Are There Any Legitimate Reasons To Stockpile Ammunition?

People who do not shoot often wonder why it is that people who do shoot often seem to have the habit of caching what is or seems like a very large amount of ammunition. Many unfamiliar with guns and ammo often jump to the conclusion, that if one has a large quantity of ammo, it is for nefarious purposes. That usually happens when their thought processes are ruled by emotion such as in the aftermath of a terrible shooting event. Even some people within the world of firearms sometimes wonder why other shooters stockpile ammunition when they instead have what amounts to few rounds ever at hand. These would likely be hunters who utilize firearms for hunting and not for any other purposes and who only hunt maybe one or two days per year. They have little need for ammunition except those related to hunting, like a possible annual trip to the range to assure the gun is sighted in before going afield to hunt. They fire a few rounds at the range and if lucky, fire one shot to kill a game animal while hunting; that is the total they shot in the span of a year. That type of firearms owner may have no need for more ammunition and sometimes cannot see why others do. Note that other hunters hunt much more frequently and also enjoy, and participate in, all of the other aspects of firearms use and ammunition storage I am about to mention and thus fully understand the need for possessing and storing a larger amount of ammunition.

 

Some people have tens or hundreds of rounds of ammunition in their ammo locker while others may have thousands and some tens to hundreds of thousands. What is it that could drive a person to buy and store so much ammunition to any legitimate and legal ends. Truth be told, whether you agree with them or not, there are quite a few valid reasons that shooting enthusiasts stockpile ammunition and none of them even hint at wrongdoing ever being an outcome.

 

While one may think that there is a correlation between the amount of guns owned and the quantity of ammunition one owns, equating to the more guns owned then the more ammo possessed, that is not always the case. Gun owners may own one or two guns or many guns, the amount of firearms does not necessarily calculate in to how many rounds of ammunition they have available to themselves at any given time, the amount of guns is more likely to calculate into them having different caliber ammunition because as the amount of guns one owns increases so too does the likelihood that said person has acquired firearms in different calibers.

 

Those ammo cans held ammo for a shoot
 in which my son and I participated just
this past summer. Total time shooting,
 maybe an hour and fifteen minutes to an
hour and a half. Total ammo expended,
1,300 to 1,700 rounds by only the two of us.

A more likely reason that one has a lot of ammunition is that one likes to shoot frequently. The shooter, who goes to the range often to train, to practice or for fun could easily shoot a few hundred to several hundred rounds within an hour or so. If that person goes to the firing range once per week or even just once per month, the amount of expended ammunition adds up quickly. For instance, if I were to go to the range as often as I liked, which for me ideally would be at least once per week, and if I shot the average amount of ammunition that I have shot at each of my recent range sessions, I would wind up shooting at least about 26,000 rounds of ammunition per year. Some people would shoot much more than that. So having ammunition on hand, ahead of time, is fairly common. Such shooters often have thousands of rounds of ammunition in their stocks at any given time. Some buy it as they go along assuring they always have more than enough. Others stockpile it, shoot most of it, then begin to replenish nearly depleted stores of it. Either way, there is nothing wrong with doing so.

 

Another reason that people who enjoy shooting or shoot to maintain a certain skill level often have large amounts of ammunition on hand is because they buy it as they can afford it and then store it for future use. Over the past few years, ammunition prices have gone up more than double, in some instances more than three to four times what it had been previously within recent memory. There are various reasons for the price increases: shortage of raw materials because of the two wars, higher fuel prices causing higher shipping for manufacturers and that being passed on to the consumer I higher en product prices, hoard buying because of ammunition and gun restriction fears fueled by the political situation, more and more people prepping for what they believe may be in store for us in the future such as food shortages, financial failure of our economy, violent civil unrest because of those other two factors and the like. Whether or not those fears will be founded, they have caused some to prep for the worst case scenario and that in part has led ammunition supplies to dwindle and caused prices to rise. Firearms enthusiasts who predicted those rising prices often bought and continue to buy ammunition well in advance of future price increases. Since the price of ammunition has kept rising, over the past few to several years, people have kept buying it as a hedge against the day when it may become cost prohibitive for them to obtain it and many have stockpiled some of it while also using some of it to maintain their skill levels or for their enjoyment of other legitimate shooting pursuits such as putting food on the table.

 

Maybe a six months' to a year's supply
of ammunition for totally law abiding
yet ardent shooter or a decent amount
 in storage for possible emergencies.

Yet another reason that people stockpile ammunition, and this one is regardless of price, is one I just mentioned above. They buy it and store it now so as to have it for emergency use in the future. While some people who store a large amount of ammo and give reasons for ammo hording as the impending Apocalypse as in the end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI), the end of the Mayan calendar, alien invasions from space or zombies rising from the dead all that is just fantasy and  kidding around. Well almost all of it, I am pretty sure some people believe the world is about to end and who knows. Yet, people who stockpile ammunition have many  concerns that in part or whole cause them hoard ammunition. Whether that emergency use be for defense of self and family and even neighbors against rioters, looters after a natural disaster, or if it is intended for use against an illegitimate tyrannical government, or if meant to make the person able to assist in the repelling of an invasion force in event of war on our soil – all those reasons are innocent and well intentioned even if you think them farfetched or not. Bear in mind that not many thought there would ever be tyrants the like Chavez, Castro, Pol Pot, Mao, Stalin or Hitler who would totally disregard their rights, eliminate their liberties, and crush their freedoms. At least 4 of the mentioned rulers each killed millions of people, if not tens of millions, all killed to gain and remain in power, and all were/are tyrants who severely restricted the right of the people in their countries to possess firearms and ammunition. Have you ever wondered why one of their top priorities was to arm government forces and disarm the civilian populace!

 

The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor
by Nathaniel Currier.

