a crossed thumb grip is a more natural manner of gripping something like a pistol. We are taught not to do it, or should have been taught so when shooting with our strong hand supported. Thus, we learn to avoid it and it becomes second nature when we shoot with our strong hands. When we transition to the weak hand for a two hand hold, if we are not used to doing so, we often revert to what seems natural as opposed to what has become second nature and we cross our thumbs. I have been caught doing it myself as recently as within the past several months when I was at a training class, and I attribute my having done so to the fact that I did not train and practice enough in that strong hand supported to weak hand supported transition for it to become second nature when shooting with my weak hand as it did when shooting with my srong hand. If you want to avoid it, you need to train and practice your training on a regular basis in order to avoid the problem.
By the way, with a revolver there is no such concern. In fact, many old time revolver shooters prefer a crossed thumbs on the backstrap grip. Since there is no slide to bite you, going with that grip on a revolver is okay for many. Me, I prefer to avoid he grip altogether because I believe that under stress, I might revert to it when shooting a semi-auto if allowed myself to shoot a revolver that way. It is best for me to avoid it altogether. That way my thumbs may develop that so called muscle memory that will help keep them out of the way of the slide. if you shoot both revolvers and pistols you may also want to adapt a pistol grip for use when gripping a revolver but that is something you have to decide for yourself.
All the best,
Glenn B
Before I go any further, allow me to say something about the terms strong hand and weak hand and why I use them. When I write or speak about your strong hand, I mean the hand that you use most frequently to get things done, the hand on which side you are 'handed'. Thus, if you are right handed, your right hand is the strong hand or strong side and the left is the weak hand or side. If you are left handed then your left hand is the strong hand or strong side and the right side is the weak hand or side. Over the years, that I have received firearms training, instructors have gotten away from using the terms strong and weak to describe your shooting hands. It became the politically and psychology incorrect thing to continue using those terms. Why? They said it was because the term weak hand implied a weakness of your off shooting hand and that could make you unconsciously believe that it could not get the job done as well as the strong hand could do it. So, they began to call it your "non-shooting" hand or your "off" hand. It was at that time that you started to hear range commands like: "On the command, draw with your non-shooting hand and fire 6 rounds center of mass on the target". Talk about being ridiculous was all I could think when that became a popular range command. If a hand was a non-shooting hand or even an off-hand, how is it that I would suddenly be shooting with it. I see absolutely nothing wrong with calling your weak hand exactly what it is and that is weak when compared to your dominant or strong hand. There are very few people I know who have the same amount of strength in both hands or who can use their weak hand as adeptly as they can their strong hand. Yet, you can learn to shoot with it proficiently, enough so as to be able to save your life if need be, so you should learn to shoot with both hands and with either hand being the shooting hand (essentially the hand which firmly grips he pistol and a finger of which operates the trigger).
The reasoning behind shooting with either hand should be obvious but if not, I will spell it out for you. You should learn to shoot one handed using both the strong and weak hands so in the event your hand one of your hands or arms is ever incapacitated you can reliable depend upon the other to get the job done. The incapacitation I am talking about can be because of a wound, and in most events would likely be due to injury, but there are other things that can incapacitate a hand such as you being caught up in a awkward position and not being able to bring hat hand into play.
The reasoning behind learning how to shoot strong handed, using a two hand hold, should be just as obvious if not more so than why you would train to shoot one handed with either hand. You shoot strong handed because that is the hand that you use to accomplish most things you do with your hands. it is your dominant, go to hand and that is a natural thing. You use the weak hand to support the strong hand, thus using two hands to shoot because the weak hand lends steadying support to the strong hand and support is a good thing when you can do it relative to shooting. When using two hands to shoot, things like accuracy, and shooting speed usually increase markedly. When I say shooting speed increases, I do not mean getting off the first sot gets faster but do mean that getting off subsequent shots is usually faster.
You may wonder though, why on earth you would ever want to train to shoot with your weak hand supported by your strong hand. After all, didn't I just write that it is more natural to shoot strong handed supported by the weak hand? In answer, let me just say, there can be some positions in which you find yourself when it would be best to utilize your weak hand as the shooting hand and your strong hand for support. These situations usually arise due to the surroundings in which you find yourself at a time when you must shoot to defend yourself. For example, the only cover you can find may be the corner of a building that you have to shoot around and it may be that you have to shoot around it from your weak side because of how it is situated. Yes, you can shoot around it from your weak side while firing the pistol with your strong hand and supporting it with your weak hand but chances are you will be exposing more of yourself that way than if you switched the gun to your weak hand to fire it while supporting it with your strong hand. Another reason you may decide to shoot with your weak hand supported by your strong hand is that your strong hand may have been injured to the point where you can no longer reliable use it to fire the gun but it still can be used for support.For instance you have had a couple of fingers shot off. Think that is far fetched, just wait until you are in a life or death struggle and it happens but you have not trained to shoot with your weak hand. You will wish you had.
If you do decide to train while shooting with your weak hand supported by your strong hand, there is something you have to be very aware about. It is only relevant when shooting semi-automatic pistols as opposed to revolvers. That is, you should not cross your thumbs over the backstrap of the pistol. If you are a long experienced shooter, there is a good chance you have done this once before, while shooting strong hand supported by weak hand, and then never did it again because of the pain that resulted. For those of you who have never
If you grip the pistol in a two hand hold and cross your thumbs over the backstrap then one thumb, the one on top, becomes more elevated than the other and thus closer to the bottom of the slide. When the gun fires and recoils, the slide travels backward and the upper of your crossed thumbs may then be raked by the slide. In other words the slide comes into contact with your thumb during the slide's reward movement and then maybe again during its forward movement as the gun goes into battery. Not only is this painful, it can cause a serious laceration that can require stitches and I have seen shooters stop shooting when it has happened and even have seen two or three actually drop their pistols when it happened. That is not something you need to do if you are fighting for your life and dependent upon your hands to be fully functional and your pistol to be in your hands. As I said though, you may have done this once before and then made sure to never do it again, that is if shooting with strong hand supported by weak hand.
Chances are though, if you draw strong handed and then transition to the weak hand for a two handed hold, weak hand supported by strong hand, your thumbs may be found to be crossed, one over the top of the other across the backstrap. If you don't believe it, then next time you are at the range try it. Don't try it on yourself because you will be thinking about it and will know what to avoid. Try it on someone who has not ever transitioned like that before. Have the shooter draw with the strong hand, then safely transition from strong hand to weak hand as if to fire from around cover (cover can be simulated if need be). Do this with an unloaded gun since you do not want the shooter harming him or herself. Try it with more than one shooter. Sure enough, if you have 4 or 5 shooters in front of you, at least one, maybe two of them, will have the thumbs in the crossed and potentially unsafe position.
Why does this happen? I do not know but my guess is because a crossed thumb grip is a more natural manner of gripping something like a pistol. We are taught not to do it, or should have been taught so when shooting with our strong hand supported. Thus, we learn to avoid it and it becomes second nature when we shoot with our strong hands. When we transition to the weak hand for a two hand hold, if we are not used to doing so, we often revert to what seems natural as opposed to what has become second nature and we cross our thumbs. I have been caught doing it myself as recently as within the past several months when I was at a training class, and I attribute my having done so to the fact that I did not train and practice enough in that strong hand supported to weak hand supported transition for it to become second nature when shooting with my weak hand as it did when shooting with my srong hand. If you want to avoid it, you need to train and practice your training on a regular basis in order to avoid the problem.
By the way, with a revolver there is no such concern. In fact, many old time revolver shooters prefer a crossed thumbs on the backstrap grip. Since there is no slide to bite you, going with that grip on a revolver is okay for many. Me, I prefer to avoid he grip altogether because I believe that under stress, I might revert to it when shooting a semi-auto if allowed myself to shoot a revolver that way. It is best for me to avoid it altogether. That way my thumbs may develop that so called muscle memory that will help keep them out of the way of the slide. if you shoot both revolvers and pistols you may also want to adapt a pistol grip for use when gripping a revolver but that is something you have to decide for yourself.
All the best,
Glenn B
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Ballseye Is Packin' Heat Again
I am giving official notice - to muggers, robbers, gang members, terrorists, father rapers, and any dirtbag who cares to threaten me or my family with loss of life or serious bodily harm, that as of yesterday - I am again packin' heat. I will not hesitate to use it within my rights of self protection or in protection of my family or other innocent parties. You have been warned.
Most sincerely,
Ballseye
PS: If you do plan to do me or my family harm, read up on why I have the Ballseye moniker and bear in mind that over the years my training and my shooting have both improved. In addition, my attitude remains the same with regard to those who would attempt to kill or seriously harm me or my family or other innocent parties.
Most sincerely,
Ballseye
PS: If you do plan to do me or my family harm, read up on why I have the Ballseye moniker and bear in mind that over the years my training and my shooting have both improved. In addition, my attitude remains the same with regard to those who would attempt to kill or seriously harm me or my family or other innocent parties.
Further Reminiscences - And Then There Were The Long Guns
Since I recently reminisced about the handguns that I have shot, I figured I may as well also think about the long guns I fun with over the years. Like with the handguns, when it comes to rifles and shotguns I have owned some, was issued others throughout my career, and had other folks let me use theirs' now and again. I am pretty sure, as with the handguns, that I will not remember each and every one of them but I am going to do my best to recall ND list the ones I have shot, with some regularity, in this post.
Summer camp, I got sent away to camp each year for 5 years from when I was about 8 or 9 through 13 or 14 years of age. Although I screamed and yelled and fought like a cornered catamount each July 5th, not wanting to be sent away from home, I have to say that once I started shooting (and fishing and archery and catching frogs and turtles and snakes and camping out and all that good stuff) I liked it. It was at Taconic Lodge near Cold Spring, NY, where I first learned to fire a gun. That was a BB Rifle and I have no idea which brand or model. Once I had mastered the BB rifle, to the satisfaction of the range officers, all Marist Brothers as it was asleep away camp run by the Catholic Church, I was allowed to move on to the real guns. While I do remember the brands of those rifles, I am not too sure about the models. There is something I will never forget though - the feel of them or the thrill of shooting them. Nor will I forget the bite of Brother Richard Lewis' or Brother John's lanyards across my thighs if I did something considered not safe while shooting. I will never ever forget that they instilled the rules of firearms safety into me and there were a lot more than just 4 rules back then! let me give a little info, as I remember it, about the guns with which I learned to shoot, my summer camp guns.
Summer Camp Long Guns:
Rifles:
The guns of summer camp were Remington and Winchester bolt action repeating rifles. I am not too sure of the models but the Remingtons were very similar to my Remington Matchmaster 513T. There is a good possibility they were in fact that model otherwise were very similar to it. I distinctly recall the very heavy weight of the Remingtons and that they seemed huge. That was in marked contrast to the Winchesters which were quite the bit lighter. Back then I preferred the lighter Winchesters, that was until I realized I actually shot better with the heavier Remingtons. I am guessing that was after a year or two of shooting them and of me growing and putting on a bit of strength. The Remingtons definitely had peep sights with a globe type front sight. I do not remember, with certainty, the type of insert that was used in the front sight but think it may have been a post. As for the Winchesters, I have no idea as to the model. Funny how I have an idea as to the Remingtons but not to the Winchesters. They too had peep sights if I recall correctly. Both brands of rifle fired from a box magazine. Of course, at first, we were only allowed to load one shot at a time. We had to hit the marksman level, in an NRA course of fire, before we were promoted to loading five rounds in the magazines. I think my 513T mag holds 6, but at camp, 5 is all they let us load. I got decent to good at shooting and was awarded some patches for my marksmanship. I never forgot about, learning to shoot and all the fun that went with it. It was a good thing.
After summer camp, it was pretty much a long dry spell for me relative to shooting opportunities. Over the years, I got to shoot a few rifles belonging to friends when we went upstate during the summer or hunting season. I was forbidden from owning a gun by my mom. Go figure, she sent me to summer camp where I learned to shoot and she would not have a gun in the house. The few long guns I remember shooting in my later teens and then in my young twenties were:
Wayward Youth (Almost) Guns:
Rifles:
Japanese Arisaka Type 38: I remember it had a flower stamped into the metal atop the receiver, seemed a strange place to stamp a flower. My buddy Mike owned it, his dad had brought it back from WWII. It was in really great condition. I am certain it was a carbine and pretty sure it was a Type 38. One day, Mike asked if any of us wanted to fire it and I said sure. I was the only guy out of 4 of us in total who was willing to shoot it. I took a look at it, then loaded it up then fired it. Mike said he had expected it to blow up because he thought the barrel was bent. It just went bang as it should have gone and that was it. Fired it a few times I think, always on trips upstate. It had one heck of a kick.
