Monday, November 22, 2010

Guns on campus, president mistaken or ?

Kilgore College President Bill Holda comments on proposed legislation to legalize firearms carry on campus in Texas. Does Holda owe Suzanna Hupp an apology?

See my Examiner article HERE.

For more about Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, visit their website HERE.
Contact: Daniel Crocker
Southwest Director
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus
Daniel.Crocker@concealedcampus.org
(205) 370-9126




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Disclaimer: The information and ideas presented in this column are provided for informational purposes only. Gun rights, like all other Constitutionally recognized rights, must be exercised responsibly. Firearms, like cars, kitchen knives and life itself all can be dangerous. You should get professional training as part of any plan to use firearms for any purpose. I have made a reasonable, good-faith effort to assure that the content of this column is accurate. I have no control over what you do, and specifically accept no responsibility for anything you do as a result of reading my columns. Any action or lack of action on your part is strictly your responsibility.

Monday, November 15, 2010

A brace of 9mm's - part II

UPDATE SUMMER 2012  I just could not get used to the long, double action trigger pull on the P-11. I sold it, and got the SR9-C, which is a smaller SR9 and operates exactly the same way, with approximately the same trigger pull. More on it later . . .

As I related in my previous post, gun number one of the pair is the Ruger SR9. I completed the pair with the KelTec P-11.

There are plenty of smaller sized 9 mm's to choose from, and my interest was piqued by some offerings from Taurus, and the KelTec P-F9. I have had good experience with the KelTec P-3AT, and the P-F9 is like one of those on a mild dose of steroids.

In keeping with my stated scenario of perhaps needing quite a few rounds in a defensive situation, I decided to take a look at the P-11 and compare it to the P-F9. The KelTec specifications page reveals a few facts that might not be apparent at first glance.
  • Although the P-F9 is very flat, it is only .12 inches narrower than the P-11. Slight advantage P-F9.
  • The P-F9 is the same height as the P-11. Call that a tie.
  • The P-F9 is .25 inches longer that the P-11, making it a little harder to stuff in a jeans pocket (in a pocket holster, of course). Slight advantage P-11.
  • The P-F9 holds 7+1 and the P-11 holds 10+1, or 12+1 with the optional magazine. So a magazine and a spare gives a total of of up to 25 rounds vs. 15 for the P-F9. Big advantage P-11.
If you get a Smith & Wesson Model 59 magazine as a spare, your capacity goes up further. There are some out there that hold 30 rounds.

As I stated in the SR9 article, I wanted the same manual of arms for both guns. With the P-11, it is once again, pull, point, and shoot.

The P-11 is equipped with a 'standard' magazine release button on the left side, under the thumb. This is like most modern pistols. The slide locks open when the magazine runs dry. The trigger has a long, nine pound pull. This is the only thing I don't like about the gun. Think double-action revolver. The P-F9, by comparison releases at about five. KelTec does offer a trigger shoe for the P-11 that is probably worth getting.

This gun, like the SR9 functioned flawlessly when test fired. It, too, keeps them on a sheet of copy paper at 25 yards. I like it.

So, there you have it, the second member of the brace of 9 mm's.

Where to buy? The SR9 is commonly seen at gun shows. Some dealers stock the P-11. But, I recommend that you check the Gun Genie before you buy anywhere. They have a live inventory, and you get to select a local dealer to have it delivered to. Order it online today. Pick it up locally tomorrow.And the Gun Genie has a lifetime replacement warranty.

What would you pick, if you were to pick a pair?


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Disclaimer: The information and ideas presented in this column are provided for informational purposes only. Gun rights, like all other Constitutionally recognized rights, must be exercised responsibly. Firearms, like cars, kitchen knives and life itself all can be dangerous. You should get professional training as part of any plan to use firearms for any purpose. I have made a reasonable, good-faith effort to assure that the content of this column is accurate. I have no control over what you do, and specifically accept no responsibility for anything you do as a result of reading my columns. Any action or lack of action on your part is strictly your responsibility.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

A brace of 9mm's - part I

I've been studying the stopping power of handgun cartridges, along with simplicity of operation . . .