Another reason that people buy and hoard ammunition is because they believe there may soon come a day when, because of government interference, it will be either impossible to acquire or next to impossible to acquire. For example, many fear that ammunition will be taxed at such a high rate as to make it unobtainable for any but the extremely rich. Do you think that a farfetched idea. It was only a few years ago, when Senator Daniel P. Moynihan (DNY), with the full support of still current Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), suggested and pushed for a 10,000% tax on ammunition. Not 10% not 100% not 1000% but 10,000%. Imagine if that had passed into law, it would mean that a box on ammunition costing $30.00 today would cost $3,000.00 with that tax added to the cost.

 

Then there are also the attempts to outright ban certain types of ammunition such as hollow point bullets. Have you ever stopped, even for a few minutes, to give serious thought to why it is that many police departments, law enforcement agencies, politicians, and the military are against the use of hollow point bullets for civilian ammunition yet all use it for their own applications and when they use it, they use it against people who are usually citizens of, or possibly immigrants in, our country. (Yes, despite the Geneva convention there are military uses of HP ammo.) So, in other words, it is okay for them to use it with the possibility they may shoot one of us (accidentally or purposefully in the hail of bullets that is too frequently unleashed by authorities during their shootings) but it is not okay for us to use the same to defend ourselves. The military and law enforcement also use armor piercing ammunition. Yet again, they frown heavily on civilian use of that type of ammunition. Think about why it is okay for their own protection but not okay for your own protection. Then consider the assault weapons ban (now sunsetted federally but still in effect in New York state) and tell me: why is it okay for the government to possess those weapons and not for the general populace to do so. Is the government afraid of the people being armed suitably enough to be able to control the government – and remember they are our servants not we theirs’.

 

Bear in mind, while excuses to stock up on ammo, like conspiracy theories regarding possible government abuses of power and tyranny may seem like so much bunk to some, the threat is also plausible to many intelligent people. Give some long serious thought to: what I just mentioned about the government’s attempts to tax and ban ammunition, the assault weapons ban, high capacity magazine bans (both still in effect in NY) the recent purchases of huge amounts of ammunition by the federal government, its admitted planned spying on its own people by way of airborne drones and the recent laws passed giving the federal government the ability to arrest and indefinitely detain citizens without probable cause, the more recent policy on compiling and storing dossiers on U.S. citizens and legal resident aliens who never have been even hinted at being criminals let alone of being suspected of criminal activity, the continuation of the Patriot Act, the categorizing U.S. Military personnel as a potential terrorist threat, the abuses committed by the Transportation Security Agency, surveillance cameras being set up in virtually every public place imaginable. Then tell me, even if you do not believe it part of a plan to overthrow the Constitution and our current form of government, that it is difficult for you to see and understand, that even if not actually planned, the government has given itself the power to turn itself into an unbending and all powerful tyranny just as did the past tyrants I mentioned above. Is it really that farfetched to fear the same might be happening again and in that light is it reasonable to prepare for a revolution against tyranny. It may never come but if it dos would you be better prepared or unprepared. One can think back just a month and a half to tropical storm Sandy to see how the unprepared fared as to the well prepared. Were you foolish or nutty to have prepared for such a storm in NY well ahead of time; I think not. I remind you too, Winston Churchill was viewed as being a loony when he warned about Nazi Germany’s rise to power. He was proven more than correct but  look at the consequences that an unprepared Europe faced. Most had thought his predictions impossible and they ignored the threat and thus were unprepared to deal with it and suffered greatly. Thus another reason, whether you agree with it or not, that many people stockpile ammunition. 

 

One final reason to acquire a lot of ammunition is with the hopes of later being able to resell it for a profit or to be able to trade it for something of value. People collect all sorts of things with the hopes they will go up in value. Had I been able to purchase several thousands of rounds of certain types of ammunition about 7 to 8 years ago, I could be making a very nice profit on it today had I stored it for all those years.

 

As you can see, there are various honestly justifiable reasons as to why law abiding people store ammunition. While some of it may somehow wind up in the wrong hands and eventually be used criminally, just as anything can be misused, in the great majority of cases that ammunition is legally and reasonably possessed and will be, or is planned to be, used for totally appropriate purposes such as: hunting, defense of self and family, defense of property (where permissabe by law), as collectibles, to make a profit, to acquire and maintain shooting skills and even in defense of our Constitution and great nation.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Preventing Extreme Violence By Proper Adjustment To, And Use Of, Milder Forms Of It

I think one of the major problems in society, within the United States, is the almost absolute aversion to violence, of any kind, with regards to children. Sometime, probably about the mid 1970s to early 1980s, it seems that the educational system in the U.S. started to prevent all forms of violent behavior among school children. Look at most schools where many if not all forms of even potentially violent behaviors have been banned, including contact sports or sports in which a child might be injured such as dodge ball. Not long afterwards, police (in general) started to arrest children for truly minor infractions that involved violence at schools. I am not talking about violence that had ever been considered a crime before. I am talking about the violent acts that come with the natural aggression seen in pre-teens and teens that goes toward them establishing a pecking order among themselves. Children were arrested for acts as minor as pulling on another's clothing, a minor schoolyard fight between two children, and normal bullying.

 

This cessation of even minor violent behavior, pushing, slapping, bullying, sports, and the like, I believe, has led to children not having an outlet for the anger they experience as a normal part of their development - it does not prevent anger and probably does not truly prevent violent at a higher level. Most certainly, acts of extreme violence perpetrated by youthful offenders, has been on the increase over the years since any type of violent behavior by youths has been shunned and strictly eliminated in our schools and in our society in general. I hypothesize that this total attempt at elimination of violent behavior among youths has led us to a society in which we have a disproportionate number of children and young adults who do not know how to handle certain types of frustration and anger through at least one of the most effective means of deflating those emotions - mildly to moderately violent behavior. We also have a large number of children who when confronted with mild forms of violence such as shoving, minor fighting, taunting or bullying or even mandatory violent sports participation who do not know how to react to it and then ultimately inappropriately react and sometimes overreact.

 

I believe that anger and frustration then have no outlet, that they are internalized and are held within, without an outlet, over the years that the children are developing and thus lead to the child becoming an adult who does not know how to cope with frustrations and anger invoking life incidents as well as would a child who was allowed to act out with minor violence throughout development. Of course, there are other ways to out frustration and anger - talking about feelings for instance; however the communication skills of children are in development, just as are aggressive skills, and talking is often if not always not enough.