Unknown Make & Model 22: My friend Gerhardt had a 22 caliber rifle. I don't remember the brand or make. We shot that quite a few times when we visited a bungalow owned by his parents near Newburg
I did not buy my first firearm, probably until I was about 21 or 22 years old. That was a pistol, an RG-25 semi-auto. I did not get my own long gun until at least a couple or few years later, that was just after I started my federal LEO career as a Border Patrol Agent. I am guessing I got it in 1980 or 81. Before that though, I had been familiarized with some other long guns. That was at the Border Patrol Academy, at FLETC in Glynco, GA, from October 1979 though February 1980. Since I shot them before the rifle I wound up buying for myself, I'll list em first.
BP Academy Long Arms:
Shotgun:
Remington 870: The shotgun of choice as far as I am concerned. My experience with this shotgun at the academy impressed me with the power of the 12 gauge and the versatility of a pump gun. Throughout my career of 32 years, the Remington 870 was usually my weapon of choice if going out on a potentially dangerous operation. That was while I was in the Border Patrol and then in the Customs Service all the way through the Department of Homeland Security in ICE and HSI. There was a short time in there, when I was in the Customs Service years later, that I sometimes chose an MP-5 over the shotgun. I had both issued to me at the same time but I eventually gave up the MP-5 and stayed with the shotgun for most of the remainder my career.
Rifle:
Remington Model 760 Pump Action Rifle in .308 - Now here was a fun gun, one heck of a nice rifle. We did not get to shoot them much but did get to have some fun with them. More fun with these was in store for me later on.
My Long Arm Purchases Circa My Border Patrol Days:
I did not buy many guns, at least not many rifles and shotguns while I was a Border Patrol Agent but I did buy a couple of them. Lest I keep you in suspense, here they are:
Rifle:
Ruger 10/22: I bought a standard version with a birch stock. I an pretty sure I bought mine in early or mid 1980 although the buy could have been made in 1981. Whenever it was that I got it, I have to say that when work moved the decimal point on my paycheck over by 2 spaces, I was happy to have this rifle and a box of shells for it. You see, my paycheck, paid every two weeks, was something like $526.00. One payday, they paid me on time as usual but what was unusual was that they moved the decimal point and it was moved to the left - 2 spaces. Yep, they paid me a whopping $5.26 and I was otherwise pretty broke. I got to borrow a little money from a friend or two but I sure had to be frugal. So I went out and shot myself a fat cottontail while I waited the next few days before work got my pay issue straightened out. Along with a head of broccoli that somehow followed me home and some carrots that materialized in my tricky bag, I ate pretty good for a few days and finally got paid the right amount. That very same 10/22 is still sitting in my gun locker today. It holds a place of honor as a good provider. Over the years it has taken a good number of small game and shot the heck out of a lot of paper and steel targets and good bunch of tin cans too. That even though the front sight dot broke off of it years ago, maybe when I as still in the BP out in CA or maybe back here in NY, I cannot remember. Never got it replaced, there is more than enough front sight left to shoot well with it the way it sits.
Shotgun:
Remington 870 Wingmaster: I also bought myself a really nice Remington 870 Wingmaster in 12 gauge while I was in the Border Patrol. I saved for quite the while to get that one. It was a beautiful gun and I got a good amount of rabbits, dove and quail with it in the couple or few years I had had it out west. A few years after I moved back home to NY, I wound up selling it to a coworker. When he asked me why I was selling it, I told him, "Because I am getting married and I need the money". What a peckerwood was I to have sold that gun, it truly was a beauty. That was in about 1986. I wound up replacing it with another 870 not all that later on but not one with anywhere nearly as nice a metal and wood finish and wood checkering as had that Wingmaster. Wish I still had it is all I can say.
That was it for the long guns that I owned while I was in the Border Patrol. Of course, I was issued some long arms, well not really issued to me long term but rather on a day by day basis depending on where I would be working. If working in town, it was unlikely I would take out a rifle and somewhat more likely I may take a shotgun. If working certain areas that were bad spots, I would often take a shotgun and if working out in the desert, I would sometimes take a rifle. I also got to dabble with a submachine gun while I was a BPA.
Border Patrol Issue Long Arms:
Shotgun & Rifle:
Just as at the academy, we had Remington 870 shotguns and 760 rifles. I am not sure how many of each that we had, but am pretty sure it was at least 6 to 10 shotguns and about the same amount of rifles. No reason to list more about them here, they were pretty standard versions, of course the 870 had a smooth bore with rifle sights on the barrel. The rifles also used steel sights, no glass for us. I will say that I had some fun shooting these guns at the range and out in the desert. Never had to defend myself with one but know if I had to have done so, they would have gotten the job done well. We had one supervisor who used to hold shoots with the rifles out in the desert, our range for the 760s, since the local ranges would not allow them. He held a few shoots with them but often, it seemed, the shoots were cancelled instead of being held. Seemed more often than not. The thing was, he always took the ammo for those shoots, and I heard he always reported that we (as the agents who had been scheduled attending those phantom shoots) always shot it all up. When he retired, he reportedly drove out of town hauling a small open bed trailer that held about 10 or more full cases of .308 ammo - go figure, as far as I know they did not arrest him.
Submachine Gun:
Heckler & Koch MP5 - I am certain it was an H&K and pretty sure it was an MP-5. We got a few of these, for emergency situations, after the Cuban Refugee program had been running full force and there had been a few riots at the INS El Centro detention facility. They were never issued as far as I am aware but a cadre of agents was qualified with them in case they ever had to be issued. I was among the agents so qualified although the first time I fired this gun on full auto I left some to be desired. The MP-5s that we had, required a key to get them into full auto. Once set to full auto, a brief squeeze of the trigger would fire the gun in a 3 round burst, If, instead, you held the trigger fully rearward and kept it there, it would fire full auto. This was explained to me and they told me to go ahead and fire it in 3 round bursts. I think the first shot was 2 rounds, the remaining were all 3 round bursts, The firearms instructor was duly impressed as somehow I had overcome my klutziness and gotten it done better than anyone else. I liked that gun immediately! He came over, had me reload with a fresh mag, and told me to shoot at balloons set up across about 5 targets downrange. What he wanted me to do was to hold the trigger back all the way and keep it there, thus firing in full auto. Okay, I did what he told me to do but had no experience firing anything like this except for what I had just fired in burst mode moments before. The gun started to blaze and I started pivoting a bit from left to right and as I did so I did not realize the gun was rising until it was pointed up at about a 45 degree angle or more. Just the, the engine of a small plane flying overhead started to cough and sputter. They were sure I had hit the plane and we all expected it to crash but after a few seconds, the engine started to whirr as it should have been doing. That engine running right again was music to my ears and I can say without a doubt those few moments between it sputtering and whirring seemed an eternity. I shot that gun several more times but as I said, they never issued, them, except for range familiarization and qualifications, as far as I am aware, at least not while I was still working for that agency.
Four years in the Border Patrol was more than enough for me, well maybe I should say 4 years in Calexico, CA. The Mexicans called it El Hoyo, the hole, and those are my feelings about it too. It was culture shock to say the least. As far as the BP went, it was a great place to work, the people working their were truly outstanding and the job, well while everyone did burnout doing it, it was an adventure nonetheless, the real wild west. Still though, Calexico and the whole Imperial Valley and most of California were not for me.
So I decided o try to get back to New York, and I finally landed a job with U.S. Customs Tactical Enforcement Division as a Patrol Officer at JFK Airport. A few years later, I got the much better job, still with Customs, as a Special Agent. Customs was a great place to work, the people there were wonderful and the work was excellent. I got a lot of firearms experience while with Customs and it was while with them when I first became a firearms instructor as part of my collateral duties. They had me attend an NRA Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor class, for pistol, revolver, shotgun and rifle, and it all blossomed from there. Some years later I also attended similar training classes within the agency, when it was time to recertify. I became familiar and adept with a bunch of different firearms and was skilled enough to then take a Heckler & Koch MP-5 training class offered by my agency and I was certified to carry one of them. It seemed natural that I would also later become an MP-5 instructor. Those were fun times. Without further adieu, here is the list of long arms that I was issued at one time or another while with Customs:
Customs issued Long Arms:
Shotgun:
Remington 870 (at least 3)
Rifle:
Ruger Mini 14
CAR-15
AR-15
Submachine Gun:
Heckler & Koch MP5 (2)
The list of issued long arms at Customs was not all that long but they were what would have been needed to get the job done. I went on an awful lot of operations armed with the shotgun or MP-5. Thankfully I never needed to fire them for defense.
After 9/11, well the job changed. The Immigration & Naturalization Service was done away with by an Act of Congress. The investigative functions of the U.S. Customs Service and the old I&NS were then merged with some other agencies into Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the newly formed department of Homeland Security. The job went downhill after that. Sure there were good people with which to work but truth be told the agency was pretty much rudderless under mostly inept management. one of the biggest problems was the concept of management versus leadership. We did not have leaders, we had managers who did not know how to lead the charge but who would tell this person or that person to do the job because the managers did not know anything about it. I said for the most part, some of our supervisors and mid level managers had come up from the ranks and knew how to get it done, just not most, not by long shot. As a matter of fact, the third or fourth survey regarding moral in federal agencies has just been reported on and ICE came in about 222 out of 240 agencies, the higher the number, the lower the moral. Again, it is mostly because those steering the sinking ship don't have a clue where they are headed - especially under the current administration. But I digress, let me stick to my guns and list those issued to me in ICE, later called Homeland Security Investigations (because they thought a name change might warm up our moral).
ICE Issued Long Guns:
Shotgun
Remington 870
Submachine Gun:
H&K MP-5
Nope, I was never issued a rifle under ICE or HSI.
While with still Customs, after I had sold of some of my firearms when I got married, I came to the realization that I missed those guns. I also realized the folly of having sold them like that and I started to acquire more of them. I bought hunting arms, target guns, and all round plinkers. That trend has continued right up through today. Of course, I still sell some now and then but not because I am want money as much as because I want to buy something else or just get rid of a clunker. The list of long arms that I have gotten for myself, over the years, is a bit longer than the list of issued gun at the BP, Customs, and ICE (HSI) combined.
Long Guns I Purchased Since About 1987:
Shotgun
Remington 870 Express Combo with 28 and 20 inch barrels. The 28" barrel has a vented rib with bead front sight and the 20" (or is it 22") barrel has rifle sights. It has been a great deer gun and has also taken rabbits, squirrels and upland gamebirds. I have it ready for home defense too. I can tell you one thing about it, I am as comfortable handling that gun as I ever have been with any. It is a solid work horse if a firearm and I would bet my life on it in a do or die situation. It is the only shotgun I own although there is at least one other shotgun in the household, owned by my son, hat one a Mossberg.
As for the rifles, I do not think I am going to have any bit of difficulty listing them. I have sold a few but that is it. The rest of them, I still have. It is not a very extensive number of them but certainly enough for any practical uses I have for them - such as hunting, target shooting, or self defense. Plus, there is enough variety to have fun plinking.
Rimfire Rifles:
Savage MKIIG - in .22LR. I bought this at a gun show in upstate NY. I got to have a lot of fun with it but later sold it to get some cash for a gun more fitting he size of my son at the time. I do not think mine had the accu-trigger but it may have had it.
Armscorp 14Y - in .22LR; sold the above Savage to purchase this one for my son. It was more the right size for him than the full sized Savage.
Henry U.S. Survival Rifle in .22LR
JC Higgins Model 43 - .22LR, basically a Marlin Model 81.
Henry U.S. Survival Rifle - .22LR caliber. My wife actually gave me a gift certificate at a local gun shop and this is what I picked out. Was made in Brooklyn, NY - gotta love that wit Bloomberg as mayor. Sadly they have since moved to NJ.
Marlin Model 56 - Marlin lever action called the Levermatic, .22LR
Marlin 25MN - in .22 Magnum
Polish WZ-48 - Nagant Trainer, a single shot in .22LR
Mossberg M44 - Government trainer, in .22LR (a tack driver)Remington Model 241 Speedmaster - in .22LR
Remington Model 513T Matchmaster - in .22 LR
Ruger 10/22 All Weather - .22LR (a gift to my son from me). Of course, I also still have my original Ruger 10/22 that was a gift from me to me.