My historical leaning has been toward the 1911 in .45 ACP. There are several nice things about the cartridge, It starts out big, so it is of lesser importance whether or not it expands. One cannot go wrong with that.

On the other hand, if you arrange most defensive cartridges equipped with modern high performance projectiles on a continuum, the difference between the .45 and the .380 is not nearly as great as it once was. The 9mm Luger is actually quite close to the .45.

Additionally, from a tactical defense standpoint, more and more assaults, such as home invasions, involve multiple assailants, indicating the possible need for more ammo than standard .45's carry. Nine's come in a variety of good brands and sizes, with most of the larger ones equipped with magazines of fifteen or more rounds.

Now, the1911 platform is a great gun, but its capacity is generally limited, as already stated. It also has a slightly more complicated manual of arms than the defacto standard, the Glock series of of handguns.

So, what to choose?

One would not go wrong with the Glock, but I find the finger grooves don't fit me like they should. I do like the simplified manual of arms:
  1. Load
  2. Place carefully in holster
  3. When needed, draw from holster
  4. Put finger in trigger guard only after sights are aligned on target
  5. Aim, fire
  6. Repeat as necessary
Or, as some say, just pull, point, and click.
    There are plenty of other good brands out there, but the more I looked, the more I liked the SR9 from Ruger.

    The Ruger SR9, in spite of a rough start, has grown on me. As first introduced, there were some safety concerns. As stated at the Ruger website,
    • We have determined that some Ruger SR9 pistols manufactured between October 2007 and April 2008 can, under certain conditions, fire if dropped with their manual safeties in the "off" or "fire" position. The pistols will not fire if the manual safety is in the "on" or "safe" position.
    Ruger completely redesigned the trigger group, and instituted a massive recall. Now, the SR9's trigger assembly appears  to me to be cloned from the Glock.

    The gun feels a lot like the 1911, and has a reversible back-strap, to help it fit your hand. It does not have Glock-like finger grooves on the front-strap.

    It also has a 1911 style ambidextrous  manual safety, that appears to be pretty much redundant. For on-person carry, if left in the off-safe position, it gives the same simple manual of arms as the Glock. Your choice.

    The SR9 has the advantage over the Glock of having a completely ambidextrous magazine release. Oh, and it has a neat little loaded chamber indicator on the top of the slide. Georg Luger placed his extractor in this position and labeled it GELADIN (loaded).

    See the SR9 features here.

    I find that the full size suits my taste. It is as easy to carry IWB as the Compact model, and has the 17 round magazine as standard (unless you live in a repressive state, where 10 is the maximum).

    [Now, if you believe that a defensive handgun caliber must begin with 4, Ruger has just introduced the SR40, which is less than an ounce heavier, with a slide a sixteenth of an inch wider than the SR9.]

    Upon test firing the SR9, it simply worked. No failures of any kind. It kept all shots on a sheet of copy paper at 25 yards. What more do you need? So there is item one for the brace of pistols.

    Next up was the search for a somewhat smaller handgun to complete the pairing. Number one on the list of criteria was caliber. For logistics simplification, it, too had to be a 9mm. It also had to have the simplified point and shoot manual of arms.

    The winner was the tried and true KelTec P-11. Look for my report on it in the near future here.


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    Disclaimer: The information and ideas presented in this column are provided for informational purposes only. Gun rights, like all other Constitutionally recognized rights, must be exercised responsibly. Firearms, like cars, kitchen knives and life itself all can be dangerous. You should get professional training as part of any plan to use firearms for any purpose. I have made a reasonable, good-faith effort to assure that the content of this column is accurate. I have no control over what you do, and specifically accept no responsibility for anything you do as a result of reading my columns. Any action or lack of action on your part is strictly your responsibility.

    Thursday, November 11, 2010

    Happy Veterans Day!

    On Veterans Day we honor those who have served in our armed forces. Knoxville is having their annual Veterans Day Parade, like many other places. Historically, this began to be observed on Armistice Day, the day hostilities ceased on the Western Front, between the Allies and Germany.

    Today, we have many in uniform who give of themselves for the country, yet as we saw last year at Fort Hood, when they return to the States, they are assigned to gun free zones, and thus may be disarmed at the time of greatest need.

