29Aug05

Excellent comments on the "pretty vs reliable" gun issue, fr om a friend in the industry:

"...most gun buyers are not acquiring guns for the reasons you and I do. Gun manufacturers will predictably produce and market what the majority will purchase, and most potential pistol buyers, even institutional ones, are gullible, confused, and unsophisticated, as we all know.

High-end 1911s are an case in point. Many buyers demand meaningless accuracy to a point where it overshadows our correct idea of functional abil ity and robustness. Another example is awkward, oversized controls that look cool in glossy ads and make bragging points with others who are equally uninformed,

but make life in a concealment holster impossible.

Fighting rifles are often in the same boat. Made to sell, they leave the factory with superfluous attachment points, because buyers insist they be a ble to hang everything on them except a water supply. Of course, these rifles are then too heavy and maladroit to be carried anywhere but in a car, to an d from a range, but most buyers own them solely to impress their friends, not

their enemies!

Gun makers, big and small, believe they have to build at least some esoteri c toys that air-heads think they want. It is your job, as well as mine, to enlighten them. We need to do better!"

Comment: I agree. I only hope world history will be patient with us!

/John

29Aug05

Endorsement from Miss Manners!

In the 25 Aug 05 issued of The Chicago Tribune, Judith Martin (Miss Manners ) answers this plaintiff call:

"Dear Miss Manners: 'Excuse me!' exclaimed the stran ger in a tone so innocent and friendly that I looked at him in acknowledgment before I could think better of it. 'My wife is having a baby right this minute, and I n eed to get to the hospital, but I've just been mugged...=80=99

Requests for money, preceded by elaborate backstories, are annoying, and my

eventual response is always the same, but I still feel bad about cutting off

the speaker before he actually gets around to asking for a handout. Is the re an acceptable way to terminate these conversations as soon as their objectiv e becomes clear?

Gentle Reader: You need only say, 'Sorry. I can't help, =99 and move on, saving the speaker the necessity of making a full-length pitch in vain. Mi ss Manners is even sorrier about the necessity of concluding that someone in apparent distress must necessarily be a con-artist."

Comment: Did Miss Manners sneak into one of our classes?

/John

29Aug05

On "preferred weapons" of criminals:

"Last week in NM, mentally disturbed John Hyde went on a rampage, mu rdering a state worker, two employees of a local motorcycle shop, and two Albuquerqu e police officers. Hyde used an antique Webley revolver, manufactured in 1918.

With the Webley now clearly the 'weapon of choice' of homici dal maniacs, we should expect legislation to ban further production, sale, importation, or possession of such 'assault revolvers.'

This incident reminds the rational among us that firearms are just tools, and, as such, a minor part of the equation. Determined individuals have frequently achieved formidable results using mundane weapons, while others f ail to perform less demanding tasks, even though better equipped. No doubt the tw o officers slain by Hyde carried sidearms superior to his Webley.

Too many students are obsessed with firearms, accessories, and ammunition, when they should be focused on improving their own skills and mental preparedness."

Comment: Put another way: Too many spend their time looking for an excuse t o lose, instead of spending it finding a way to win.

/John

29Aug05

Rifles:

At an Urban Rifle/Shotgun Course in MI last weekend, we had two RA-96s (three, including mine), a 30-06 Garand, a Rumanian Kalashnikov, a Mini-14, an FAL cobbled together from parts, a DSA/FAL, an SA M1-A, and two Colt AR-15s.

All three RAs, the M1-A, the DSA/FAL, and the Kalashnikov ran the entire weekend without a single hiccup.

The Garand bolt stuck to the rear several times, but the bobble was easily corrected each time, and the shooter was right back in the fight.

The Mini-14 ran well, but reloading was troublesome, as magazines sometimes

don't want to lock in, particularly when the bolt is forward.

The FAL parts gun actually ran pretty well, but several cases failed to eject completely. The system needed more gas, but the shooter didn=80 t want to adjust the gas system.

Both AR-15s ran well, with a few failures to feed.

Students were, of course, instructed that all military rifles have issues and that the resulting, occasional bobbles must be reduced immediately and decisively. My students learned to keep their rifles running!

Rifles mentioned above are recommended, particularly the RAs and the DSAs.

Even the lowly Mini-14 works well enough to recommend. In most cases, I do n' t like parts guns. Rarely does one run perfectly, or even well. The Garan d is big and heavy, but it hits harder and further than any of the rest. Kalashnikov lovers need to contact Krebs.

/John