Les Jones

Single shot .22 LR pistols

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 | Guns | Permalink | No Comments |

Someone on The High Road asked about a single shot .22 LR pistol as a trainer for his granddaughter.

Accessing the old memory banks I recalled the Savage 101, a Colt Peacemaker look-alike with a unique single shot cylinder:

and the Stevens single shot target pistol

The first one can be had cheap. The second one can get a little pricey.

Photographing inside gun barrels

Monday, June 29th, 2009 | Guns, Photos | Permalink | No Comments |

Vote for David has the how.

Tags: guns and cameras

There is no “official handgun permit badge” in TN

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 | Guns | Permalink | 2 Comments |

Knoxville News-Sentinel - Knox County man charged with posing as officer:

With his official handgun permit badge, official-looking clothes and at least two unmarked undercover-style vehicles complete with flashing headlights, an alleged police imposter preyed on at least two unsuspecting Knoxville motorists last week.

A couple of clarifying points. There is no handgun permit in Tennessee. There is a handgun carry permit, which is what I guess the reporter means.

Second, there’s no official handgun permit badge or handgun carry permit badge. If the alleged perpetrator had a badge - as in a piece of metal - it’s something he bought in a store that carries all the legal weight of an official bikini inspector badge.

In Tennessee a handgun carry permit is a piece of plastic the same size as a Tennessee driver’s license. The driver’s license and HCP are both produced by the local DMV and use the same photograph, colors and background. The most obvious difference is that the driver’s license is laid out horizontally, while the HCP is laid out vertically.

Anyway, I’ll bet he had an “official driver’s license,” too, but no one is freaking out over that.

Curiously, the article never mentions whether he presented a firearm, or whether the police found one when they arrested him.

Deli owner clinging to guns, religion gives robber $40 and loaf of bread

Friday, June 5th, 2009 | Guns | Permalink | No Comments |

Consumerist:

It’s been a busy few weeks for Mohammad Sohail, a Pakistani immigrant who owns and operates a Deli in Long Island, NY. On May 21st a masked man tried to rob him, but Sohail pulled a rifle on the guy. Then he made him promise to never rob anyone again, and handed him $40 and a loaf of bread. Although not every news report mentioned this detail, he even got the robber to convert to Islam, albeit perhaps temporarily.

Betcha didn’t see the Islam angle coming. ‘Course, you probably didn’t see the next part of the story coming, either:

The same day Mohammad Sohail’s big heart earned him nationwide fame, his store in Shirley, L.I., was one of seven businesses raided by town investigators.

Pipes and bongs were seized from Shirley Express on Tuesday night, and the 46-year-old was charged with breaking Brookhaven town codes, a civil violation.

He does not face criminal charges, but will likely have to pay a hefty fine.

I don’t know about completely ending the war on drugs - crack cocaine for one is truly awful - but can we at least come to peace with marijuana?

Which 3 camera lenses?

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 | Guns, Photos | Permalink | No Comments |

If you’re to be stranded on a desert island, which three camera lenses would you want to have? Thom Hogan gives his answers and his readers’ answers.

It’s interesting to see the range of choices and how they reflect different photography styles. Some people are more interested in telephoto, some wide angle, and some macro. Some are content with mostly consumer grade 3.5-5.6 apertures, while some demand 2.8 or faster apertures. Some people like zooms and others want their primes. A few people are very keen on a quality lens in the 85mm to 105mm range for portraits.

Me, I’m still working up my kit. I’d definitely want my 70-300mm telephoto for wildlife and portraits. Beyond that my choices are a  lot less certain.

I take most of my pictures with the 18-55mm kit lens that came with my camera because that focal range is so useful. With good light it works fine, but in poor light the exposure times go long and with no anti-shake technology like VR or IS the pictures get dark and/or blurry. I’m looking for a replacement or supplement that offers more range or a faster aperture.

I have the new Nikon 35mm 1.8 AF-S on order to take care of low light and shallow depth of field applications. I’m curious to see how much of my photography I can do with a prime. I’m a bit skeptical.

I have no experience with macro or ultrawide angle. Macro appeals to my inner natureboy, but it sounds time-consuming, what with the tripods and the rails and the bellows and the flavin! I’m leaning towards buying a close-up filter for the 70-300mm and going semi-macro for now. I’ll take up real macro when I have more time, like when  my pre-school kids learn to feed themselves, cook for themselves, buy their own groceries, and drive themselves to the grocery store with the money they earned from the good jobs they got after graduating college. So that might be a while.