Centerfire Rifles:
Browning BLR Lightweight - .358 Winchester caliber, lever action rifle with straight grip. This one was made in Japan. I got it at a good price but wound up selling it, at a better price for me, because ammo was sky igh for it. What a jerk, I never should have sold it, one of my biggest regrets as far as selling a gun goes. I could have taken any game animal in the USA with that rifle in that caliber.
Marlin 336C - in .35 Remington. Sadly I sold his one.
Marlin 336CS - in .35 Remington. I realized I had sold a good thing in the above rifle and this was the replacement. Brendan got his bear with this one, a one shot kill.
Marlin Camp 9 - 9mm carbine. Bought it for home defense, then familiarized myself with it. I soon saw it only as a piece of junk and decided to sell it. This was one of the few firearms I do not regret selling.
Mosin Nagant M44 Hungarian - 7.62x54R.
Mosin Nagant M44 Russian - 7.62x54R. I got this one at a low ball price but later sold it to a friend who wanted it.
Mosin Nagant 91/30 - 7.62x54R. This one has a bent bolt, maybe used to be a sniper rifle.
Mosin Nagant 91/30 Russian - 7.62x54R. A run of the mill model.
Romanian AK-47 WASR 10 - 7.62x39mm
Ruger Mini-14 - .223 caliber. I think it was a ranch Rifle but don't remember for sure. I had some difficulty with this one, just kept getting terrible groups. I sold it and the guy who bought it loved it. I may have been shooting the wrong grain weight bullets out of it. I did not realize, back then, the difference they could have made.
Yugoslavian SKS (3) - 7.62x39mm. I bought 3 of these on my C&R so I could pick out and keep the best of them. I sold the other 2.
Mauser 24/47 - Yugoslavian 8mm Mauser.
Not a big list but it keeps evolving. My son has a Mossberg 500 pump shotgun but because of the pistol grip stock (no butt stock, just a pistol grip) we have not found a range where they will allow us to shoot it.
I think that about covers them all. I have to update my inventory and make sure I have gotten it right but that is a chore for another day.
All the best,
Glenn B
Summer camp, I got sent away to camp each year for 5 years from when I was about 8 or 9 through 13 or 14 years of age. Although I screamed and yelled and fought like a cornered catamount each July 5th, not wanting to be sent away from home, I have to say that once I started shooting (and fishing and archery and catching frogs and turtles and snakes and camping out and all that good stuff) I liked it. It was at Taconic Lodge near Cold Spring, NY, where I first learned to fire a gun. That was a BB Rifle and I have no idea which brand or model. Once I had mastered the BB rifle, to the satisfaction of the range officers, all Marist Brothers as it was asleep away camp run by the Catholic Church, I was allowed to move on to the real guns. While I do remember the brands of those rifles, I am not too sure about the models. There is something I will never forget though - the feel of them or the thrill of shooting them. Nor will I forget the bite of Brother Richard Lewis' or Brother John's lanyards across my thighs if I did something considered not safe while shooting. I will never ever forget that they instilled the rules of firearms safety into me and there were a lot more than just 4 rules back then! let me give a little info, as I remember it, about the guns with which I learned to shoot, my summer camp guns.
Summer Camp Long Guns:
Rifles:
The guns of summer camp were Remington and Winchester bolt action repeating rifles. I am not too sure of the models but the Remingtons were very similar to my Remington Matchmaster 513T. There is a good possibility they were in fact that model otherwise were very similar to it. I distinctly recall the very heavy weight of the Remingtons and that they seemed huge. That was in marked contrast to the Winchesters which were quite the bit lighter. Back then I preferred the lighter Winchesters, that was until I realized I actually shot better with the heavier Remingtons. I am guessing that was after a year or two of shooting them and of me growing and putting on a bit of strength. The Remingtons definitely had peep sights with a globe type front sight. I do not remember, with certainty, the type of insert that was used in the front sight but think it may have been a post. As for the Winchesters, I have no idea as to the model. Funny how I have an idea as to the Remingtons but not to the Winchesters. They too had peep sights if I recall correctly. Both brands of rifle fired from a box magazine. Of course, at first, we were only allowed to load one shot at a time. We had to hit the marksman level, in an NRA course of fire, before we were promoted to loading five rounds in the magazines. I think my 513T mag holds 6, but at camp, 5 is all they let us load. I got decent to good at shooting and was awarded some patches for my marksmanship. I never forgot about, learning to shoot and all the fun that went with it. It was a good thing.
After summer camp, it was pretty much a long dry spell for me relative to shooting opportunities. Over the years, I got to shoot a few rifles belonging to friends when we went upstate during the summer or hunting season. I was forbidden from owning a gun by my mom. Go figure, she sent me to summer camp where I learned to shoot and she would not have a gun in the house. The few long guns I remember shooting in my later teens and then in my young twenties were:
Wayward Youth (Almost) Guns:
Rifles:
Japanese Arisaka Type 38: I remember it had a flower stamped into the metal atop the receiver, seemed a strange place to stamp a flower. My buddy Mike owned it, his dad had brought it back from WWII. It was in really great condition. I am certain it was a carbine and pretty sure it was a Type 38. One day, Mike asked if any of us wanted to fire it and I said sure. I was the only guy out of 4 of us in total who was willing to shoot it. I took a look at it, then loaded it up then fired it. Mike said he had expected it to blow up because he thought the barrel was bent. It just went bang as it should have gone and that was it. Fired it a few times I think, always on trips upstate. It had one heck of a kick.
Unknown Make & Model 22: My friend Gerhardt had a 22 caliber rifle. I don't remember the brand or make. We shot that quite a few times when we visited a bungalow owned by his parents near Newburg
I did not buy my first firearm, probably until I was about 21 or 22 years old. That was a pistol, an RG-25 semi-auto. I did not get my own long gun until at least a couple or few years later, that was just after I started my federal LEO career as a Border Patrol Agent. I am guessing I got it in 1980 or 81. Before that though, I had been familiarized with some other long guns. That was at the Border Patrol Academy, at FLETC in Glynco, GA, from October 1979 though February 1980. Since I shot them before the rifle I wound up buying for myself, I'll list em first.
BP Academy Long Arms:
Shotgun:
Remington 870: The shotgun of choice as far as I am concerned. My experience with this shotgun at the academy impressed me with the power of the 12 gauge and the versatility of a pump gun. Throughout my career of 32 years, the Remington 870 was usually my weapon of choice if going out on a potentially dangerous operation. That was while I was in the Border Patrol and then in the Customs Service all the way through the Department of Homeland Security in ICE and HSI. There was a short time in there, when I was in the Customs Service years later, that I sometimes chose an MP-5 over the shotgun. I had both issued to me at the same time but I eventually gave up the MP-5 and stayed with the shotgun for most of the remainder my career.
Rifle:
Remington Model 760 Pump Action Rifle in .308 - Now here was a fun gun, one heck of a nice rifle. We did not get to shoot them much but did get to have some fun with them. More fun with these was in store for me later on.
My Long Arm Purchases Circa My Border Patrol Days:
I did not buy many guns, at least not many rifles and shotguns while I was a Border Patrol Agent but I did buy a couple of them. Lest I keep you in suspense, here they are:
Rifle:
Ruger 10/22: I bought a standard version with a birch stock. I an pretty sure I bought mine in early or mid 1980 although the buy could have been made in 1981. Whenever it was that I got it, I have to say that when work moved the decimal point on my paycheck over by 2 spaces, I was happy to have this rifle and a box of shells for it. You see, my paycheck, paid every two weeks, was something like $526.00. One payday, they paid me on time as usual but what was unusual was that they moved the decimal point and it was moved to the left - 2 spaces. Yep, they paid me a whopping $5.26 and I was otherwise pretty broke. I got to borrow a little money from a friend or two but I sure had to be frugal. So I went out and shot myself a fat cottontail while I waited the next few days before work got my pay issue straightened out. Along with a head of broccoli that somehow followed me home and some carrots that materialized in my tricky bag, I ate pretty good for a few days and finally got paid the right amount. That very same 10/22 is still sitting in my gun locker today. It holds a place of honor as a good provider. Over the years it has taken a good number of small game and shot the heck out of a lot of paper and steel targets and good bunch of tin cans too. That even though the front sight dot broke off of it years ago, maybe when I as still in the BP out in CA or maybe back here in NY, I cannot remember. Never got it replaced, there is more than enough front sight left to shoot well with it the way it sits.
Shotgun:
Remington 870 Wingmaster: I also bought myself a really nice Remington 870 Wingmaster in 12 gauge while I was in the Border Patrol. I saved for quite the while to get that one. It was a beautiful gun and I got a good amount of rabbits, dove and quail with it in the couple or few years I had had it out west. A few years after I moved back home to NY, I wound up selling it to a coworker. When he asked me why I was selling it, I told him, "Because I am getting married and I need the money". What a peckerwood was I to have sold that gun, it truly was a beauty. That was in about 1986. I wound up replacing it with another 870 not all that later on but not one with anywhere nearly as nice a metal and wood finish and wood checkering as had that Wingmaster. Wish I still had it is all I can say.
That was it for the long guns that I owned while I was in the Border Patrol. Of course, I was issued some long arms, well not really issued to me long term but rather on a day by day basis depending on where I would be working. If working in town, it was unlikely I would take out a rifle and somewhat more likely I may take a shotgun. If working certain areas that were bad spots, I would often take a shotgun and if working out in the desert, I would sometimes take a rifle. I also got to dabble with a submachine gun while I was a BPA.
Border Patrol Issue Long Arms:
Shotgun & Rifle:
Just as at the academy, we had Remington 870 shotguns and 760 rifles. I am not sure how many of each that we had, but am pretty sure it was at least 6 to 10 shotguns and about the same amount of rifles. No reason to list more about them here, they were pretty standard versions, of course the 870 had a smooth bore with rifle sights on the barrel. The rifles also used steel sights, no glass for us. I will say that I had some fun shooting these guns at the range and out in the desert. Never had to defend myself with one but know if I had to have done so, they would have gotten the job done well. We had one supervisor who used to hold shoots with the rifles out in the desert, our range for the 760s, since the local ranges would not allow them. He held a few shoots with them but often, it seemed, the shoots were cancelled instead of being held. Seemed more often than not. The thing was, he always took the ammo for those shoots, and I heard he always reported that we (as the agents who had been scheduled attending those phantom shoots) always shot it all up. When he retired, he reportedly drove out of town hauling a small open bed trailer that held about 10 or more full cases of .308 ammo - go figure, as far as I know they did not arrest him.
Submachine Gun:
Heckler & Koch MP5 - I am certain it was an H&K and pretty sure it was an MP-5. We got a few of these, for emergency situations, after the Cuban Refugee program had been running full force and there had been a few riots at the INS El Centro detention facility. They were never issued as far as I am aware but a cadre of agents was qualified with them in case they ever had to be issued. I was among the agents so qualified although the first time I fired this gun on full auto I left some to be desired. The MP-5s that we had, required a key to get them into full auto. Once set to full auto, a brief squeeze of the trigger would fire the gun in a 3 round burst, If, instead, you held the trigger fully rearward and kept it there, it would fire full auto. This was explained to me and they told me to go ahead and fire it in 3 round bursts. I think the first shot was 2 rounds, the remaining were all 3 round bursts, The firearms instructor was duly impressed as somehow I had overcome my klutziness and gotten it done better than anyone else. I liked that gun immediately! He came over, had me reload with a fresh mag, and told me to shoot at balloons set up across about 5 targets downrange. What he wanted me to do was to hold the trigger back all the way and keep it there, thus firing in full auto. Okay, I did what he told me to do but had no experience firing anything like this except for what I had just fired in burst mode moments before. The gun started to blaze and I started pivoting a bit from left to right and as I did so I did not realize the gun was rising until it was pointed up at about a 45 degree angle or more. Just the, the engine of a small plane flying overhead started to cough and sputter. They were sure I had hit the plane and we all expected it to crash but after a few seconds, the engine started to whirr as it should have been doing. That engine running right again was music to my ears and I can say without a doubt those few moments between it sputtering and whirring seemed an eternity. I shot that gun several more times but as I said, they never issued, them, except for range familiarization and qualifications, as far as I am aware, at least not while I was still working for that agency.
Four years in the Border Patrol was more than enough for me, well maybe I should say 4 years in Calexico, CA. The Mexicans called it El Hoyo, the hole, and those are my feelings about it too. It was culture shock to say the least. As far as the BP went, it was a great place to work, the people working their were truly outstanding and the job, well while everyone did burnout doing it, it was an adventure nonetheless, the real wild west. Still though, Calexico and the whole Imperial Valley and most of California were not for me.