 

Thus, by the time many children have reached their mid-teens or passed on to young adulthood they are ill equipped to deal with their emotions and are also not able to interact with other people as well as had they been allowed mildly to moderate behavior, at times, during their development. In addition, the propensity of many children to play extremely violent games, where the only successful way to win the game is to utilize extreme violence may add to their inability to understand how to deal with their emotions and with social interactions that anger them. 

 

Thus, a youth who has never learned how to control anger and frustration through the utilization of minor violence may also be otherwise unable to cope, possibly due to minor mental disorder, drug use, buildup of family and or personal problems  may be more likely to reach a point where he or she inappropriately resorts to extreme violence to deal with their problems. Why extreme violence – because they have been repeatedly admonished if they have ever resorted to minor or moderate violence and have been prevented as much as possible from ever resorting to such and because they have seen examples of extreme violence being used as a problem solver with great success in video games, theatrical entertainment, and on the news (such as war coverage). Therefore, extreme violence is often the only violence that children and teens have been taught about as a tenable option to solve problems no matter how appropriate or inappropriate for any given situation. Had these young people been taught the proper and natural outlet for their angers and frustrations, by way of minor violence in some instances, it is unlikely that so many would resort to the only type of violence that they have ever witnessed as being successful – extreme violence.

 

You will not, I did not mention firearms as a problem above. I also did not mention automobiles, gasoline and matches or knives or clubs or any other thing that could be used by someone as a means toward violet behavior. Those things are not the problem, they are inanimate objects that are not dangerous in and of themselves. A loaded gun will not go off if left alone, if no one picks it up to fire it. An object that could be used as a weapon is not dangerous without someone to operate it. Millions of Americans own firearms and never have or will use them for inappropriate violent behavior or illegally. We would be better off addressing the real problem of why people resort to inappropriate use of extreme violence for problems that would have been so much easier to address if they were aware of and familiar with other means to solve them. Ban guns, sure you can do that and then a youngster could resort to using matches and gasoline, Molotov cocktails, poisonous substances (easy to obtain or create with things found in the supermarket) or even explosives (also pretty easy to make at home). 

 

In addition we need to address our mental health care system and reconsider allowing people who are mentally ill, who have the high potential to act out with extreme violence, to remain unfettered in our society. Maybe it is time to restrain them to protect society as had been past practice. 

 

Bear in mind, that behavior resulting in school shootings and other mass murders, within the United States were virtually unheard of up though the 1970s. Certainly there were some but not nearly as many as there have been  within the past two or three decades. It was only after the implementation of the anti-violence campaign, relative to children and teens, in our schools and society in general that it seems our youths began to resort to extreme acts of violence as a means to cope with their problems. Violence may have been said to beget violence but sometimes, I would hypotesize, appropriate use of milder and moderate levels of it almost surely is a way to adjust one to its appropriate use and thus prevent further inappropriate use of heightened forms of it.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Christmas Gifts For The Firearm's Enthusiast

Only 8 shopping days left before Christmas, starting tomorrow, and bear in mind that Christmas Eve is a short shopping day. Have you finished all of your shopping yet? If not, why not? Is it because you can't figure what to get for someone who is a gun guy or gal. I can help there with some suggestions all the way from A to Z and in virtually all price ranges from a few bucks up to the amount of a pretty nice annual income. Here are my recommendations for firearms related gifts, everything from stocking stuffers to super high end gifts to put under the tree: 

 

Ammo, case of (make sure you get an appropriate caliber)

Ammo by the box (make sure you get an appropriate caliber)

Books (The Standard Catalogue of Firearms  or The Blue Book of Gun Values or a reloading manual or a book about firearms' history)

Bore Light

Calendar Babes or Hunks with guns

Chronograph

Cleaning Solvent, for firearms

Dehumidifier (for the gun cabinet or safe)

Eyewear - Shooting Glasses

Flashlight, Weapons’

Gift Certificate, firearms related

Game Calls (deer, predators, turkey, duck)

Gun Care Tool Set

Gun Oil Breakfree CPL, bottle of

Hard Sided Rifle or Pistol Case

Holster (you may be better off buying a gift certificate with a holster maker if you are not sure of the correct size or the style preferred)

Instructional Video

Jewelry

Knife, folding

Laser Sight (the particular one in the link os for a rifle)

Magazine Pouch

Magazine, pistol

Magazine Subscription (Guns Magazine, Rifle Shooter, Trap Shooting USA, Gun Tests Magazine)

NRA Membership

Optics (Red Dot Sight, Spotting Scope, Rifle Scope, Binoculars)

Portable Gun Rest

Portable Gun Cleaning Kit

Preparedness Gear

Quiet (Hearing Protection)

Range Membership (check with your local ranges)

Reloading Kit

Sand Bag Rifle Rests, set of

Scope Rings (make sure they fit the scope and the rifle or pistol)

Silicone Gun Cloths

Shotgun Case

Shooting Jacket

Soft Rifle or Pistol Case

Tannerite ExplodingTargets

Targets (Bleeding Zombie, Bull’s Eye Targets, Metal Reactive, Shoot-N-C, etc…)

Trigger Locks

T-Shirt

Universal Gun Cleaning Kit

Virtual Firearms (Gun Club 2)

Vise, Gun (Tipton’s Best Gun Vise)

Watches (Remington , Smith & Wesson)

Women’s Shooting Apparel

Women’s Shooting Gift Box

X-tac

X-tra Special Gifts (All Expense paid: Hunting Trip, Firearms Training Trip, trip to firearms historical site like the NRA Museum)

Youth Rifle

Zealot, Guns for a (The Beretta Imperial Montecarlo $130,000.00)

 

I hope that helps make someone's Christmas a little merrier!

 

All the best,

Glenn B

 

Someone's Idea Of Their Dream AR-15?