Wide angle looks interesting, but a little pricey on the zoom side. I’m knocking around the idea of renting a Nikon 10-24 or 12-24 for our next vacation to make sure I like it, but I reckon I will.

P.S. Added a “guns and cameras” tag. The desert island hypothetical reminds me of the gun board scenarios like “which three guns” and “what if you could only have one handgun and one long gun?” I especially liked Kim du Toit’s Crossing America scenario.

Tags: guns and cameras

Since when is a law giving people rights a bad thing?

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 | Guns, Media Behaving Badly | Permalink | No Comments |

Unc catches the Ass. Press in a slip.

New law for guns in natl. parks may simplify rules on car transport

Friday, May 22nd, 2009 | Guns | Permalink | 3 Comments |

Everyone thinks about carry in national parks in terms of going to the national parks. What if you’re just passing through a national park?:

Reader P.J.M. makes a more serious point than I did: Yosemite (which is in California, which has its own silly gun laws) is less the issue than, say, the GW Parkway here in Virginia. Those of us who hold Virginia concealed handgun permits can carry throughout the state, except that we can’t drive down the GW Parkway because it’s a national park (ditto Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park).  Even if it made sense to keep people from having guns in the wilderness (which it doesn’t), many national parks are in more populated areas.

True. Where I live in East Tennessee the most direct route to Cherokee, NC and parts nearby is US Highway 441, which happens to go through the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

It’s already dicey enough going between states, which often have dissimilar laws on vehicle carry. Adding the separate federal rules created a legal minefield that’s liable to trap law-abiding citizens. Here’s hoping the new rules signed into law today will simplify traveling through national parks with a firearm.

More 10/22 goodies

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 | Guns | Permalink | 5 Comments |

Check it out. Ruger 10/22 bullpup conversion with walnut Steyr AUG stock.

Practical? Beats me. Pretty nifty, though.

FWIW, someone on The High Road had good things to say about the item just below that at the link, their combination extended mag release and bolt hold open. “A true extended mag release drops mags fast and clear. Pull the lever back while holding the bolt open, effortlessly activates bolt hold open.”

I really dig the looks of the Tactical Solutions magazine release, which has that falling block lever look. TacSol makes all kinds of 10/22 accessories, from receivers to lightweight aluminum barrels with steel cores and threaded ends. They even make suppressors to fit on that threaded end.

For .22 pistols TacSol has lightweight aluminum barrels with steel liners and optional threaded ends and scope rails: the PacLite for Rugers and Trail-Lites for Browning Buckmarks. I’ve shot Dave D.’s Buckmark with a threaded Trail-Lite and liked it a bunch. Every TacSol barrel I’ve handled has had unusually good machining and finishing.

Volquartsen, Tactical Innovations, MOA, and Tactical Solutions make 10/22 receivers. Someone else has one with a Picatinny rail and hooded AR-15 rear sight. Darned if I could find it in a Google search, though. If you know the link post it in comments. LATER: jcmiller in comments found it: NoDak Spud NDS-22 receivers. They’re affordable, too, at $160.

Tags: ruger 10/22

Impractical but cool guns

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 | Blogging, Guns, Misc | Permalink | 19 Comments |

Tam started a meme: guns that are impractical, but cool.

My pick is the AR-7. It’s cool but not very practical.

Why it’s cool

• It was designed by Eugene Stoner, who designed the AR-15/M-16.
• Thanks to aluminum and plastic parts it weights just 2.5 pounds and is largely impervious to rust.
• The barrel unscrews, instantly cutting the stored size in half.
• The barrel, action, and magazine can be stowed in the buttstock.
• When thus stowed the whole thing floats. It was originally designed to be a survival rifle for downed Air Force pilots.
• Jame Bond used one. So did Maxwell Smart.
• You can insert the AR-7 into all sorts of wild-eyed fantasies of surviving alone in the wilderness.

Why it’s impractical

• Magazine capacity tops out at 15 rounds and those are hard to find.
• The gun has never had a reputation for accuracy or reliability.
• Sight adjustments are crude.
• The ergonomics are uncomfortable.
• Armalite couldn’t make money on the design so they sold it to Century Charter Arms, who couldn’t make any money so they sold it to Henry Repeating Arms. That’s not a good sign.
• Here’s the killer: there are much better guns available that do pretty much the same thing.

Example. The Marlin Papoose/70P has a barrel that unscrews. The gun floats when cocooned inside the factory storage case. The Papoose is accurate and reliable, weighs 3.25 pounds, and unlike the AR-7 has studs for sling swivels. Newer models are made from stainless steel and plastic for worry-free carry in Argentina’s rainy season.