So I decided o try to get back to New York, and I finally landed a job with U.S. Customs Tactical Enforcement Division as a Patrol Officer at JFK Airport. A few years later, I got the much better job, still with Customs, as a Special Agent. Customs was a great place to work, the people there were wonderful and the work was excellent. I got a lot of firearms experience while with Customs and it was while with them when I first became a firearms instructor as part of my collateral duties. They had me attend an NRA Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor class, for pistol, revolver, shotgun and rifle, and it all blossomed from there. Some years later I also attended similar training classes within the agency, when it was time to recertify. I became familiar and adept with a bunch of different firearms and was skilled enough to then take a Heckler & Koch MP-5 training class offered by my agency and I was certified to carry one of them. It seemed natural that I would also later become an MP-5 instructor. Those were fun times. Without further adieu, here is the list of long arms that I was issued at one time or another while with Customs:
Customs issued Long Arms:
Shotgun:
Remington 870 (at least 3)
Rifle:
Ruger Mini 14
CAR-15
AR-15
Submachine Gun:
Heckler & Koch MP5 (2)
The list of issued long arms at Customs was not all that long but they were what would have been needed to get the job done. I went on an awful lot of operations armed with the shotgun or MP-5. Thankfully I never needed to fire them for defense.
After 9/11, well the job changed. The Immigration & Naturalization Service was done away with by an Act of Congress. The investigative functions of the U.S. Customs Service and the old I&NS were then merged with some other agencies into Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the newly formed department of Homeland Security. The job went downhill after that. Sure there were good people with which to work but truth be told the agency was pretty much rudderless under mostly inept management. one of the biggest problems was the concept of management versus leadership. We did not have leaders, we had managers who did not know how to lead the charge but who would tell this person or that person to do the job because the managers did not know anything about it. I said for the most part, some of our supervisors and mid level managers had come up from the ranks and knew how to get it done, just not most, not by long shot. As a matter of fact, the third or fourth survey regarding moral in federal agencies has just been reported on and ICE came in about 222 out of 240 agencies, the higher the number, the lower the moral. Again, it is mostly because those steering the sinking ship don't have a clue where they are headed - especially under the current administration. But I digress, let me stick to my guns and list those issued to me in ICE, later called Homeland Security Investigations (because they thought a name change might warm up our moral).
ICE Issued Long Guns:
Shotgun
Remington 870
Submachine Gun:
H&K MP-5
Nope, I was never issued a rifle under ICE or HSI.
While with still Customs, after I had sold of some of my firearms when I got married, I came to the realization that I missed those guns. I also realized the folly of having sold them like that and I started to acquire more of them. I bought hunting arms, target guns, and all round plinkers. That trend has continued right up through today. Of course, I still sell some now and then but not because I am want money as much as because I want to buy something else or just get rid of a clunker. The list of long arms that I have gotten for myself, over the years, is a bit longer than the list of issued gun at the BP, Customs, and ICE (HSI) combined.
Long Guns I Purchased Since About 1987:
Shotgun
Remington 870 Express Combo with 28 and 20 inch barrels. The 28" barrel has a vented rib with bead front sight and the 20" (or is it 22") barrel has rifle sights. It has been a great deer gun and has also taken rabbits, squirrels and upland gamebirds. I have it ready for home defense too. I can tell you one thing about it, I am as comfortable handling that gun as I ever have been with any. It is a solid work horse if a firearm and I would bet my life on it in a do or die situation. It is the only shotgun I own although there is at least one other shotgun in the household, owned by my son, hat one a Mossberg.
As for the rifles, I do not think I am going to have any bit of difficulty listing them. I have sold a few but that is it. The rest of them, I still have. It is not a very extensive number of them but certainly enough for any practical uses I have for them - such as hunting, target shooting, or self defense. Plus, there is enough variety to have fun plinking.
Rimfire Rifles:
Savage MKIIG - in .22LR. I bought this at a gun show in upstate NY. I got to have a lot of fun with it but later sold it to get some cash for a gun more fitting he size of my son at the time. I do not think mine had the accu-trigger but it may have had it.
Armscorp 14Y - in .22LR; sold the above Savage to purchase this one for my son. It was more the right size for him than the full sized Savage.
Henry U.S. Survival Rifle in .22LR
JC Higgins Model 43 - .22LR, basically a Marlin Model 81.
Henry U.S. Survival Rifle - .22LR caliber. My wife actually gave me a gift certificate at a local gun shop and this is what I picked out. Was made in Brooklyn, NY - gotta love that wit Bloomberg as mayor. Sadly they have since moved to NJ.
Marlin Model 56 - Marlin lever action called the Levermatic, .22LR
Marlin 25MN - in .22 Magnum
Polish WZ-48 - Nagant Trainer, a single shot in .22LR
Mossberg M44 - Government trainer, in .22LR (a tack driver)Remington Model 241 Speedmaster - in .22LR
Remington Model 513T Matchmaster - in .22 LR
Ruger 10/22 All Weather - .22LR (a gift to my son from me). Of course, I also still have my original Ruger 10/22 that was a gift from me to me.
Centerfire Rifles:
Browning BLR Lightweight - .358 Winchester caliber, lever action rifle with straight grip. This one was made in Japan. I got it at a good price but wound up selling it, at a better price for me, because ammo was sky igh for it. What a jerk, I never should have sold it, one of my biggest regrets as far as selling a gun goes. I could have taken any game animal in the USA with that rifle in that caliber.
Marlin 336C - in .35 Remington. Sadly I sold his one.
Marlin 336CS - in .35 Remington. I realized I had sold a good thing in the above rifle and this was the replacement. Brendan got his bear with this one, a one shot kill.
Marlin Camp 9 - 9mm carbine. Bought it for home defense, then familiarized myself with it. I soon saw it only as a piece of junk and decided to sell it. This was one of the few firearms I do not regret selling.
Mosin Nagant M44 Hungarian - 7.62x54R.
Mosin Nagant M44 Russian - 7.62x54R. I got this one at a low ball price but later sold it to a friend who wanted it.
Mosin Nagant 91/30 - 7.62x54R. This one has a bent bolt, maybe used to be a sniper rifle.
Mosin Nagant 91/30 Russian - 7.62x54R. A run of the mill model.
Romanian AK-47 WASR 10 - 7.62x39mm
Ruger Mini-14 - .223 caliber. I think it was a ranch Rifle but don't remember for sure. I had some difficulty with this one, just kept getting terrible groups. I sold it and the guy who bought it loved it. I may have been shooting the wrong grain weight bullets out of it. I did not realize, back then, the difference they could have made.
Yugoslavian SKS (3) - 7.62x39mm. I bought 3 of these on my C&R so I could pick out and keep the best of them. I sold the other 2.
Mauser 24/47 - Yugoslavian 8mm Mauser.
Not a big list but it keeps evolving. My son has a Mossberg 500 pump shotgun but because of the pistol grip stock (no butt stock, just a pistol grip) we have not found a range where they will allow us to shoot it.
I think that about covers them all. I have to update my inventory and make sure I have gotten it right but that is a chore for another day.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Reminiscing About Pistols I Have Shot
I don't know what set my mind to reminiscing about which handguns I had fired throughout my lifetime but something put that bug in my brain and I simply could not shake it. That is, I could not shake it without trying to remember at least those with which I had some limited familiarity and also with which I had lots of fun. Over the past 32 years, when I was a federal LEO, from 1979 through 1983, and also during one couple of month period in the late 70s when I was not yet so employed, I owned, or had been issued, or shot various brands and models of handguns. All those owned by me and issued to me were shot by me but I also shot plenty of pistols and revolvers that belonged to other people too. During my 14 years of collateral duties as a firearms instructor with, the now defunct, U.S. Customs Service, I also got a lot more experience with handguns which I did not actually own or even fire on a regular basis. That experience came by way of others firing them at the range while I was instructing or performing range officer duties and it was often hands on while trying to correct problems for the shooters.
Here is a list of the pistols and revolvers I remember having owned (how many I owned in parentheses):
Semi-Autos:
Beretta 21 in .22LR (1)
Beretta 70S (2, one was stolen)
Beretta 92SB (1)
Beretta 92SF (2)
Beretta 950 Jetfire (at least 4 and maybe 5 of them)
Charter Arms Explorer II (1)
Glock 26 (1)
RG .25 Auto (1)
Ruger Mark II (1)
Ortgies Pocket Auto (1)
Revolvers:
Charter Arms Undercover .38 Snubnose (1)
Charter Arms Pathfinder (1)
Smith & Wesson 17-8 (1)
Smith & Wesson Model 66 with 2.5" barrel (2)
Smith & Wesson Model 66 with 4" barrel (1)
Black Powder Single Shot:
CVA Philadelphia Derringer (1)
That is twenty, or so. It is not an impressive number to have owned. I do hope to own more in the future but I should point out not to impress people. Impressing people was never why I bought the pistols unless it was to impress upon myself and them the fun you can have with them and the legitimate uses you can have for them such as self defense or hunting. I got each of them to serve a purpose and hopefully each would last a long time at doing what I intended them to do. I will admit, some people have seemed awestruck by the few I do own; then again, I do live in that ultra leftist bastion of New York. I really do not give a rat's tokas about what they think here, unless I can change them into becoming gun friendly. If awed by the ones I own, well read on and imagine how they would feel about all the ones I have shot; yet, I think the number I have shot should increase at least 5 fold, if not more.
Without dallying further, allow me to list those that were issued to me, and those I am pretty certain others owned who were kind enough to let me shoot them with some frequency. Handguns that I was issued, over the years in my federal civil service career, included:
Revolvers:
Colt Border Patrol (1)
Colt Detective Special (at least 2 and maybe 3)
Smith & Wesson Model 19 (at least 3)
Smith & Wesson Model 36 (at least 2)
Smith & Wesson Model 49 (1)
Smith & Wesson model 60 (at least 2)
Smith & Wesson Model 66 with 4" barrel (1)
Smith & Wesson Model Model 66 with 2.5 barrel (at least 1)
Smith & Wesson 686, the CS1 (at least 1)
Semi-autos:
Glock 26 (2)
Glock 19 (1)
Smith & Wesson 59 (at least 1)
Smith & Wesson 6906 (2)
SIG 229 .40 caliber (1)
Note that I said 'at least' several times, with regard to how many I was issued. The reason I said at least so many is because I know I had been issued at least the number shown above and maybe more. There are a few reasons why I may have been issued more than one each. Reasons pistols and revolvers were replaced were: breakages, a handgun reaching the end of its serviceable life, a change of duty station or change of agency and so on. Sometimes, as in the case of the Glock 26, it was a voluntary turning in of the first issued one and then later being issued another. With the Glock 26, my assignment changed and I no longer felt the need to maintain 2 pistols, a Glock 19 and a 26 as backup. I gave up the smaller one so someone in our narcotics unit could have it issued to him for a backup piece We had a limited number of them available at the time and I felt it better used by someone who would more likely need a backup on the street than I would in my duties at that time. I was issued another, later on, when I was back doing narcotics or money laundering cases.
Handguns that I have neither owned nor had issued to me but that I have shot a decent number of times, meaning several times and with some regularity, included:
Semi-Autos:
ASP (1)
Astra Constable (1)
Beretta 92SB Compact (1)
Bernadelli AMR in .22LR (1)
Bersa 23 (1)
Broomhandle Mauser (1, maybe 2)
Browning Challenger II (1)
Browning Hi-Power (1)
Colt 1911 in .45 auto, various models (at least 5)
Colt 1911 in .38 Super (1)
Colt Woodsman probably third series (1)
Erma RX-22 (1)
German Luger cannot recall manufacturer (1)
Glock 19 (at least 5)
Glock 26 (at least 5)
Heckler & Koch USP 9 (at least 2)
High Standard Target pistol in .22LR, cannot recall the model (1)
Interdynamic KG9 (1)
Intra-Tec Tec 9 (1)
Jennings .22 pistol (1)
Kahr 9mm, do not recall the model number (1)
Kel-Tec in 9mm, cannot recall the model number (1)
Kimber Classic .45 Auto (1)
Llama XV (1) {Let me add, oh how I want one of these!}
SIG 226 (1)
Smith & Wesson 39 (at least 10)
Smith & Wesson 6906 (at least 15)
Star Model B (1)
Taurus PT-92 (1)
Walther PP in .380 (1)
Walther PPK in .22LR (1)
Walther PPKS in .22LR (2)
Walther PPKS in .380 Auto (2)
Revolvers:
Colt Anaconda (1)
Colt Cobra (1)
Colt Detective Special (3)
Colt Lawman MK III (1)
Colt Police Positive (1)
Colt Python (2)
Colt Trooper MK III in .22LR (1)
Dan Wesson Pistol Pac in .357 Magnum unsure of model (1)
Freedom Arms Mini Revolver .22LR (1)
Freedom Arms Mini revolver .22 Magnum (1)
Harrington & Richardson 999 Sportsman (1) {I would love to have one of these too.)