    Pray for the safety of those who are far away in combat zones; as well as those (and their families) on our 'safe' military bases worldwide.

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    Shop Brownells.com!
    Disclaimer: The information and ideas presented in this column are provided for informational purposes only. Gun rights, like all other Constitutionally recognized rights, must be exercised responsibly. Firearms, like cars, kitchen knives and life itself all can be dangerous. You should get professional training as part of any plan to use firearms for any purpose. I have made a reasonable, good-faith effort to assure that the content of this column is accurate. I have no control over what you do, and specifically accept no responsibility for anything you do as a result of reading my columns. Any action or lack of action on your part is strictly your responsibility.

    Friday, November 5, 2010

    Did Tennessee Democratic Party's mudslinging backfire?

    My Examiner column quizzed some political candidates prior the recent election. Some candidates did not answer, others answered in a general manner which really did not reveal their views on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (RKBA).

    Stacy Campfield, who won the 7th Senatorial District in Tennessee, and Randy Walker, his opponent, both responded to the questionnaire, with links HERE. Campfield's answers, as well as his history in the Tennessee Legislature, indicate support for the individual RKBA. Walker's answers seemed vague to me.

    A Democratic Party mailer quoting the "Knoxville Examiner Gun Rights Questionnaire" as their source, stated,

    Campfield wants to let anyone carry a gun. He'd let convicted rapists and child sex predators carry concealed guns into churches, playgrounds, and even child care centers and schools.
    While mudslinging ads are to be expected in most elections, this one was just over the top. Anyone with reasonable intelligence could not draw that conclusion from Campfield's answers.

    And, in case you have been sleeping like Rip Van Winkle since 1968, you would know that convicted rapists and child sex predators are felons, and have no right to own a firearm; no, not even a single bullet.

    Democrats lost many other races in Tennessee, in a historic move to the right by the electorate. Even the Governor-elect, Bill Haslam was smeared by the Tennessee Democratic Party.

    It seems to me that their mudslinging seriously backfired.


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    Disclaimer: The information and ideas presented in this column are provided for informational purposes only. Gun rights, like all other Constitutionally recognized rights, must be exercised responsibly. Firearms, like cars, kitchen knives and life itself all can be dangerous. You should get professional training as part of any plan to use firearms for any purpose. I have made a reasonable, good-faith effort to assure that the content of this column is accurate. I have no control over what you do, and specifically accept no responsibility for anything you do as a result of reading my columns. Any action or lack of action on your part is strictly your responsibility.

    Monday, November 1, 2010

    TFA October meeting features General Dennis Jackson, USA, Ret.

    There were ten million land mines when we got there.
    Said General Dennis Jackson, as he addressed the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA). Jackson was referring to mines that were laid during the ten year occupation of Afghanistan by the (now defunct) Soviet Union, which some say was the Soviet's Vietnam War.

    The United States, along with a coalition force of 67 nations, invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 to overthrow the Taliban. Jackson was the logistics officer of the operation. At issue today, according to Jackson, is the risk of a failed state.
    . . . but, sooner or later, we will grow tired of being there. Our current national objective is Afghan self-determination, but after a while, we've got to leave.
    He contrasted Soviet action in Afghanistan, primarily Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT), with current U.S. forces actively patrolling in the countryside.

    Jackson states that Afghanistan is a nation smaller than Texas, with a population close to that of California. Much of the society is debilitated by drug use. Lots of lithium has been recently found there, which could have a significant impact on the economy.

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    If you find this article to be informative or interesting, please share the link with your friends. Feel free to share the entire article, including this link back: http://goodhillpress.blogspot.com/
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    Shop Brownells.com!
    Disclaimer: The information and ideas presented in this column are provided for informational purposes only. Gun rights, like all other Constitutionally recognized rights, must be exercised responsibly. Firearms, like cars, kitchen knives and life itself all can be dangerous. You should get professional training as part of any plan to use firearms for any purpose. I have made a reasonable, good-faith effort to assure that the content of this column is accurate. I have no control over what you do, and specifically accept no responsibility for anything you do as a result of reading my columns. Any action or lack of action on your part is strictly your responsibility.