For that matter, if you own the the ever-popular Ruger 10/22 you can remove the barrel and action from the stock in 10 seconds flat by removing a single screw using a screwdriver or coins. Unlike the AR-7 you can fire the 10/22 while it’s thus disassembled.

Not only can you find plenty of high capacity magazines for the 10/22, you can start with a factory 10/22 and gradually replace every single part until there’s nothing left that was made by Ruger. A 10/22 has more accessories than a teenaged transgendered schizophrenic.

Tags: ruger 10/22

What media bias against guns?

Friday, May 15th, 2009 | Guns, Media Behaving Badly | Permalink | No Comments |

This media bias against guns.

Not just guns banned: no bear spray allowed in Smokies

Thursday, May 7th, 2009 | East Tennessee, Guns | Permalink | 3 Comments |

There’s been some question as to whether bear spray is allowed in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Smoky Mountains Information blog requested clarification from the park and got this answer:

“There is no legal form of bear spray allowed in the Great Smoky Mountains national park and like any other weapon, trap or net, it is illegal to carry, possess or use in the Great Smoky Mountains national park. PERIOD”

Shocking, but not surprising if you follow this sort of thing. Countries and U.S. states with restrictive laws on guns often have restrictive laws on non-lethal weapons, such as pepper spray, batons, or Tasers. The United Kingdom has gone about as far as you can go down this path, making all sorts of edged weapons and even kitchen cutlery illegal or restricted in their weapons-obsessed mania.

Hat tip to Michael Silence.

Cheap CCI Blazer brass 9mm ammo at Wal-Mart

Saturday, April 11th, 2009 | Guns | Permalink | 10 Comments |

So I stopped by Wally World yesterday. I mentioned to my man L. that I had bought 100 rounds of 9mm for $30 at the Maryville gun show.

He and a customer there seemed incredulous. He pointed out that CCI Blazer brass 9mm was $9 per 50. Granted, it was practically the only centerfire pistol ammo they had on the shelves. (The others were .357 Magnum at $27/50 which I hadn’t seen in weeks, .25 Auto and .32 Auto, but they had it.) The other guy bought four boxes of it. I bought two boxes, which left two boxes.

L. said that Wal-Mart got ammo every night, of various calibers and various quantities.

Why I don’t reload my own ammunition

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 | Guns | Permalink | 19 Comments |

At lunch yesterday with Tam and Gunsmith Bob.

BOB: Come by the store and see me some time.
ME: Yeah I need to come shoot. It’s just hard to shoot up much ammo these days as expensive as it is.
TAM: You should reload.
ME: Not enough uninterrupted time. I’d be like. “OK, put in the primer. Now the gunpowder. OK, now the bull…. Katie! Give that doll back to your sister. OK, pour the gunpowder. Now the bull… Natalie, did you spill all that milk on your shirt? Go take that off and put it in the hamper. Where was I? Right, I put the primer in now all it needs is some  gunpowder and top if off with a bullet and presto! I’ve got a round of ammunition for half what it would cost at the store.”

The next day at the range would look like this …

Lessons learned on spree killers

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 | Guns | Permalink | No Comments |

From David Hardy:

The manager of South East Area Law Enforcement has some thoughts, of which the most relevant are:

Because active shooters seem so intent on killing, it’s often difficult to convince first responders that “this bad guy is one of the easiest man-with-gun encounters they will ever have,” Borsch observes. “Most officers have already faced worse opponents from a personal safety standpoint than these creeps.”
…….
Once into the scene, to further gain confidence in advancing aggressively toward the suspect, officers need to understand the nature of these killers. Unlike conventional criminal predators, who often have no reluctance about attacking police, active shooters tend to be “cowardly,” Borsch says.

“They choose unarmed, defenseless innocents for a reason: They have no wish to encounter someone who can hurt them. They are personally risk- and pain-avoidant. The tracking history of these murderers has proved them to be unlikely to be aggressive with police. If pressed, they are more likely to kill themselves.” In his research, he has found no evidence of any LEO in the U.S. yet being wounded or killed in an active-shooting incident where mass murder was intended or accomplished.”

In the New York immigration center shooting police arrived within two minutes of the call, but didn’t enter the building for an hour. In this case it probably wouldn’t have made a difference, but in others it would.

Hat tip to half of the people on my blogroll.

PawPaw on Kershaw knives

Monday, April 6th, 2009 | Guns, Quotes | Permalink | No Comments |

“I used to have a Kershaw knife that was so sharp that if I wanted French Fries, I put a couple of potatoes in the glove box with the knife and drove down a washboard road in second gear. For hashbrowns, use third gear.”
– PawPaw

About the “fact” that 90% of illegal Mexican guns come from the U.S.