Harrington & Richardson Model 929 Sidekick (1)
Harrington & Richardson cannot recall models (2)
High Standard High Sierra (1)
Iver Johnson Revolver in .22LR, cannot recall the model (1)
North American Arms Mini Revolver in .22LR (2)
Rossi in .357 cannot remember model (1)
Ruger Blackhawk in .357 Magnum (1)
Ruger Blackhawk New Model (1)
Ruger GP-100 (2)
Ruger Super Single Six Convertible New Model (1)
Smith & Wesson model 10 with 3 inch barrel (1)
Smith & Wesson Model 10 with 4" barrel (at least 4)
Smith & Wesson Model 15 the K-38 Combat Masterpiece (1)
Smith & Wesson Model 17 the K-22 (1)
Smith & Wesson Model 337 Airlite (1)
Derringers:
High Standard Derringer .22 magnum (2)
Sundance Point Blank (1)
I know there were some other derringers in the mix but for the life of me cannot remember which ones in particular but I am sure one or two were Colts. I am also certain there were other revolvers and pistols too but 33 or so years of shooting handguns is a long time and the gray cells' ability to recall such things has been clouded over by time and variety. Heck, in order to remember some of these I had to go through the 2011 Standard Catalog of Firearms page by page over the course of a few hours to get the gray cells out of their fog. I am pretty sure I got the above models right (otherwise I said I could not recall the model when I had no clue) but I could be off on some after all the time since I shot them.
In addition to the ones I became familiar with, there were also some I shot maybe a total of once or twice. I did not even try to remember them since my thoughts along those lines go something like: "Hey, I also shot most of Archie's guns when we were in the Border Patrol in Calexico and then there were George's handguns also in California and some of Don's pistols in NY and Wyoming and whatever the guys and gals brought to the range for me to check out now and again and the neat things Pete G. sometimes showed up with and whatever the other range officers brought to the range and..."
If you guessed it looks like I had a fun time shooting - you would be right. I you figure I must be some sort of expert on these pistols, I am not. It sure may look, to some, as if I have fired a wide variety of handguns and thus that makes me an expert of sorts but, the truth be told, all it means is I have shot them before. Well, it means something else too; there are hundreds if not thousands of others out there that I would love to shoot and with which I would like to become familiar enough to be able to tell you a bit about them should we ever meet over a beer or at the range or anywhere when we get to talking guns. Yes there are some guns on which I may be considered an expert or limited expert to one degree or another but as far as most of them go, I just had fun with them. As to whether or not I am an expert shot, that is another thing altogether.
I can tell you, there were some handguns among those I owned, those I was issued, and those belonging to others that I got to shoot, that I liked a lot and others that I think were outright pieces of junk. Of the ones I have owned or have been issued, I like the Berettas the best. I have never been issued one but have owned a good number of them. By the way, in case you were wondering, the reason for owning so many Jetfires was that most got ruined by corrosion in extremely harsh environs. Such as one that was forgotten in my pants pocket as I waded back and forth through salt water, over the course of at least a few hours, to help secure a load of seized narcotics. In and out of the salt water over a few hours time and then sitting around until my pants dried out over a couple of more hours more assured that pistol's finish was ruined. As for the Berettas, I have to point out that I have rarely, if ever, been disappointed when shooting a pistol made by Beretta. A close second for a favorites brand would be the Glock pistols that I have owned and have been issued. I suppose next in line comes the Colts, well the Colt revolvers anyway.
As for the handguns that were big disappointments, well my very first handgun purchase was a RG-25. It was verifiable a piece of junk that I stripped into its component parts and then through into different areas of a salt water bay to dispose of it back in the late 1970s. It was though, a good learning experience for me. Other real clunkers were the Jennings 22, the Erma 22, one of the High Standard derringers, the High Standard revolver, the Sundance Point Blank, the Charter Arms Undercover and the Dan Wesson revolver. I have to give an explanation as for the DW revolver. I think it misfired several times but only because the friend who owned it put in an aftermarket custom spring kit. As I recall, he took it back out and replaced the original springs and the revolver worked well again - imagine that.
That last is a good lesson I learned with firearms. I do not tinker with them by taking out things like the original springs and replacing them with aftermarket spring kits to lighten the trigger pull. Maybe I would on a target gun, if I was using it to compete, but I would never do so on a gun used for self defense or hunting. I want shots taken at those times to go bang, especially in self defense situations. I will change original springs with aftermarket springs in the event the spring has sprung, so to speak, and needs replacing. I try to buy a replacement that is up to specs with the original. Then, I give it a darned good testing before relying on it for use on the street. But I have lost my aim for the moment here and I know I could go on for hours and hours and hours in all directions that a speeding bullet could travel, so I will get back on target.
As for the different guns mentioned above, they were just the handguns. I have yet to reminisce about the rifles, shotguns and sub-machine guns with which I have had even more shooting good times. I don't think there can be anywhere nearly as many rifles that I have owned, been issued or fired. Let me rethink that; yes it could actually be that I have owned more rifles than pistols but I have not been issued nearly as many rifles and shotguns as I have been issued pistols and revolvers. As for ones other folks have let me shoot, I have to really stimulate the little gray cells into trying to remember which ones I have had the pleasure of shooting. That though is for another day and another blog post.
I was thinking of starting a meme on the subject of getting other firearms bloggers to name all the handguns they have fired but I figured some folks whom I would give that task could probably fill about 10 or more pages with their lists, double spaced at that! I don't know if they are ready to do it or if I am ready for the replies! Then again, it could make interesting reading. If any of you feel like doing it, let me know since I am always interested to see what others have shot. You can list em in the comment section here for this post or on your own blog. Just make sure to let me know if you are doing it on your blog so I will be sure to see it.
Now I have to start thinking about the rifles and shotguns I have shot and maybe all the guns I still want to shoot. I can probably do a nice post on the ones I have shot but Heaven forbid I write up the wish list of ones I have not yet fired but that I would like to shoot. That could take me a week or more to complete.
All the best,
Glenn B
Here is a list of the pistols and revolvers I remember having owned (how many I owned in parentheses):
Semi-Autos:
Beretta 21 in .22LR (1)
Beretta 70S (2, one was stolen)
Beretta 92SB (1)
Beretta 92SF (2)
Beretta 950 Jetfire (at least 4 and maybe 5 of them)
Charter Arms Explorer II (1)
Glock 26 (1)
RG .25 Auto (1)
Ruger Mark II (1)
Ortgies Pocket Auto (1)
Revolvers:
Charter Arms Undercover .38 Snubnose (1)
Charter Arms Pathfinder (1)
Smith & Wesson 17-8 (1)
Smith & Wesson Model 66 with 2.5" barrel (2)
Smith & Wesson Model 66 with 4" barrel (1)
Black Powder Single Shot:
CVA Philadelphia Derringer (1)
That is twenty, or so. It is not an impressive number to have owned. I do hope to own more in the future but I should point out not to impress people. Impressing people was never why I bought the pistols unless it was to impress upon myself and them the fun you can have with them and the legitimate uses you can have for them such as self defense or hunting. I got each of them to serve a purpose and hopefully each would last a long time at doing what I intended them to do. I will admit, some people have seemed awestruck by the few I do own; then again, I do live in that ultra leftist bastion of New York. I really do not give a rat's tokas about what they think here, unless I can change them into becoming gun friendly. If awed by the ones I own, well read on and imagine how they would feel about all the ones I have shot; yet, I think the number I have shot should increase at least 5 fold, if not more.
Without dallying further, allow me to list those that were issued to me, and those I am pretty certain others owned who were kind enough to let me shoot them with some frequency. Handguns that I was issued, over the years in my federal civil service career, included:
Revolvers:
Colt Border Patrol (1)
Colt Detective Special (at least 2 and maybe 3)
Smith & Wesson Model 19 (at least 3)
Smith & Wesson Model 36 (at least 2)
Smith & Wesson Model 49 (1)
Smith & Wesson model 60 (at least 2)
Smith & Wesson Model 66 with 4" barrel (1)
Smith & Wesson Model Model 66 with 2.5 barrel (at least 1)
Smith & Wesson 686, the CS1 (at least 1)
Semi-autos:
Glock 26 (2)
Glock 19 (1)
Smith & Wesson 59 (at least 1)
Smith & Wesson 6906 (2)
SIG 229 .40 caliber (1)
Note that I said 'at least' several times, with regard to how many I was issued. The reason I said at least so many is because I know I had been issued at least the number shown above and maybe more. There are a few reasons why I may have been issued more than one each. Reasons pistols and revolvers were replaced were: breakages, a handgun reaching the end of its serviceable life, a change of duty station or change of agency and so on. Sometimes, as in the case of the Glock 26, it was a voluntary turning in of the first issued one and then later being issued another. With the Glock 26, my assignment changed and I no longer felt the need to maintain 2 pistols, a Glock 19 and a 26 as backup. I gave up the smaller one so someone in our narcotics unit could have it issued to him for a backup piece We had a limited number of them available at the time and I felt it better used by someone who would more likely need a backup on the street than I would in my duties at that time. I was issued another, later on, when I was back doing narcotics or money laundering cases.
Handguns that I have neither owned nor had issued to me but that I have shot a decent number of times, meaning several times and with some regularity, included:
Semi-Autos:
ASP (1)
Astra Constable (1)
Beretta 92SB Compact (1)
Bernadelli AMR in .22LR (1)
Bersa 23 (1)
Broomhandle Mauser (1, maybe 2)
Browning Challenger II (1)
Browning Hi-Power (1)
Colt 1911 in .45 auto, various models (at least 5)
Colt 1911 in .38 Super (1)
Colt Woodsman probably third series (1)
Erma RX-22 (1)
German Luger cannot recall manufacturer (1)
Glock 19 (at least 5)
Glock 26 (at least 5)
Heckler & Koch USP 9 (at least 2)
High Standard Target pistol in .22LR, cannot recall the model (1)
Interdynamic KG9 (1)
Intra-Tec Tec 9 (1)
Jennings .22 pistol (1)
Kahr 9mm, do not recall the model number (1)
Kel-Tec in 9mm, cannot recall the model number (1)
Kimber Classic .45 Auto (1)
Llama XV (1) {Let me add, oh how I want one of these!}
SIG 226 (1)
Smith & Wesson 39 (at least 10)
Smith & Wesson 6906 (at least 15)
Star Model B (1)
Taurus PT-92 (1)
Walther PP in .380 (1)
Walther PPK in .22LR (1)
Walther PPKS in .22LR (2)
Walther PPKS in .380 Auto (2)
Revolvers:
Colt Anaconda (1)
Colt Cobra (1)
Colt Detective Special (3)
Colt Lawman MK III (1)
Colt Police Positive (1)
Colt Python (2)
Colt Trooper MK III in .22LR (1)
Dan Wesson Pistol Pac in .357 Magnum unsure of model (1)
Freedom Arms Mini Revolver .22LR (1)
Freedom Arms Mini revolver .22 Magnum (1)
Harrington & Richardson 999 Sportsman (1) {I would love to have one of these too.)
Harrington & Richardson Model 929 Sidekick (1)
Harrington & Richardson cannot recall models (2)
High Standard High Sierra (1)
Iver Johnson Revolver in .22LR, cannot recall the model (1)
North American Arms Mini Revolver in .22LR (2)
Rossi in .357 cannot remember model (1)
Ruger Blackhawk in .357 Magnum (1)
Ruger Blackhawk New Model (1)
Ruger GP-100 (2)
Ruger Super Single Six Convertible New Model (1)
Smith & Wesson model 10 with 3 inch barrel (1)
Smith & Wesson Model 10 with 4" barrel (at least 4)
Smith & Wesson Model 15 the K-38 Combat Masterpiece (1)
Smith & Wesson Model 17 the K-22 (1)
Smith & Wesson Model 337 Airlite (1)
Derringers:
High Standard Derringer .22 magnum (2)
Sundance Point Blank (1)
I know there were some other derringers in the mix but for the life of me cannot remember which ones in particular but I am sure one or two were Colts. I am also certain there were other revolvers and pistols too but 33 or so years of shooting handguns is a long time and the gray cells' ability to recall such things has been clouded over by time and variety. Heck, in order to remember some of these I had to go through the 2011 Standard Catalog of Firearms page by page over the course of a few hours to get the gray cells out of their fog. I am pretty sure I got the above models right (otherwise I said I could not recall the model when I had no clue) but I could be off on some after all the time since I shot them.