It is certainly not mine. I might go for accessorising an AR by adding a flashlight or maybe a glass or red-dot optics but that would be about it. I am hoping that the pictured AR-15 was done up that way as an advertisement or a movie prop since I could never see anyone, except maybe Arnold Schwarzenegger, carrying one. Even then, Arnold would only carry one of those in a movie. 

Talk about overkill, I'd probably get a hernia just trying to pick it up let alone trying to hold it steady to get off a good shot. Chances are the bipod would snap, if you moved it back and forth a bit while sighting in, what with all the weight pressing down on it. Then again, it might snap my spine if I tried to walk a few miles while carrying it - or I'd at least sprain something anyway. Nor can I imagine trying to engage anyone in a firefight with that thing, I get too confused as to which sighting system to use. I guess when you've got a lot of money and a wild imagination something like that looks great. Thing is, I figure I be the one getting killed if I ever tried to engage a bad guy with it. Definitely not for me but to each his own I suppose!

All the best,
Glenn B

Brigade GunLeather M-1 Hoplon, The Holster I Want For My Remington R1 1911...

...but of course, as my luck would have it, the holster maker has suspended taking orders due to having too many orders already! The holster I want can be seen, along with many others they make, on this page for Brigade GunLeather:

http://www.brigadegunleather.com/gunholsters.html.

Now, I know it would be quicker to just give you the link to the particular holster I want, and I will do that in a moment, I am only linking to that page because it shows the 'no orders for now notice' at the top of the page.

Brigade GunLeather M-1 Hoplon

The holster I would like to get from them, once they start taking orders again, is the M-1 Hoplon. It would be the one in the photo and at this link: http://www.brigadegunleather.com/m-1hoplon.html.

I like almost everything about this holster and only have a slight reservation about the type of belt slot on the backside of the holster. I am used to a flat one not one that sticks out like that but it will do because this is the only holster I can find that meets all of my other criteria. It is similar to the Bianchi Askins' Avenger (I have one of those for my Beretta 92FS pistols) in design of: the holster body, open muzzle end, extra leather strip at front of holster mouth, and the location of its belt slots. It has the addition of a thumb break design which is a very big plus over the Bianchi Askins' Avenger. It also has a lower cut front than the Bianchi Askins' Avenger - neither a big plus or minus for me but it may wind up making my draw a bit faster from it than from the Askins' Avenger. I am debating getting it lined or unlined.

I have sent the company an email requesting that they put me on their list of customers in waiting. I am going to call them this coming week to see if they can give me an idea of when they expect to be taking orders again.

I have done a lot of searching on the Internet for the type of holster I wanted. I have a Don Hume holster (sorry I cannot recall the model and don't have it handy to check on it) for a Glock 19 (used to be one of my issued guns). It was of a very similar design and was the holster I wore for the most years while a federal agent. Like a Bianchi Askins' Avenger, the Don Hume rode pretty high, fit snug to the body, had the added leather around the front of the holster mouth, had an open muzzle end, and was a well made production holster. I liked that holster more than any other I have ever worn, even more than the Askins' Avenger (which I believe is of somewhat slightly higher quality overall) if only because the Don Hume holster had the addition of a the thumb break retention strap. I imagine that the Brigade GunLeather M-1 Hoplon, which as I said has the thumb snap retention strap, would be similar to and possibly exceed the Don Hume, if not also the Bianchi, in quality of workmanship and materials. I hope so since I will be ordering one if they can make it for the Remington R1 1911 (which they do not list but they do list the 1911 5" model and I believe the Remington R1 1911 fits that bill). I can only hope that the holster is as impressive in the flesh as it looks on their website. If I do get it and like it, I will ask if they can make it for the Beretta 92FS also and get one for them too if they say they will make it. Yes I have two of the Berettas but I will only get one of these holsters for the 1911 and one for one of the Berettas as I am not a Nelson Rockefeller or a Bill Gates in the finances department. The one for the 1911 will come first and foremost so I can start carrying that pistol, as soon as feasible, in excellent leather.

All the best
Glenn B

Is Evil Caused by The Devil

I believe in evil but in none of the figures that many believe allow it to take place. Evil was, has been, is and will be caused by human beings and not by imps, demons, the Devil, Satan, Lucifer or any other such excuses for humanity's failings. Mankind is the only force behind it, let's put the blame squarely where it belongs. If you want to bring religion into it, then I would blame God since he created evil (as the creator of all things) and allows it to continue and has allowed it to continue ever since the creation of mankind if not before with the creation of Lucifer. (I am sure others in other religions believe in other causes of evil than the devil but I use that one as an example because of my Catholic upbringing; to me they are all the same - just excuses for our actions.)

I believe that evil is caused by mankind and nothing else. I have never seen a devil, an imp, Satan, or anything like them sitting on any one's shoulder tempting anyone to to do bad or evil things and I have seen more than my share of evil people being evil and doing evil things. To say that the devil made someone do it is, to me, just the same as saying God made someone do it because God created and tolerates the devil or otherwise is helpless to overcome evil. I believe that evil is bred, born and nurtured by mankind within mankind with no help needed or ever given from outside forces and that evildoers should never be given an excuse for their evil acts by way of saying that, in essence, the devil made them do it. The responsibility and the causes of evil are all squarely on the shoulders of the evil doers because they have chosen to do evil. Mankind needs no outside forces to do evil and we need to admit that if we ever truly want to get a handle on it.

All the best,
Glenn B

Disbelief, Shock, Acceptance It Happened, Saddness, Despair, Anger, Helplessness, Confusion, Fear, Fury

Those are some of the things I have felt today, I suppose that all of us have felt today over the senseless act of evil that took the lives of 28 in CT today. I am not a religious man, spiritual but not really religious at all. Yet, today, I prayed. I will probably do likewise tomorrow. There is just no way around doing it in an instance like today's because today evil reared its ugly head and did the unthinkable.