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 | Guns | Permalink | No Comments |

SayUncle - More Mexican Gun Lies:

The deadliest of the weapons now in the hands of criminal groups in Mexico, particularly along the U.S. border, by any reasonable standard of an analysis of the facts, appear to be getting into that nation through perfectly legal private-sector arms exports, measured in the billions of dollars, and sanctioned by our own State Department. These deadly trade commodities — grenade launchers, explosives and “assault” weapons –are then, in quantities that can fill warehouses, being corruptly transferred to drug trafficking organizations via their reach into the Mexican military and law enforcement agencies, the evidence indicates.

And how could those guns get from the the Mexican military to the Mexican drug gangs? It might have something to do with the fact that in the past six years 150,000 soldiers deserted the Mexican military.

Back from the Maryville gun show

Sunday, March 29th, 2009 | Guns | Permalink | 6 Comments |

Went with Uncle. It was a small show, so we walked around it twice. Some of the big guys I expect at the Knoxville shows - Georgia Arms and the people with big display cases of magazines - weren’t there. I saw some nice older Smith & Wesson revolvers.

Because of fears over another ban any “black” semi-automatics are fetching high prices. A lowly Hi-Point carbine that sold for $150 a year ago had a $299 price tag. Glock 31 round magazines that I bought for $30 just after the election were going for $75.

AR-15s are sky high. Uncle pointed to a complete lower with a collapsible buttstock for $499. Bear in mind that isn’t even a complete gun - it still needs an upper to work and the upper will cost $500 or more even for a cheap one, assuming you can find one.

I took a pass on the guns and bought ammo, which is also scarce and expensive these days. I snagged 200 rounds of Winchester white box 9mm at $30/hundred and 100 rounds of WWB .45 ACP for $40.

New pocket knife

The only other thing I bought was a new pocketknife. I’ve been carrying a Buck Strider Tarani 882 for a couple of years. It’s an extremely well made knife and I like the ergonomics, but the weight and the sharp edges of the G10 scales wore holes in all of my pants pockets. I tried carrying it by the clip, but that didn’t work for me because of knife’s size and weight.

I just bought three new pairs of pants yesterday, so now seemed like a good time for a new pocketknife. I picked up a Benchmade 550HG Griptilian. It’s a one hand opening, lockblade folding knife. The Mel Pardue blade is a modified sheepsfoot profile with a thumbhole.

I’ve tried carrying most of the designs for opening a knife with one hand - the thumbstud, the thumbhole, and the flipper - and the thumbhole is the one that works for me every time without really having to even think about it The only design I haven’t tried is the patented Emerson Wave, which Spyderco is now using under license. The Wave seems like it would be mighty hard on the pants. In that YouTube clip the guy’s pantspocket is worn ragged.

This is my first Benchmade, but the company has a good rep. This knife has their signature ambidextrous Axis lock, which is supposed to be rock solid. The lock offers a very slight bit of resistance to opening, which should help it stay closed in the pocket. That same action helps it snap all the way shut when closing.

Weight is about 2/3rds of the Buck Tarani and there aren’t any sharp edges outside of the obvious one, which was very sharp out of the box. I’ll touch it up on the Spyderco Sharpmaker tonight. According to the owner’s manual Benchmade knives include a lifetime sharpening service. Send the knife to Benchmade with $5 to cover shipping and handling and they’ll sharpen your knife and return it. Nice.

P.S. I never got around to sharpening it, but this knife is much sharper than my old one (which I had sharpened at home and that the professional knife sharpener at the Knoxville gun show sharpened). The new knife is just slightly narrower at the spine than the old one, but the grin is much more aggressive than the old one. The new blade isn’t quite as sturdy - it won’t be as carefree about prying as the old one - but the narrower profile is better for slicing and kitchen tasks.

Tuff Products Revolver Quick Strips

Thursday, March 26th, 2009 | Guns, Quotes | Permalink | 1 Comment |

I’ve sometimes used Bianchi Speed Strips for holding revolver ammo. For me they’re not as fast as speedloaders, but they’re flat so in some cases they’re easier to carry. Jay G has videos demonstrating both.

Thing is, Speed Strips are only available in .357/.38. For years people have begged Bianchi to offer them in other calibers. They didn’t, so someone else finally did.

Stephen Camp has a review of the Tuff Products Revolver Quick Strips for .44/.45/.460 and .410 shotgun. Tuff also has strips for the .475 Linebaugh,.480 Ruger and SW .500 Caliber, for .357/38 (in six or eight round sizes), in .327 (eight rounds), and in .22 rimfire (10 rounds).