In addition to the ones I became familiar with, there were also some I shot maybe a total of once or twice. I did not even try to remember them since my thoughts along those lines go something like: "Hey, I also shot most of Archie's guns when we were in the Border Patrol in Calexico and then there were George's handguns also in California and some of Don's pistols in NY and Wyoming and whatever the guys and gals brought to the range for me to check out now and again and the neat things Pete G. sometimes showed up with and whatever the other range officers brought to the range and..."
If you guessed it looks like I had a fun time shooting - you would be right. I you figure I must be some sort of expert on these pistols, I am not. It sure may look, to some, as if I have fired a wide variety of handguns and thus that makes me an expert of sorts but, the truth be told, all it means is I have shot them before. Well, it means something else too; there are hundreds if not thousands of others out there that I would love to shoot and with which I would like to become familiar enough to be able to tell you a bit about them should we ever meet over a beer or at the range or anywhere when we get to talking guns. Yes there are some guns on which I may be considered an expert or limited expert to one degree or another but as far as most of them go, I just had fun with them. As to whether or not I am an expert shot, that is another thing altogether.
I can tell you, there were some handguns among those I owned, those I was issued, and those belonging to others that I got to shoot, that I liked a lot and others that I think were outright pieces of junk. Of the ones I have owned or have been issued, I like the Berettas the best. I have never been issued one but have owned a good number of them. By the way, in case you were wondering, the reason for owning so many Jetfires was that most got ruined by corrosion in extremely harsh environs. Such as one that was forgotten in my pants pocket as I waded back and forth through salt water, over the course of at least a few hours, to help secure a load of seized narcotics. In and out of the salt water over a few hours time and then sitting around until my pants dried out over a couple of more hours more assured that pistol's finish was ruined. As for the Berettas, I have to point out that I have rarely, if ever, been disappointed when shooting a pistol made by Beretta. A close second for a favorites brand would be the Glock pistols that I have owned and have been issued. I suppose next in line comes the Colts, well the Colt revolvers anyway.
As for the handguns that were big disappointments, well my very first handgun purchase was a RG-25. It was verifiable a piece of junk that I stripped into its component parts and then through into different areas of a salt water bay to dispose of it back in the late 1970s. It was though, a good learning experience for me. Other real clunkers were the Jennings 22, the Erma 22, one of the High Standard derringers, the High Standard revolver, the Sundance Point Blank, the Charter Arms Undercover and the Dan Wesson revolver. I have to give an explanation as for the DW revolver. I think it misfired several times but only because the friend who owned it put in an aftermarket custom spring kit. As I recall, he took it back out and replaced the original springs and the revolver worked well again - imagine that.
That last is a good lesson I learned with firearms. I do not tinker with them by taking out things like the original springs and replacing them with aftermarket spring kits to lighten the trigger pull. Maybe I would on a target gun, if I was using it to compete, but I would never do so on a gun used for self defense or hunting. I want shots taken at those times to go bang, especially in self defense situations. I will change original springs with aftermarket springs in the event the spring has sprung, so to speak, and needs replacing. I try to buy a replacement that is up to specs with the original. Then, I give it a darned good testing before relying on it for use on the street. But I have lost my aim for the moment here and I know I could go on for hours and hours and hours in all directions that a speeding bullet could travel, so I will get back on target.
As for the different guns mentioned above, they were just the handguns. I have yet to reminisce about the rifles, shotguns and sub-machine guns with which I have had even more shooting good times. I don't think there can be anywhere nearly as many rifles that I have owned, been issued or fired. Let me rethink that; yes it could actually be that I have owned more rifles than pistols but I have not been issued nearly as many rifles and shotguns as I have been issued pistols and revolvers. As for ones other folks have let me shoot, I have to really stimulate the little gray cells into trying to remember which ones I have had the pleasure of shooting. That though is for another day and another blog post.
I was thinking of starting a meme on the subject of getting other firearms bloggers to name all the handguns they have fired but I figured some folks whom I would give that task could probably fill about 10 or more pages with their lists, double spaced at that! I don't know if they are ready to do it or if I am ready for the replies! Then again, it could make interesting reading. If any of you feel like doing it, let me know since I am always interested to see what others have shot. You can list em in the comment section here for this post or on your own blog. Just make sure to let me know if you are doing it on your blog so I will be sure to see it.
Now I have to start thinking about the rifles and shotguns I have shot and maybe all the guns I still want to shoot. I can probably do a nice post on the ones I have shot but Heaven forbid I write up the wish list of ones I have not yet fired but that I would like to shoot. That could take me a week or more to complete.
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, March 16, 2012
Obama Either Outright Lies or Just Gets Something Wrong Once Again
Is it that President Obama finds it difficult to tell the truth or is it that he is just ever so friggin stupid as he can not discern what is fiction and what is fact. Once again he tries to slam a member of the opposing party, this time, of all people President Rutherford B. Hayes. Why on earth he would say something negative about Hayes, who was president from 1877 to 1881 is beyond the scope of reason as I see it. I wonder, does he think he is going to score points against the Republican Party and his political opponents running for the Republican nomination by giving out misinformation about a past president long dead or does he really think he was going to forward his energy agenda by spreading baseless rumors.
What President Obama reportedly said was:
"One of my predecessors, President Rutherford B. Hayes, reportedly said about the telephone: 'It's a great invention but who would ever want to use one?'"
"That's why he's not on Mount Rushmore."
(See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/03/15/obama-mocks-gop-predecessor-as-technophobe-and-unfairly-president-hayes-expert/?test=latestnews?test=latestnews#ixzz1pITkHRgU)
Well, first off, even I knew that the statement attributed to Hayes about not using telephone was a bogus one. I have known that since I was a schoolboy many years ago. The fact of the matter is that President Hayes was the first president to have a telephone installed in the White House. So, it seems the statement attributed to President Hayes by President Obama is just one of those silly rumors that spreads like wildfire once it gets going and as wildfires are often started by fools misusing fire, this rumor is still being spread but by a fool using his mouth in lieu of a match.
You would think our president, as smart as he is supposed to be in that he was supposedly Harvard educated, would know better than to attribute a negative trait, such as being a technophobe, to a man who actually embraced modern technology of his day as did President Hayes. Then again, I wonder, what does President Obama care about the truth unless it serves his purpose at the moment. It just boggles my mind how dependent upon falsehoods he seems to be in his efforts to score political points.
I also wonder: Does this current President expect to have his likeness carved onto Mount Rushmore someday because he is overly dependent upon modern technology such as the teleprompter. Heavens help to assure us that it just does not happen.
All the best,
Glenn B
What President Obama reportedly said was:
"One of my predecessors, President Rutherford B. Hayes, reportedly said about the telephone: 'It's a great invention but who would ever want to use one?'"
"That's why he's not on Mount Rushmore."
(See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/03/15/obama-mocks-gop-predecessor-as-technophobe-and-unfairly-president-hayes-expert/?test=latestnews?test=latestnews#ixzz1pITkHRgU)
Well, first off, even I knew that the statement attributed to Hayes about not using telephone was a bogus one. I have known that since I was a schoolboy many years ago. The fact of the matter is that President Hayes was the first president to have a telephone installed in the White House. So, it seems the statement attributed to President Hayes by President Obama is just one of those silly rumors that spreads like wildfire once it gets going and as wildfires are often started by fools misusing fire, this rumor is still being spread but by a fool using his mouth in lieu of a match.
You would think our president, as smart as he is supposed to be in that he was supposedly Harvard educated, would know better than to attribute a negative trait, such as being a technophobe, to a man who actually embraced modern technology of his day as did President Hayes. Then again, I wonder, what does President Obama care about the truth unless it serves his purpose at the moment. It just boggles my mind how dependent upon falsehoods he seems to be in his efforts to score political points.
I also wonder: Does this current President expect to have his likeness carved onto Mount Rushmore someday because he is overly dependent upon modern technology such as the teleprompter. Heavens help to assure us that it just does not happen.
All the best,
Glenn B
Thursday, March 15, 2012
NY State Pistol License
I stopped by my local county police department today to be fingerprinted. It was, I thought, just another step in the ongoing process of applying for my pistol license. From what I had understood, the process would take about another 2 weeks after today. So, you can imagine my surprise when, after I was printed, I was handed the pistol license by the officer who was handling my application. I would display a copy of it here but something tells me it may be illegal or at least against the licensing rules to do so, even though a public document. I figure, why chance getting it revoked now that I just got it!
Of course, once my LEOSA identification card is issued, I will not need a state permit as per federal law. The thing is, it is next to impossible to find other than a police department to perform the required annual qualification for LEOSA and they demand you have a pistol permit when you go to their ranges. (Disquieting, how here in NYS, they disregard federal law since the whole purpose of LEOSA was to overcome the need for a state license or permit.) I applied for a pistol license to keep them happy and to assure my trouble free possession of my handguns. Of course, I will continue to help keep up the fight to overcome pistol licensing/permit laws as I have done for many years now through my membership in the NRA and the NYSR&PA as well as through my blog, my vote and by way of letters/emails to my elected representatives and so on. For now at least, it seems obtaining a pistol license was a necessaryevil inconvenience.
As for actually going through the process of getting the license, it was quicker for me than it likely would be for someone who was not a retired LEO. It seems the main reason for that is not 'professional courtesy' as some might think but rather due to the fact that as a federal agent I had been subjected to repeated full field background investigations a regular intervals. I think that cut out the need for a complete background investigation by the county or state for my application. Yet, they did take my fingerprints for a reason. They will have them checked, just as they checked criminal data bases to see if I had a criminal record. It took me a total of about one month to have the license/permit issued to me. The time immediately prior to today that I had to go to the pistol license division, I spoke to another guy who was waiting on line with me. He told me that the total time it took him to get his license was just under 2 months. I had always thought it took at least 6 months but maybe I was thinking of NY City and not my county which is not in NYC. Two months may not seem a long wait but I still feel it is too long. Then again, I don't think a license should be necessary at all.
I'll just mention a bit more on the application process in general. The officers and other personnel, assigned to the pistol license division, were always professional and courteous. I don't mean just when dealing with retired LEOs like me either. I do mean when dealing with anyone whom I saw that had business with them. That was pretty refreshing to say the least. I have heard horror stories from people who have applied for pistol permits in New York City, including retired LEOs. Sometimes it almost seemed as if they were treated like the enemy by NYPD personnel simply because they had applied for a permit. My county's pistol licensing personnel were nothing short of top notch and a pleasure with whom to do business.
All the best,
Glenn B
Of course, once my LEOSA identification card is issued, I will not need a state permit as per federal law. The thing is, it is next to impossible to find other than a police department to perform the required annual qualification for LEOSA and they demand you have a pistol permit when you go to their ranges. (Disquieting, how here in NYS, they disregard federal law since the whole purpose of LEOSA was to overcome the need for a state license or permit.) I applied for a pistol license to keep them happy and to assure my trouble free possession of my handguns. Of course, I will continue to help keep up the fight to overcome pistol licensing/permit laws as I have done for many years now through my membership in the NRA and the NYSR&PA as well as through my blog, my vote and by way of letters/emails to my elected representatives and so on. For now at least, it seems obtaining a pistol license was a necessary
As for actually going through the process of getting the license, it was quicker for me than it likely would be for someone who was not a retired LEO. It seems the main reason for that is not 'professional courtesy' as some might think but rather due to the fact that as a federal agent I had been subjected to repeated full field background investigations a regular intervals. I think that cut out the need for a complete background investigation by the county or state for my application. Yet, they did take my fingerprints for a reason. They will have them checked, just as they checked criminal data bases to see if I had a criminal record. It took me a total of about one month to have the license/permit issued to me. The time immediately prior to today that I had to go to the pistol license division, I spoke to another guy who was waiting on line with me. He told me that the total time it took him to get his license was just under 2 months. I had always thought it took at least 6 months but maybe I was thinking of NY City and not my county which is not in NYC. Two months may not seem a long wait but I still feel it is too long. Then again, I don't think a license should be necessary at all.
