Random Nuclear Strikes

And it’s not even February yet!

A few years back, I bought a Ruger 22/45 that could double as a plinker for me and also for the wife to use when she joined me at the range. At first, it was not uncommon to find up both making empty brass cases from loaded ammunition on a regular basis. But in the past couple years, the frequency has done a 180. I took it that with her working a schedule even more late night than mine, getting to the range while they were open had become too much of a bear for her to wrestle.

I bought the 22/45 because the wife has itty-bitty hands and it fit her pretty well and I would just compensate for the small grip by closely minding where my finger was positioned on the trigger and wrapping my pinky finger below the grip.

Then I started shooting the pins with Mr. Completely. The gun, while one of the ‘Target’ models, was wholly unsuited for me to compete with and I sat out the last few matches of last season and pondered my options.

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One year ago last Friday, Washington State Senate Bill 5343 was introduced into the state Senate and referred to the judiciary for a review of the legalese. Five days later, there was a public hearing on the Regulating the Sale of Firearms at Gun Shows and Events Bill. It was met with moderate force from firearms rights groups and that was that.

It was re-introduced again two weeks ago and there is a tentative public hearing in committee scheduled for tomorrow (and I stress the term “tentative” as the people at the capitol like to switch the dates and times for items, like this one, that will be fought against by professional lobbying groups in the hopes of wearing those groups down. Forget trying to hold a job and attend, your supervisor will kick your ass after the fifth time you schedule a day off and then call in mid-morning saying that you’ll be in because the hearing was cancelled).

The Bill focuses on the requirement that no one may sell a firearm at a gunshow or ‘event’ without having an FFL and that no one may buy a firearm without an FFL or going through the federal NICS background check and then another one done by the Washington State Patrol, who would be stationed at the event.

Yes, you can probably now see where this is going: No Trooper available to run the WSP desk, no gun sales may take place.

SB 5343 is sponsored by legislative members who follow the anti-firearm scare mongers ‘Ceasefire Washington’ (who will receive no link from me) that talk the standard BS lines about how gang-bangers and other dirtbags love to attend gunshows so that they can get the firearms they need to go on crime sprees.

They never talk about how the different show organizing groups in the state require membership to purchase or sell at their shows and that said memberships require background checks (except for one group with a twice annual show). Nor do they talk about the already large number of FFL holders who sell at these shows and are already required to put purchasers through background checks.

If the pro-firearms groups can keep up with the changing hearing schedule, it is my hope that they will once again sqush this bill like the slug it is.

I’ll be meeting up with Mr. Completely this morning for breakfast and probably some shooting. In the meantime…. 

I went to the range yesterday and put in a couple hours of pistoleering. I also met KVI’s Bryan Suits. Great guy, just as he is on the radio. If you non-western Washingtonians want to listen to one of the best radio broadcasts done by a guy who knows his shiznit about Iraq, Iran and the ‘stan, read the mini bio in the above link and then listen here weekdays between 1800 to 2100 Pacific time (1700 to 2100 after Jan. 31st).

I mean, how much better a radio host can you ask for than one who does his live spots from a pistol range!?

Unfortunately for me, they did this thing during my normal sleeping time, so I don’t know how well I described Boomershoot. But I gave him a copy of the spot done by a local TV station and gave him the Boomershoot web addy.

Although I didn’t hear about it until I was done shooting, I guess there was an ‘Outshoot Bryan for a prize’ contest (that he really didn’t try to make too much of a contest). I decided to be lazy and not go back out to my truck to get one of my targets, even though I was shooting halfway decently yesterday.

CZ83 / 20rds / 25ft  Click for bigger

Yeah, I may have limpwristed that lower left one, but that little duck didn’t stand a chance.

I also got the info I needed for the transfer of the gun I bought while the site was down (that I’ll post on tomorrow). $35 isn’t the best transfer price, but we’ll see how the shop works.

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Switching up, yesterday Mr. Completely posted the anti-Alito video put out by the anti-freedom of choice Violence Policy Center that talks about him saying that Congress didn’t have the authority to ban fully automatic firearms.

First off, any guy who’ll respect my right to responsibly own any firearm I choose gets my support.

Secondly, I am, once again, insulted that the VPC compares private ownership of fully automatic firearms to the Prohibition Era Mobsters and to the guys who robbed a North Hollywood bank in 1997 with illegally modified rifles.

They want the government to “protect” Americans from an inanimate object by denying Americans the ability to procure firearms that will match the force a criminal, willing to thumb his/her nose at the current law, can attack with.

Thanks, but no thanks, VPC.

What with me not being able to post and all that free time with an available internet, I did what any normal fella who blogs about guns would do: I bought a gun over the internet.

More on that on Monday after I get a shipping confirmation.

I seem to have an overflowing page of links, and since I’m going to the range today (just like you should) this is my gun link dump post.

First, just in case you had to stay under your rock due to a meteor shower or some such phenomenon, The Carnival of Cordite is up and running. It’s #44 in the series and you know what that means: It’s a Magnum Edition!

But there is a warning I need to give for the faint of heart: US Repeating Arms Company, maker of fine Winchester rifles and shotguns, has closed it’s doors.

That means no more Model 70 and Model 94’s rifles or Model 1300 shotguns.

My hope is that the Browning Company or someone will buy the machinery for the 94’s and start making them again in short order.

Next up, I don’t think that I could have said it any better than Murdoc did when he saw this picture and posted: Every Marine a Shotgunner.

Talk about making Marines multitask!

This is not really a gun topic, but it is apparently a guy topic: British researchers find that while men enjoy seeing the bad guys get what’s coming to them, women feel sorry for them.

Well, that explains just about every action flick, cowboy movie and sci-fi adventure film ever made. Leave it to the Brits to play Captain Obvious.

In other news from the UK, the sun came up today and has plans to do so tomorrow and the next day.

Normally, I save the best for last, and while he is one of the best, this bit of news isn’t: Ravenwood is hanging up his keyboard.

To all my loyal readers and friends, I say goodbye at least for now. I may be back eventually , but for now I really need a vacation.

Respectfully,

Ravenwood

Thanks for the linkage and great posts, RW. We’ll see you around.

And as for me, I’m off to the range. One of the best talk radio guys in Seattle will be at the Champion Indoor Range that I’ve been going to for the past few weeks and I’d like to send some rounds downrange with the guy (and invite him to Boomershoot).

Have a good day all.