Someone, on Facebook, commented that the pro-gun crowd is remaining silent today and he got a few anti-gun comments jabbing at pro-gun folks and that sickened me. Not because I am pro-gun but because this moment is not the right time to be smug about your side of the issue. As you know, I sometimes address senseless shootings and gun issues on the same day as a shooting, in fact I did so right after the Oregon mall shooting. However, I will not address the gun issue today, not more than to say that now is not the time for it if not for any reason but the fact that the dead children have not even been identified yet; tomorrow is another day or the day after that but today is not the day to keep up the argument. I have to respect those children and their memories and their parents rather than get in some gun rights argument with the antis. I find I can only stop to pray and wish, for the victims relatives, that wellness and healing will come to them eventually.

It probably would be better that all of us do likewise - forget the argument for now and just keep all of the shooting victims from the school, both the adults and the children, and the victim at the shooter's home - his own mother, and all of the victims' families and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers. Don't forget the survivors at the school and the first responders who rushed to that carnage because they too are victims of the evil that took place today. That is what I am going to do tonight, I am going to keep them all in my thoughts, well wishes and prayers.

All the best,
Glenn B

Fast Becoming My Favorite Christmas Song

Sort of like Christmas around our house, not every year but every few years.




Hat tip to Mike McC for this one.

All the best,
Glenn B

Another Time Honored Tradition Destroyed By Personal Pride?

Once again, someone in the name of tolerance of his own beliefs, over and above the tolerance of the beliefs and traditions of others, has put an end, forever, to a time honored tradition. Jatenderpal Singh Bhullar reportedly is a Sikh and also a Scots Guardsman. What he did was decided to wear his turban (and his beard) instead of the traditional headgear of the Scots Guards - the bearskin - while on duty outside of Buckingham Palace in once merry olde England. So 180 years of tradition has been destroyed by a single individual who apparently because of personal feelings decided to strike out against tradition. Why do I say "...apparently because of personal feelings...", I will let the reported words of Mr. Singh Bhullar speak for themselves and for his motive for his bringing down a great tradition of the country he supposedly serves:
 
"Conducting public duties while being a practising Sikh and wearing my turban is a great honour for me.
 
I am very proud to be a member of the Household Division and to be the first Sikh Guardsman to mount guard in a turban will be the best thing in my life, especially as a member of the Scots Guards.

The regiment is full of history, as is my religion."
 
Did you see - it is an honor for him to wear his turban, and I am very proud, and it will be the best thing in my life, and the regiment as opposed to my religion - it evidently is all or mostly about him. He even went so far as to call himself a Sikh Guardsman. Unless I am mistaken, he is not a Sikh Guardsman; as far as I can determine, he is a Sikh who is a Scots Guardsman and one who put being a Sikh before being a guardsman. I am not saying he should not practice his religion. I am saying that he chose to serve England in the Scots Guard and in so choosing, I think, he should, while on duty, honor their traditions as have all other Sikhs, who were also Scots Guardsmen, by wearing the bearskin and not a turban. Instead, he seemingly has put his pride in his religion, culture and self, above his service, duty and honoring the traditions of the country in whose military he serves. It makes me wonder just how he would react if the country he now serves ever went to war with the homeland of his ancestors and birthplace of his religion. 

Of course, that is all just my own opinion, and everybody has one, so what do you think?

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9737480/Sikh-soldier-first-guardsman-to-parade-outside-Buckingham-palace-wearing-turban.html 

All the best,
Glenn B

I Don't Want To Read To Much Into It...

...but it seems as if I have been selected, out of a group of about 150 candidates, to write for another gun blog. I will let you know more about it if actually got that right. As of right now, I am 99% certain I have been slected but want to wait until 100% sure before giving the details.

What will be very nice about that is it seems I will only have to write a piece for that blog once per month and I will have the opportunity to do reviews of guns, ammo and accessories. I think I could come to truly enjoy a gig like that.

All the best,
Glenn B

Countdown To December 21st - Will It Be An Alien Invasion

Some folks seem to be thinking so in light of recent claims of unidentified flying objects reportedly seen over both Brooklyn in New York Shitty and over the Mission District of San Fransicko.

The Day The Earth Stood Still - 1951
Gort gets the message - "Klaatu barada nikto"
and subsequently spares the Earth!

If it comes down to an invasion from outer space, then BBQ'd alien iguana sounds pretty good for Christmas dinner! If it is a friendly visit then make nice and invite them over for dinner but remember - trust no one - especially illegal aliens and that includes Mexicans as well as Venutians or Plutonians.





Shoot em in the eye. No, not that thing on
the end of the stalk.The aliens were inside,
that thing is their ship's viewer and also
the ships dastardly death ray shooter.

Whatever, if it happens it happens. I could see myself doing a lot of praying like the preacher man here but only to the gods war with a Mosin Nagant my hands. I see a 7.62x54R doing the trick on either one of these alien terrors or on whatever else they throw at us. I think we are ready, even for an alien invasion from space, at our house. Are you ready?

All the best,
Glenn B

I CONFESS...

...I did it.

Not my wife, kids, friends, the police, the feds, military personnel nor CIA spooks could get more out of me. That is all.

All the best,
Glenn B

Besides Wishing The Living Victim A Speedy Recovery...

...one can hope a few things with regard to the shootings at the mall in Oregon. First that the relatives and loved ones of all of the victims find peace. Second, that something like this does not happen again soon. Third, and this would be music to my ears played on the harps of the strong, that the police come to discover it is not a 5.56x45mm or .223 round that killed the bad guy. In other words, I would be ecstatic to learn that the bullet that took the bad guy down was fired from a handgun, by a person as yet, and who will remain, unknown - who quietly left the scene after putting down the bad guy shooter  / apparent psycho.

All the best,
Glenn B

Happy Hanukkah

Yes, I am tardy with this one but truly it is better late than never.

I hope all of you who celebrate Hanukkah have a joyous one.

All the best,
GB

There Are The 4 Rules of Firearms Safety And Then There Are The Other Rules...