I'll just mention a bit more on the application process in general. The officers and other personnel, assigned to the pistol license division, were always professional and courteous. I don't mean just when dealing with retired LEOs like me either. I do mean when dealing with anyone whom I saw that had business with them. That was pretty refreshing to say the least. I have heard horror stories from people who have applied for pistol permits in New York City, including retired LEOs. Sometimes it almost seemed as if they were treated like the enemy by NYPD personnel simply because they had applied for a permit. My county's pistol licensing personnel were nothing short of top notch and a pleasure with whom to do business.
All the best,
Glenn B
Has The President Made A Phone Call or Apologized About This
President Obama is ready to stick his nose where it does not belong on a moment's notice. Take for example the time the cop arrested the professor and he had them for beers. Also look to his recent phone call to Ms. Fluke to sooth her shattered nerves after Rush Limbaugh lambasted her and called her nasty names. Of course, he has appologized around the world for ever so many things that required no apology and that in essence had nothing or little to do with him, so much so as to make one think he has a psychological problem with being an American.
I am willing to bet thT he has not placed a phone call to the head of the Lake County Florida, Democratic Party Headquarters. Why would he want to call her, well maybe to make the point that he respects America enough to let her know she never should have flown the flag that she flew in front of said headquarters. Why not, well because it was a disgraceful sign of disrespect for the American flag as I seee it. See: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-barack-obama-flag-face-20120313,0,6097169.story
Now you may be wondering why would he apologize over this incident to the lady who flew the flag. Well, it is not her to whom he should apologize, he should be down on his knees apologizing to the American people that they who lead his political party have become so depraved as to place his likeness in the Union of that flag or at least on a flag that strongly resembles Old Glory. If he has owed an apology for the actions of Americans, as he often seems compelled to do around the world over something an American Ciizen has done, well he owes We The People a bigtime apology right now over this most disgraceful display of apparent disrespect for our flag.
All the best,
Glenn B
I am willing to bet thT he has not placed a phone call to the head of the Lake County Florida, Democratic Party Headquarters. Why would he want to call her, well maybe to make the point that he respects America enough to let her know she never should have flown the flag that she flew in front of said headquarters. Why not, well because it was a disgraceful sign of disrespect for the American flag as I seee it. See: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-barack-obama-flag-face-20120313,0,6097169.story
Now you may be wondering why would he apologize over this incident to the lady who flew the flag. Well, it is not her to whom he should apologize, he should be down on his knees apologizing to the American people that they who lead his political party have become so depraved as to place his likeness in the Union of that flag or at least on a flag that strongly resembles Old Glory. If he has owed an apology for the actions of Americans, as he often seems compelled to do around the world over something an American Ciizen has done, well he owes We The People a bigtime apology right now over this most disgraceful display of apparent disrespect for our flag.
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, March 12, 2012
The Arsenal Firearms AF2011-A1, This Pistol Could Turn Me Into A .45 Guy
Wow, I have to say, this pistol looks like fun. The sad thing is it is probably only affordable by spoiled rich folks and guys like me will never have a chance to own and shoot one.
It sure can get the lead downrange.
All the best,
Glenn B
It sure can get the lead downrange.
All the best,
Glenn B
The Outrage Over Afghanistan Shootings - Hypocritical To Say The Least
So, a U.S. soldier goes out and in an apparent berserk rage, he shoots 14 or 16 civilians (video), over half of them woman and children. He did so, reportedly, under cover of night, as they slept. He is, in my view, undoubtedly a coward, possibly a heinous criminal and or also possibly a friggin psycho (if he is a psycho he may not necessarily be a criminal but you can just about bet he will b e convicted because he apparently has been convicted by some in the Obama Administration already). Heck, I may have convicted him myself at least for being a coward at any rate but then again if he was a psycho maybe he was not cowardly, just deranged. I will though, as I would for anyone, give him his day in court and believe him innocent until proven guilty even under military rule.
What gets me about this whole incident is the response of politicians and their stooges; how so many are coming out an calling it such things as: heartbreaking (Obama), a calamity, terrible and awful (H. Clinton), an act of terrorism, a crime, inexcusable and unforgivable (reportedly the stooge who heads the Afghan government said that), an outrage and on and on. Yet, those same people were never once reported to have said the same things about the killings of U.S. Servicemen after the accidental burning of those bogus religious books at the U.S. military base recently. I never heard President Obama once say he was outraged at the killings of U.S. military personnel by Afghan forces although I did hear him apologize big time to the Afghan and Muslim world for an accidental burning of mere pieces of paper. I also Hillary Clinton sounding as if she was totally gobstruck and aghast over the shootings of Afghan civilians but I sure do not remember her saying how terrible it was that our servicemen were being killed by our Afghan allies over said accidental book burning. It upsets me to know that the leader we put in charge of Afghanistan is an asshole about this latest situation but it absolutely galls me no end that our Secretary of State and our President are two of the biggest spineless apologists on the face of the earth. No matter what happens, if our people are the ones doing the killing or the ones getting killed, it seems our government's current administration is kissing Islamic ass over in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Sure, this shooting incident was a terrible thing, it truly was an outrage, it deserves to be given more attention than apologies and it is possibly inexcusable unless the guy is totally bonkers. It was reported on Fox TV News, earlier this evening, that the suspected shooter was reported to have had a traumatic brain injury from one of his 3 tours in Iraq but was found by military medical personnel to be fit for duty. Then he was sent to Afghanistan for his first tour there (but 4th tour in a combat zone altogether). Now, if the man was crazy, because of a brain injury, do you think that maybe his actions were possibly excusable on medical and psychiatric grounds? I think so but Karzai apparently does not agree and he is calling for a total U.S. pullout from Afghanistan immediately. His buddies, you know them as the Taliban (although President Obama used to pronounce it the Tally-Bahn) agree with him and are also calling for death to Americans. They are the terrorists responsible for shielding al-Qaeda and for enslaving the population of Afghanistan prior to us invading and saving the Afghans from them. They are the scum of the earth and of course they want us out of Afghanistan and want to retaliate against Americans around the world (or so I also heard that last reported on the evening news tonight). It simply amazes me how friggin hypocritical are these people who chop off heads of non-believers who oppose them and who stone rape victims to death if raped by devious and horrible perverted men. Of course, the men do not get punishment nearly as bad if punished at all.
You know, if I was Supreme Ruler, I would let them have what they want regarding our immediate pullout. Every U.S. troop would be out of there by the end of the month BUT every bit of U.S. Aide would disappear along with the troops. Let the Taliban have that sand trap back, let the people there get pillaged and plundered by the Taliban. Let's just leave it at that.
Let me get back to the shooting. If the U.S. soldier is found guilty, I think hanging would be too good for him. I don't give much of a rat's arse about the woman, funny how the Taliban is all concerned about women suddenly, but the guy killed young children. I heard one child was around 2 years old. About the only thing I could see that would excuse his behavior would be mental illness, severe mental illness. Something tells me though he will be found fit for trial, he will stand trial, will be found guilty and will go to jail for life. How else would the Obama Administration handle it, even if the suspect was crazy as a loon.
All the best,
Glenn B
What gets me about this whole incident is the response of politicians and their stooges; how so many are coming out an calling it such things as: heartbreaking (Obama), a calamity, terrible and awful (H. Clinton), an act of terrorism, a crime, inexcusable and unforgivable (reportedly the stooge who heads the Afghan government said that), an outrage and on and on. Yet, those same people were never once reported to have said the same things about the killings of U.S. Servicemen after the accidental burning of those bogus religious books at the U.S. military base recently. I never heard President Obama once say he was outraged at the killings of U.S. military personnel by Afghan forces although I did hear him apologize big time to the Afghan and Muslim world for an accidental burning of mere pieces of paper. I also Hillary Clinton sounding as if she was totally gobstruck and aghast over the shootings of Afghan civilians but I sure do not remember her saying how terrible it was that our servicemen were being killed by our Afghan allies over said accidental book burning. It upsets me to know that the leader we put in charge of Afghanistan is an asshole about this latest situation but it absolutely galls me no end that our Secretary of State and our President are two of the biggest spineless apologists on the face of the earth. No matter what happens, if our people are the ones doing the killing or the ones getting killed, it seems our government's current administration is kissing Islamic ass over in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Sure, this shooting incident was a terrible thing, it truly was an outrage, it deserves to be given more attention than apologies and it is possibly inexcusable unless the guy is totally bonkers. It was reported on Fox TV News, earlier this evening, that the suspected shooter was reported to have had a traumatic brain injury from one of his 3 tours in Iraq but was found by military medical personnel to be fit for duty. Then he was sent to Afghanistan for his first tour there (but 4th tour in a combat zone altogether). Now, if the man was crazy, because of a brain injury, do you think that maybe his actions were possibly excusable on medical and psychiatric grounds? I think so but Karzai apparently does not agree and he is calling for a total U.S. pullout from Afghanistan immediately. His buddies, you know them as the Taliban (although President Obama used to pronounce it the Tally-Bahn) agree with him and are also calling for death to Americans. They are the terrorists responsible for shielding al-Qaeda and for enslaving the population of Afghanistan prior to us invading and saving the Afghans from them. They are the scum of the earth and of course they want us out of Afghanistan and want to retaliate against Americans around the world (or so I also heard that last reported on the evening news tonight). It simply amazes me how friggin hypocritical are these people who chop off heads of non-believers who oppose them and who stone rape victims to death if raped by devious and horrible perverted men. Of course, the men do not get punishment nearly as bad if punished at all.
You know, if I was Supreme Ruler, I would let them have what they want regarding our immediate pullout. Every U.S. troop would be out of there by the end of the month BUT every bit of U.S. Aide would disappear along with the troops. Let the Taliban have that sand trap back, let the people there get pillaged and plundered by the Taliban. Let's just leave it at that.
Let me get back to the shooting. If the U.S. soldier is found guilty, I think hanging would be too good for him. I don't give much of a rat's arse about the woman, funny how the Taliban is all concerned about women suddenly, but the guy killed young children. I heard one child was around 2 years old. About the only thing I could see that would excuse his behavior would be mental illness, severe mental illness. Something tells me though he will be found fit for trial, he will stand trial, will be found guilty and will go to jail for life. How else would the Obama Administration handle it, even if the suspect was crazy as a loon.
All the best,
Glenn B
AK-47 Repair Update
On February 15, I dropped my Romanian WASR AK-47 off at an FFL dealer for transfer to Century Arms for examination and possible repair. The darned thing had been firing in semi-auto and in burst fire and or full auto. I hoped they would find the problem and repair it free of charge even though I bought it last Spring and only notified them of the problem last month. After calling them they said 'send it in through and FFL dealer licensee'. I called them about a week or so ago and they told me they had it and it would not be before about March 21 before they got it sent back to me. I had a nice surprise today when the FFL licensee, Volko Supply of Garden City Park, NY, called me to say they had received it back and I could pick it up. I picked it up from them this afternoon and have to give them a hat tip for being pleasant to deal with and for getting their part of the job, the FFL transfer and arranging shipping with UPS, done right and at a reasonable FFL transfer fee. Very nice people, I dealt mainly with Victor!
It seems that at Century Arms, they did some repairs to my AK and luckily the repairs were free of charge. I guess they handled it as a warranty repair. According to a sheet in the box with the AK, they changed the trigger, the sear and the gas piston too. What seemed significant to me about the things they changed, other than that the trigger and sear were probably causing it to go into burst and auto fire mode, was that they changed components from two very different areas of the rifle. In other words, it seems they did not go to only the most likely culprit as the cause of the malfunction (the trigger group), find a problem there, fix that and then assume all else was okay. They evidently checked out the rest of the rifle before sending it back and found what I am guessing was another unrelated problem and fixed it too. Thus, they checked the gas piston and replaced it for whatever reason. I do not think that if the trigger and sear were the problem that the gas piston also would have been involved in that same problem (but then again I am no gunschmid). When I think of it, I do not recall that there was anything that appeared wrong with the gas piston when I cleaned the AK awile back. If if there was something wrong - well, I am glad they apparently took the extra time and effort to check out the whole gun and repair or replace whatever needed fixing or replacement. That was a nice touch. After that, they test fired it by running 30 rounds through it. They also, according to the info sheet, cleaned it and polished it among other things.
I have not had the chance to take it to the range. That may be awhile but I am hoping to get the chance this weekend. I guess a range trip or three with it should indicate if the problem has been solved.