Tuff Products offers nylon pouches for carrying the strips, though at $20 they’re kinda pricey. Stephen reviews those, too.

I don’t have a revolver in .45 anymore, but I might buy some of these for my little .410 shotgun, Katrina.

Guns in Mexico not coming from the U.S.

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 | Guns | Permalink | 1 Comment |

Weapons - including machine guns, grenades, and rocket launchers - used in Mexico’s drug wars aren’t coming from the U.S. So says testimony to Congress.

The weapons are probably coming from South America or even Mexico itself: “Say, anyone know the rate of desertion from the Mexican army? About 150K in 6 years.” You don’t suppose the deserters are taking a five finger discount on machine guns and rocket launchers, do ya?

Maryville gun show this weekend

Monday, March 23rd, 2009 | East Tennessee, Guns | Permalink | 6 Comments |

MWX Marketing:

The Great American Gun & Knife Show
Formerly known as Smoky Mountain Gun & Knife Show
Maryville National Guard Armory
March 28 & 29, 2009
1721 W. Lamar Alexander Pkwy Maryville TN 37801

There’s another one in Sevierville the next weekend. I’d be up for Saturday morning trip if anyone is interested.

eBay UK bans sale of knives, including kitchen paring knives

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 | Guns | Permalink | 4 Comments |

Great Britain, what happened to you?

eBay prohibits members from listing knives on eBay.co.uk and eBay.ie with one exception:

*Cutlery: this includes sets of kitchen cutlery (knives, forks, spoons) that contain knives used for eating, but does not include sharp kitchen knives such as those found in knife blocks, such as paring knives.

Members should be aware when listing knives on eBay that it is an offence to market a knife in a way which indicates or suggests that it is suitable for combat, or is likely to encourage violent behaviour involving the use of the knife as a weapon. It is out also an offence to sell knives to a person who is under the age of 18.

First it was guns bans, then air rifles bans, then sword bans. Now Great Britain has gone bonkers about kitchen knives.

Tags: the place where great britain used to be

65 House Democrats oppose Assault Weapons Ban renewal

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 | Guns | Permalink | 3 Comments |

From Sebastian at Snowflakes in Hell:

NRA is reporting more good news today. Sixty five Democratic members of the House of Representatives have sent a letter to Eric Holder opposing the reinstatement of the Assault Weapons Ban. Just to run the math for you, there are 178 Republicans in the House of Representatives under the 111th Congress. It takes 218 votes to pass a bill. That means with 65 Democrats on record as opposing a renewal of the ban, we can afford to lose 28 deadbeat Republicans on the vote, and Pelosi still would not have a majority to pass a renewal.

This gives us a pretty good indication that getting a ban passed in the 111th Congress is going to be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible for Obama to pull off.

Best news I’ve heard in a while. With the threat of another Assault Weapons Ban off the table maybe all those paranoid gun nuts will stop buying so many guns. Which will leave more for me.

Things have gotten better lately. My local gun store is finally getting enough Glock 19s in from wholesale that they can put a few in the glass case before they all disappear. Ammo’s still tight, though.

LATER: Here’s an excerpt from the letter.

Obama defunds armed airline pilot program

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 | Guns | Permalink | 1 Comment |

Does this make you feel safer?

Tags: obama

Appleseed schedule for 2009

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 | Guns | Permalink | No Comments |

Appleseed 2009 schedule right here. In Tennessee there are multiple weekends in the cities of Manchester, Puryear, and Kingsport. I went to the Manchester shoot last year. Kingsport is much closer and I have relatives on my wife’s side there, so I may do Kingsport this year.

What is the Appleseed Project? It’s a grassroots volunteer program to instill the virtues of civilian marksmanship. At an Appleseed event you can learn basic rifle marksmanship skills in a single weekend. For $70 or so it’s a bargain.

Previously

• Natural point of aim - aiming with your feet instead of your hands
• Pictures and Ruger 10/22 notes from the Manchester, TN Appleseed shoot
• Home from Appleseed
• Ruger 10/22 buying advice
  
• Ruger 10/22 parts - anything else I need?

Tags: appleseed

Tech Sights has aperture sights for the Marlin 60 and 795

Saturday, March 14th, 2009 | Guns | Permalink | No Comments |

Right here.

I like aperture sights and I like Tech Sights replacement aperture sights. I have a set on my Ruger 10/22 and one day I’ll get some for my Yugo 59/66 SKS. Here are my installation instructions for Ruger 10/22 Tech-Sights.