...of firearms safety that need to be adhered to just as much as the 4 rules. One of those rules is something I mentioned in a blog post I wrote a few days ago about a man who reportedly shot his son. The man reportedly had tried to climb into his truck and put a handgun into the truck's center console at the same time and the gun discharged killing his son who was in the passenger seat. I mentioned in my blog post the rule hunters are taught in hunter safety courses, in essence about not trying to do things that require both hands while holding a gun. They are told never to climb a fence with a loaded gun and not to try to climb into a treestand with a loaded gun but instead to unload the gun completely and then either lean it on or near the fence so you can reach it after you climb to the other side or tie it to a cord to pull it up into the tree stand after you have first ascended. In both cases it is important to unload it first. That could be similar to placing an unloaded pistol into your pocket or waistband or holster before climbing into your truck and once in then putting it into the center console if that was where you were going to put it (not a good place to put a gun in my  opinion).

Well, it has only been  few days at most since I reminded folks of that and last night a friend sent me an email about a hunter in upstate NY. Seems he climbed up into his treestand and then pulled his rifle up after him, kind of like he was supposed to do but not quite right. Apparently he forgot to unload it before doing that. According to the news report, he shot himself in the foot while trying to get his rifle up into the treestand. See:

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121205/NEWS/121209856

To add insult to injury, the NY State Police and DEC are now investigating to see if they are going to charge him criminally. I would think the hole in his foot enough punishment in a case like this.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Ammo Gods And Spirits of Christmas (Past, Present and Future) Have Smiled Upon Me

Sometimes I Have Good Timing For Ammo Purchases. I recently bought 5 boxes, 250 rounds, of Federal .45 Auto, Hi-Shok, JHP, 230 gr. ammo from Sportsmansguide.com. The price was pretty good at $129.19 plus shipping but the deal was not done there - it got better. The day I decided to order, they offered a special coupon code on orders of $100 or more for which you could deduct another $15.00 from the price plus you would receive a $15 gift card for Sportsmansguide in the mail. The coupon is good in addition to any coupon codes or other savings specials. So that brought the order down to $114.19 plus shipping and remember I would still get that gift card too. When I went to check-out, a pop-up reminded me that my Sportsmansguide Club membership would expire this coming February. I figured that was not all that far away but still decided to skip renewing my membership even though they offered a few bucks additional off of my then current order and also promised two $10 off coupons. Their dollars off coupons are no big deal, they are almost always available but I suppose they would have been good to have in the event that Sportsmansguide was not offering any discounts at any time in the future when I may have been placing an order. As I said though, I opted not to renew.

I was a bit surprised when another pop-up came up, as soon as I opted out of renewing, this one at first looking like an exact duplicate of the first . Paying attention pays off though as the second pop-up was markedly different from the first. It doubled the additional dollars off my order that the first pop-up had offered if I renewed my membership immediately and it also offered free shipping on that order! So now I would get my regular member discount of 5% on ammo (the non-mmember price was $135.99 not the $129.19 I quoted above which was my orice due to my membership), that discount would be doubled to $13.60 if I decided to renew my membership, I would get the $15 off for the coupon, and would also get free shipping if I renewed. They had expertly baited the hook.

I bit, was hooked, and they reeled me in with that offer. I added the club membership renewal at $29.99 to my order. It is something I would have paid for anyway. It gives 5% off of ammo orders and 10% off of almost everything else ordered from them I just wound up paying for my renewal earlier than I had expected. Even had they not doubled my regular discount, I figured, since it gave me free shipping on my then current order, it was well worth doing right then and there. So the renewal saved me another $6.80 off of the actual merchandise total bringing it to $107.39. Shipping would have added another $15.99 but the renewal took care of that too. Had I paid shipping, it would have brought the merchandise total to $123.38 which still would have been a very good price for 250 rounds of that ammo shipped. Instead, the total for the actual ammo order though remained at $107.39 and that is a very good price for the ammo in question. Granted they added $29.99 to the order for my renewed club membership but as I said I would have paid that anyway, it was just a matter of timing. 

By the way, speaking of timing, I placed that order on the 4th and received it on the 7th - wow! While I have had some few problems with a few past orders, the folks at Sportsmansguide seem to have gotten their acts together and are doing better with ammo shipping. Instead of receiving 5 boxes of this ammo, loosely packed in a larger shipping carton with a bit of paper wadding added to the mix, they actually wrapped the five boxes in plastic and taped it nicely secure, they placed that in the shipping carton with the wadding and a good deal of it. It arrived in excellent condition ad sooner than past orders.

I only was a bit disappointed that the ammo order did not include my promised $15 gift card but really I should not have been disappointed at all since I knew better than to expect receiving the card along with the order. They ship the gift cards separately on those types of promotions. Yet, knowing that was to be the case was what disappointed me. You see, Sportsmansguide sent me an email the day I received the order. The email said that they were offering free shipping on orders of any amount. That is a good offer.  I wished that I had my $15 gift card to take advantage of the free shipping offer. Well, low and behold, the Christmas season must hold some small bit of wonder in it for me. The gift card arrived in the mail today and the free shipping offer does not expire until 11:59 PM tonight (if it is still December 10, 2012 when you read this you till have time). So, as soon as I opened the envelope with the gift card in it, I went to Sportsmansguide.com and ordered some more ammo. This time I ordered a brick (500 rounds) of Federal American Eagle .22LR, 40 grain, solid point, ammunition. The price I paid could not be beat, not even with a wet noodle.

The price of the 500 rounds was $19.94 and shipping would have been $8.99, which would have made the total $28.93. That is about what I would expect to pay for that ammo at a gun show (plus gas, toll, admission fee money related to the gun show). My total came out to came out to a bit less than that at a whopping $4.94 for the brick of ammo. I wish I could get a box of it every day at that price. Even one per week would be splendid. But that is probably not going to happen again anytime soon. It just seems like the ammo gods and the spirits of Christmas (past, present and Future) all smiled down on me for this one. Imagine that, .22LR rounds at a cost of .00988 cents apiece - wow not even a penny per round!

I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that it is right before the end of the Mayan calendar! Whatever. 

Al in all, the deals you can get, if you pay attention and then are lucky enough to have the timing work out just right, are pretty darned good especially at this time of year. Surprisingly enough that included deals on ammunition this time round.

All the best,
Glenn B

Father Reporedtly Shoots Son - I Cannot Imagine The Grief I Would Feel...