I am pretty impressed that it took less than a month for the total turnaround from the day I sent it out until picking it up today. In all that was the better part of 27 days total but only 18 days if you exclude weekends and the one holiday that fell in that time frame. Take off shipping time, at least a day or two each way, and that makes it either 14 or 16 days. That really is not too shabby considering that they thought they would only get it back to me around March 21st. If they got it fixed properly then I will definitely have to give the folks at Century Arms a call to thank them not only for fixing it but for getting it done pretty quickly too.
All he best,
Glenn B
It seems that at Century Arms, they did some repairs to my AK and luckily the repairs were free of charge. I guess they handled it as a warranty repair. According to a sheet in the box with the AK, they changed the trigger, the sear and the gas piston too. What seemed significant to me about the things they changed, other than that the trigger and sear were probably causing it to go into burst and auto fire mode, was that they changed components from two very different areas of the rifle. In other words, it seems they did not go to only the most likely culprit as the cause of the malfunction (the trigger group), find a problem there, fix that and then assume all else was okay. They evidently checked out the rest of the rifle before sending it back and found what I am guessing was another unrelated problem and fixed it too. Thus, they checked the gas piston and replaced it for whatever reason. I do not think that if the trigger and sear were the problem that the gas piston also would have been involved in that same problem (but then again I am no gunschmid). When I think of it, I do not recall that there was anything that appeared wrong with the gas piston when I cleaned the AK awile back. If if there was something wrong - well, I am glad they apparently took the extra time and effort to check out the whole gun and repair or replace whatever needed fixing or replacement. That was a nice touch. After that, they test fired it by running 30 rounds through it. They also, according to the info sheet, cleaned it and polished it among other things.
I have not had the chance to take it to the range. That may be awhile but I am hoping to get the chance this weekend. I guess a range trip or three with it should indicate if the problem has been solved.
I am pretty impressed that it took less than a month for the total turnaround from the day I sent it out until picking it up today. In all that was the better part of 27 days total but only 18 days if you exclude weekends and the one holiday that fell in that time frame. Take off shipping time, at least a day or two each way, and that makes it either 14 or 16 days. That really is not too shabby considering that they thought they would only get it back to me around March 21st. If they got it fixed properly then I will definitely have to give the folks at Century Arms a call to thank them not only for fixing it but for getting it done pretty quickly too.
All he best,
Glenn B
Don't Fuck With The Catholics
Read this: http://spectator.org/archives/2012/03/09/obama-the-apostate. I certainly could not say it any better. I, for one, hope the Catholic Church will cling to its guns and bibles, so to speak, over the issue of what is funded under health care insurance that they or their hospitals and other medical facilities must provide, to their employees, under U.S.law. Obama, the demoncrat, has me reconsidering whether or not I should become a practicing Catholic again and he certainly has me leaning in that direction. If nothing else, I will surely support their cause, and the cause of other religions, in this debate because I am sick and tired of the absolute disregard for the Constitution that this administration has shown and continues to show.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Semi-Annual Night of Temporal Confusion
I woke up this morning at about 7:30 depending on which clock you looked at. Darned Clocks - Some Have Gone All Screwy but waking up at 7:30 was not bad considering that I only got to bed about midnight last night. Actually got a fairly good night's sleep too. The day started okay for me until I looked at the clock on the FIOS box. It didn't have the same time as the one on the wall. Then checked upstairs. The FIOS set top box also said it was an hour later than indicated by the wall clock in the basement. The thing is, upstairs, the wall clock agreed with the FIOS set top boxes. I figured the wall clock in the basement either stopped or slowed down because of old batteries. Then I saw the clock on the radio in the kitchen. It said it was the same time as shown by the wall clock in the basement. Man - this was getting screwy. Then it hit me, last night must have been the semi-annual night of temporal confusion. It is indeed a confusing night, at least at closing time at bars, when a typical question, at least that one night each year is: "What do you mean we had to close an hour ago officer". Yep, last night was the semi-annual night of temporal confusion alright - the one when many of us wonder 'do we set the clocks back an hour or move em ahead'. Spring ahead - Fall back - simple as that! Getting used to it all is another thing, well for some anyway.
It really does not bother me all that much. Some docs and shrinks say it is terrible for our circadian rhythm. Not for me because I am not in a hurry because of it. When I worked, if I had to get up an hour earlier, so what. I just made sure to hit the sack an hour earlier the night before. Otherwise I just went to work late. That usually worked and worked well. With the seeming additional daylight hours we get each spring, I simply feel better during each stint of daylight savings time. It should be permanent as far as I am concerned. Getting light a bit later and staying light a bit later each day is great. The only thing that sucks about DST is that it ends in the Fall.
That Fall back night is the one that makes me feel miserable even though we supposedly get an extra hour to sleep. It is the one after which you start getting up in the morning with the sun up earlier but going down earlier too. It makes for a melancholy mood is all I can say, especially for folks who like to get up late but then wind up having their days cut short by lack of light. I bet that writers like Edgar A. Poe did some of their best work in the winter.
Me, I am going to enjoy the longer days. It will probably help to perk me up nicely, well that and the warmer weather that should be here soon.
All the best,
GB
It really does not bother me all that much. Some docs and shrinks say it is terrible for our circadian rhythm. Not for me because I am not in a hurry because of it. When I worked, if I had to get up an hour earlier, so what. I just made sure to hit the sack an hour earlier the night before. Otherwise I just went to work late. That usually worked and worked well. With the seeming additional daylight hours we get each spring, I simply feel better during each stint of daylight savings time. It should be permanent as far as I am concerned. Getting light a bit later and staying light a bit later each day is great. The only thing that sucks about DST is that it ends in the Fall.
That Fall back night is the one that makes me feel miserable even though we supposedly get an extra hour to sleep. It is the one after which you start getting up in the morning with the sun up earlier but going down earlier too. It makes for a melancholy mood is all I can say, especially for folks who like to get up late but then wind up having their days cut short by lack of light. I bet that writers like Edgar A. Poe did some of their best work in the winter.
Me, I am going to enjoy the longer days. It will probably help to perk me up nicely, well that and the warmer weather that should be here soon.
All the best,
GB
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Fox Networks Group - National Anti-Guns and Ammo Advertising Policy
My esteem of FOX Networks Group (as in the parent company of Fox News and Fox News Online) has plummeted. It used to be that Fox was my favorite source of the news, both online and on television, and that was a recently as about a half hour ago. That has now changed.
I just learned that Fox has an anti-firearms and ammunition advertising policy regarding its national networks. My source was this page at the National Shooting Sports Foundation website: http://www.nssfblog.com/fox-confirms-anti-gunhunting-policy/. The policy was plainly spelled out, in a letter to the NSSF, dated March 1, 2012, from Mr. Scott Grogin, Senior Vice President, Communications of the Fox Networks Group. You can read the letter here but if you do, make sure to read the whole letter as the first part of the last paragraph may make it seem as if Fox allows such advertising on their national networks. In fact, as spelled out in the letter, that policy prohibits such advetising on their national broadcast and cable networks.
To say that learning about that policy was a disappointment to me is an understatement to say the least. After learning about the policy, I sent off an email to Mr. Scott Grogin, expressing my displeasure with the policy. My letter is not likely to have an effect for the good unless it is also supported by thousands of letters from people who hold similar views as mine. That view, as I expressed it to Mr. Grogin, is that Fox's anti-firearms advertising policy amounts to main stream media bias and I cannot support a network like Fox by way of my continued preference of Fox as my go to source for online and television news media. If they receive enough similar letters, and they think they will lose enough viewers, you can bet they will change that policy. So, I am asking for my readers to write to Mr. Grogin expressing disappointment in that Fox policy. Mr. Grogin's email is: scott.grogin@fox.com, or you can also write to Fox at the address found on the NSSF webpage liked to above.
All the best,
Glenn B
I just learned that Fox has an anti-firearms and ammunition advertising policy regarding its national networks. My source was this page at the National Shooting Sports Foundation website: http://www.nssfblog.com/fox-confirms-anti-gunhunting-policy/. The policy was plainly spelled out, in a letter to the NSSF, dated March 1, 2012, from Mr. Scott Grogin, Senior Vice President, Communications of the Fox Networks Group. You can read the letter here but if you do, make sure to read the whole letter as the first part of the last paragraph may make it seem as if Fox allows such advertising on their national networks. In fact, as spelled out in the letter, that policy prohibits such advetising on their national broadcast and cable networks.
To say that learning about that policy was a disappointment to me is an understatement to say the least. After learning about the policy, I sent off an email to Mr. Scott Grogin, expressing my displeasure with the policy. My letter is not likely to have an effect for the good unless it is also supported by thousands of letters from people who hold similar views as mine. That view, as I expressed it to Mr. Grogin, is that Fox's anti-firearms advertising policy amounts to main stream media bias and I cannot support a network like Fox by way of my continued preference of Fox as my go to source for online and television news media. If they receive enough similar letters, and they think they will lose enough viewers, you can bet they will change that policy. So, I am asking for my readers to write to Mr. Grogin expressing disappointment in that Fox policy. Mr. Grogin's email is: scott.grogin@fox.com, or you can also write to Fox at the address found on the NSSF webpage liked to above.
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, March 9, 2012
TGIS - Yep Thank God It's Saturday!
What do you mean that it's Friday and not Saturday? Maybe in your world it is Friday today but in mine it is Saturday. As a matter of fact, every day from now on will be Saturday for me, such is life in retirement. For a while there, every day of my retirement was just another sick leave day but now, I can say without a doubt, every day being Saturday is going to be much more fun.
All the best,
GB
All the best,
GB
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Interesting Firearms Article
Here is a link to an article about firearms and crime. Pretty interesting stuff, well written piece and apparently well researched too.
All the best,
GB
All the best,
GB
RESOLVED - The Best Word In The English Language
There is not a better word in the whole of the English language as far as I am concerned, not even one that comes close to the word RESOLVED.
Resolved was the word my oncologist used today when he told me the results of my PET and CT Scans. It referred to the medical problem that I had, the cancer that was in my right tonsil and in the lymph nodes on the right side of my neck. Resolved = Cured, Resolved = Healthy, Resolved = CANCER FREE.
Perhaps, no not perhaps but rather most definitely, there are two words, when combined, that are better than the word resolved and that is in any language. Two words that have all the power in the world to say what I am feeling and need to say right now:
Thanks to each and every one of you who sent me well wishes, who said prayers for me, who thought of me a lot, or even just once, with the hope that I would recover. If not for all of you and others such as my friends, loved ones and especially my family - and, of course, for the doctors, technicians, nurses and countless others in the medical professions, I would not have pulled through this. I wanted to hug the doc today but figured neither him nor my wife, who was with me at the time, might have been comfortable with that. So, he had to settle for a hand shake and a heart felt thank you.
Let me get back to you guys though, my readers, because you were really wonderful. Some of you I have met, many others I have never met and am unlikely to ever meet; yet, you were pulling for me. You kept my spirits up when everything should have had them dragging through the mud and when I was being dragged down by the muck and the mire it was often a nice word from one of you that pulled me back up again. Resolved - to all of you I owe thanks that I made it through until today when I heard that word.
Thank you,
Glenn B
Resolved was the word my oncologist used today when he told me the results of my PET and CT Scans. It referred to the medical problem that I had, the cancer that was in my right tonsil and in the lymph nodes on the right side of my neck. Resolved = Cured, Resolved = Healthy, Resolved = CANCER FREE.
Perhaps, no not perhaps but rather most definitely, there are two words, when combined, that are better than the word resolved and that is in any language. Two words that have all the power in the world to say what I am feeling and need to say right now:
THANK YOU
Thanks to each and every one of you who sent me well wishes, who said prayers for me, who thought of me a lot, or even just once, with the hope that I would recover. If not for all of you and others such as my friends, loved ones and especially my family - and, of course, for the doctors, technicians, nurses and countless others in the medical professions, I would not have pulled through this. I wanted to hug the doc today but figured neither him nor my wife, who was with me at the time, might have been comfortable with that. So, he had to settle for a hand shake and a heart felt thank you.
Let me get back to you guys though, my readers, because you were really wonderful. Some of you I have met, many others I have never met and am unlikely to ever meet; yet, you were pulling for me. You kept my spirits up when everything should have had them dragging through the mud and when I was being dragged down by the muck and the mire it was often a nice word from one of you that pulled me back up again. Resolved - to all of you I owe thanks that I made it through until today when I heard that word.
Thank you,
Glenn B
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