...had that father been me and had that child been my son or my daughter. The father will have to live with the outcome of his seeming negligence for the rest of his life, without his son, because the boy died. It appalls me to think that people are that careless with firearms. He seemingly broke so many firearms safety rules, in order to have done so, that to me, it is almost unimaginable he had any idea of how to safely handle a gun.

The dad reportedly went to a firearms store in Pennsylvania to try to sell a handgun and a rifle there. The store did not buy the guns and the dad put the rifle back into his truck and was reportedly trying to put the handgun into the center console of the vehicle when it discharged, the bullet striking his 7 year old son, killing him.

So what went wrong? First of all, he brought a loaded gun to a store to sell it or loaded it while in the store. You do, or should, not bring loaded guns anywhere to sell them. If you know anything about firearms and firearms safety you would realize that would not be a good idea from a safety standpoint because it is sure that if someone is going to buy it, or just show an interest in it, they are going to want to handle it and there would be a chance they might handle it unsafely and discharge it (which is apparently exactly what happened, not caused by a potential buyer but the seller himself). Then there is the thing they teach about in hunter safety courses about not climbing over fences or up into tree stands with loaded guns while hunting. You know, the one in which they tell you to unload the gun first, lay it next to the fence so you can reach for it later, climb over the fence, then pull the gun over or under it and only then reload it to continue your hunt. What does that have to do with a dad accidentally shooting his son while the son is in their vehicle. Well, the dad was reportedly climbing into the vehicle and trying to put the gun into the center console at the same time from how it sounds.

"Loughrey put the boy in the passenger seat and loaded the rifle into the truck, state police said. He was attempting to get inside and reached to put the handgun in the center storage console when it fired, they said."

Why he did not place the gun into his belt or into a holster or have it secured in a gun case is beyond me. Why he decided to try to do those two things at once, climb into the truck while also trying to put the gun into the console is also beyond me. Doing more than one thing at one time, especially ones that probably each require use of both of your hands, while holding a firearm, can be disastrous. Trying to jockey your arse into position in your truck while also trying to place your handgun into the truck's console is just asking for trouble and that was the result in this case and sadly that result was fatal.

Of course, there are the more basic rules of firearms safety that were violated. The gun evidently was not treated as if it were loaded. I say that because the father reportedly made a statement to police saying he thought it had been unloaded. "Investigators said Loughrey told them he didn't realize there was a bullet still in the chamber.". The gun evidently also was pointed at something that was not an intended target - that ultimately wound up being his own son (either shot directly or by way of ricochet) and it only had to be pointed that way for a moment. It would also seem that either the father's finger or something else activated the trigger. Let's face it folks, you should never allow anything to press on the trigger unless you are about to shoot the gun or about to activate the trigger for other things such as disassembly of the gun when such is required with certain types of guns or for dry firing and in those instances it had best be pointed in a very safe direction.

I will also point out, that if you are transporting a firearm for sale or show or to simply move it from one place to another (while not actually using it as in carrying in a holster, or while shooting at a range, or walking afield with a gun to hunt or things like that) then the gun should be secured in a gun case and maybe even have a trigger lock on it (especially in the presence of young children if you might be otherwise distracted from the gun and maybe the child can get at it). Putting it into the center console of a vehicle, with your child sitting next to you, is a pretty poor place to put it in my opinion. While the vehicle is moving, the gun could wind up bouncing around in there, pointing this way and that, and almost anything else in the console would have the potential to become a trigger finger that could wind up setting the gun off if loaded. Bear in mind too that a center console is probably within reach of a child sitting next to you. It takes only that very brief moment for a child to open a console and grab the contents. If you think it would not happen with you and your kid then think about how distracting traffic can be. While a parent is distracted by driving, a child can do almost anything for at least a moment or two. When you are armed or otherwise dealing with firearms, you have to be paying attention at virtually every moment.

I am not telling you all of this to bad mouth the dad. I am sure he has already suffered more than imaginable and still has the rest of his life of suffering to go through without me hammering him. So then, why am I writing about it so soon after it happened. Because the precise moment in which it could happen again, to someone else's kid, to your kid or to another loved one, could come at any moment. I am telling you this to make sure you avoid these types of mistakes and avoid unsafe handling and transportation of firearms that could have similar results for you for others in this moment or the next. Sure, we can all make mistakes and have accidents but if just one or two things had gone right at that all decisive moment, when the boy was shot, instead of so many ostensibly getting done wrong, maybe that young boy would still be alive. So, let's try to prevent another one like this happening any time soon.

My heart felt condolences go out to the family, they are in my thoughts and prayers as is their child.

All the best,
Glenn B

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/officials-boy-shot-death-pa-gun-store-17913498

SPAM - 75 Years Old, 1937-2012

I went to the city (NYC's Manhattan) with a friend of mine yesterday. We decided to get lunch (late breakfast for me) in Chinatown, visit Obscura Oddities (they were closed due to filming, now making it 2 out of 3 times this happened when we stopped by there), check out some thrift shops and to stop by the Hungarian Pastry Shop (uptown and across the street from the largest cathedral in the world) to over indulge the taste buds.

While in Chinatown, my buddy, Pete said he needed some white pepper and wanted to buy some in a market there. I brought him to a place with which I was familiar, kind of a Chinese mini supermarket. While there he picked up a few things and so did I. As we left, I said, that while we had been walking to that store, we had passed another market I wanted to check on. We stopped in that other one, which had most of the same stuff as the first with a notable exception. They had an area of the shelves, about 3 feet wide and two or three shelves high, dedicated to SPAM. They had regular Spam and, much to the amazement of my uninformed self, they also had Spam Bacon, Spam with Cheese, Spam Black Pepper, Spam Hickory Smoked, Spam Jalapeno and most importantly they had cans marked for Spam's 75th Anniversary! I had no clue about those other available varieties of Spam, except  for low sodium Spam. I had even less of a clue that this year marked the 75th anniversary of this iconic this all American delicacy, this wondermeat in a can.

Me being me, that being in part a Spam lover, I was tempted to buy at least one of each variety that they had in stock, especially since I have never tasted any but the regular Spam and the lower sodium Spam. Yet, the only one I bought was the one marking the 75th anniversary; it just seemed too good to pass up. and I figured I could get the others any time. In all, it turns out they offer 14 different Spam products. See the complete lineup here. I am going to have to try all of the different flavors. That could make for an excellent bit of outdoor grilling over the winter and maybe a blog or three about the different ones I will have tried by the time I have tried them. Oh joy, yet another excuse not only to eat Spam but also an excuse to try a different beer or two, with each variety of Spam. And now, for your viewing pleasure, the: Monty Python's Flying Circus Spam skit.



Now, I just have to wonder one thing - how in Hades did I miss this from the beginning of 2012 all the way until yesterday, December 7th, when I finally saw my first can of 75th Anniversary Spam - and how in Hell did I miss all those different varieties for who knows how long! So much for buying a case of Spam every couple of or few months at Costco (they only have the regular and/or lower sodium types). Perhaps I should get out more often and wider afield than just Costco to do my Spam shopping.

All the best,
Glenn B

Carrying One Of The Beretta 92FS Pistols Again...

...since I just recently sent my Glock 26 slide into Glock to change the sights. Some months ago, I had the Trijicon night sights changed because the front sight had dimmed considerably. I asked for replacement with standard Glock sights, thinking that meant the steel sights that were standard Glock when I bought that pistol a few years back. They replaced the night sights, under warranty, with polymer (plastic) crap. I only got around to sending it back in for steel sights. It was not my fault that the night sights went bad so a warranty repair was to be expected but not with crappy polymer (plastic sights since they were replacing high end Trijicon night sights; that they did not replace them with steel sighs was ludicrous. Nor was it my fault that Glock downgraded from having standard steel sights to, what are in my opinion, polymer pieces of crap - yet they are charging me for the latest change to steel. I think that is not very good customer service but I suppose it is a sign of the times.

So, for now, while the Glock 26 slide is away, I have changed over to carrying one of my three Beretta 92 series pistols, which is also one of two Beretta 92FS pistols, I own. What a change from the smaller Glock 26 pistol to the larger Beretta 92FS. Not only is it bigger and weighs more, it is also a double-single action pistol as opposed to double action only as is the Glock. In addition, it has the exposed hammer, a manual hammer drop/safety, much larger grips, and a longer sight radius. Besides that, nothing is made from polymer (although the grips are plastic). I like the change.

All the best,
Glenn B

Dear Santa - The Best Gift of All

From Last year but still excellent.

All the best,
GB

Christmas Humor - Pardon Me Lord, No Disrespect Meant

First Christmas Joke

 

An Englishman, Scotsman and an Irishman died on Christmas Eve and were met by Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates.
                              
"In honor of this holy season" Saint Peter said, "You must each possess something that symbolizes Christmas to get into heaven".

The Englishman fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a lighter. He flicked it on. "It's like a candle", he said.

"You may pass through the pearly gates" Saint Peter said.

The Scotsman reached into his pockets, searched around and after some long moments finally pulled out a set of keys. He shook them and said, "They're like bells".

Saint Peter said "You may pass through the pearly gates".

The Irishman started searching desperately through his pockets. He was at it for minutes going through each of his several pockets at least two or three times. He began to sweat and looked worried. Then he suddenly pulled out his hands and threw them up to the air, clasped them together as if to say a prayer and fell to his knees about to plead for admission into heaven. At that same moment, a pair of woman's panties fell from his pocket to Heaven's floor.

St. Peter looked down, bent over and picked them up, unruffled them and holding them out in front of the Irishman, with a raised eyebrow, he asked: 'And just what are these supposed to symbolize?'

The paddy replied, "Oh those, those are Carol's".

Of course, the Pearly Gates opened once again.

And So The Christmas Season Begins......

Hat tip and a very Merry Christmas to Perry K for that one.

All the best,

Glenn B

Ammo Purchases As The End of the Mayan Calendar Draws Nearer....

...and so too the end of the world but my bet is that while they are both drawing closer they will still be separated by eons if not longer. Of course, i could be wrong. The end of Mayan figuring as to what day tomorrow will be could actually signify the end of the world as we know it. Who know, maybe we will wake up on December 21st, the last day on their calendar, to find that zombies are eating our neighbors or that God has descended from heaven to raise the dead and select the chosen to accompany him to heaven and leave the rest here to suffer untold tortures, or maybe an asteroid will collide with our planet causing a 5 year winter or maybe WW III will commence with nuclear bombardment or maybe aliens, from outer space, will try to conquer or destroy us.

To me, it would mostly be just another day. I am ready for all of them except maybe God calling in all bets and even if that happens I am fighting back if I get the chance. Seriously though, if I worried about all those possibilities enough, I would be ready for any of them. Maybe that is why I have emergency supplies on hand and then again maybe those supplies are just for natural disasters like the recent big storms that hit NY and other nearby states.  The thing is though, if there is even a remote possibility that TEOTWAWKI is upon us, it sure would not hurt to those supplies just in case. Along those lines, I just ordered 250 rounds of .45 Auto ammo since one never knows when one might need it.

Anyone else out there find the end of the Mayan Calendar a good excuse to buy guns and/or ammo?

All the best,
Glenn  B

Is It Ever A Good Bet To Procrastinate On Registering Your Car

You can safely bet that if you wait too long to register your car, the police are going to pull you over sooner or later for expired license plates. Chances are that you will also be getting a ticket for the expired plates. I don't think they have determined yet if they will give Shawn Bloemer a ticket for his expired plates though because when the police in Louisville, KY pulled over his car, because of the expired registration, they got a big surprise. They heard banging noises and cries for help coming from the trunk. Seems that Bloemer had been the victim of foul play and was allegedly bound and put into the trunk by three assailants who then stole his car, the one with expired tags.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sometimes it seems it is just in your best interest to procrastinate!

Source:
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/04/15648960-on-routine-traffic-stop-cops-find-man-bound-in-trunk

All the best,
Glenn B