Dred Scott: The Inside Story, by David Hardy

Here is my short book review on this book at Amazon. I recommend you read it.

Hardy writes this documentary in a way that is easy to read, while still covering the shenanigans that occur "at court" very well.

He notes in Taney's decision that citizens were understood to be able "to keep and carry arms wherever they went." If freed slaves were to be citizens, they could do likewise, and (my words) in effect would mess up the social order.

Today, we still see vestiges of Taney's attitude in gun laws among the states. For example, North Carolina's pistol purchase permit requirement; and Tennessee's carry permit law being a modernized version of her antebellum slave codes.

Defending the Castle during Coronageddon

MAYBE you have thought about buying a home defense firearm, but haven't gotten a-

In view of the current worldwide pandemic, you may be ready to make the plunge, but don't know where to start.

Here are some ideas to consider if you are a newcomer. I am limiting this discussion to handguns and .22 rifles.

HANDGUNS - The double action revolver is the simplest to operate, but difficult to shoot accurately. The semi-automatic pistol is easier to shoot accurately, but they are more complicated and there are a variety of action types.

Double action revolvers - take your choice between Smith & Wesson, Ruger, Taurus, Colt, or ?

          Caliber - .38 special, .357 magnum, or .22 LR. If you get a .357, get .38 ammo which will have much less recoil. At this time, you get what is available. Make sure you can buy ammo for the gun you are purchasing. There are other calibers available, but in today's market, you may have to take what you can get. The .22 is the least powerful of these, but is better than a snowball, and easier to shoot.

Semiautomatic pistols - I suggest go for a striker fired pistol from Glock, Smith & Wesson, Ruger, Taurus, or ?

          Caliber -  9mm is the most popular, but shelves may be bare. Once again, make sure you can buy ammo for the gun you are purchasing. .380 or .22 are also choices. There are other calibers out there, too. One issue with semiautomatic pistols is the fact that you really need to test the ammo to make sure it will function reliably in your pistol. So. . .

At this time, a revolver might be the better choice.

Note that smaller, lighter handguns in a given caliber will have more felt recoil. If the handgun is not going to be carried concealed, larger, heavier handguns would be easier to use in home defense.

RIFLES - The .22 caliber rifle can be relatively inexpensive, and there are many types to choose from. One of the most popular is the Ruger 10/22. It is a simple to operate semiautomatic. There are others, including its clone the Thompson Center T/CR22. The Marlin .22 is another choice which comes in several models. There are also bolt action and lever actions to consider.

If you can, get some dummy cartridges for whatever caliber you buy.

OK, you got your new gun and ammo, now what?

First - read the manual. It will instruct you on how to safely operate and clean the gun.

Second - memorize and follow Jeff Cooper's Four Rules of Gun Safety:

 Third - since we appear to be getting more and more into lock-down conditions, there may not be a chance to actually go to a range. Do some dry firing: With no live ammo in the room, practice operation and trigger pull with  dummy cartridges or an empty gun.

OTHER considerations -

What are the laws in your state/locality?

This includes laws on purchasing, storage, carrying, and transport.*

Equally important are laws relating to use of deadly force. 

How are you going to handle having a (loaded?) firearm in the home? Who will have access to it? How do you keep the little ones safe?

MAYBE its not too late. If you are going to do this thing, maybe now is the time.

- - - - - - - - - - - 

*For example, Tennessee law generally allows carrying in a vehicle without a permit, but currently requires a permit to walk across a parking lot.

COMMENTS WELCOME (just keep them G-rated)

Governor Lee's Constitutional Carry Bill of 2020

Here's my take on it. Note I only address Section 1:

AMEND Senate Bill No. 2671 House Bill No. 2817*

by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting instead the following:

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1307, is amended by adding the following new subsection:

(g) It is an exception to the application of subsection (a) that a person is carrying, whether openly or concealed, a handgun and:

(1) The person meets the qualifications for the issuance of an enhanced handgun carry permit under § 39-17-1351(b) and (c). For purposes of this subdivision (g)(1), "qualifications" does not include completion of an application under § 39-17-1351(b) and (c);
COMMENT: If you could get an enhanced permit, then you don’t need one. Current law, however, TCA § 39-17-1351 states that you must not be prohibited from possessing a firearm in any other state. I read this that if some slave state, such as New Jersey, prohibits you from possessing a firearm, then you may not carry with or without a permit in Tennessee.

(2) The person lawfully possesses the handgun; and 

COMMENT: It would be better to strike paragraph (1) above, and start with this paragraph.

At the risk of oversimplification, it appears that Tennessee citizens and legally residing foreigners will be able to carry without a permit. Residents of other states will not (like Wyoming). You may carry everywhere except where it is prohibited. In typical Tennessee fashion, the legislature muddies the water.

But, I'll take it. It is a small step in the right direction.

As for the parts that enhance punishment for certain crimes, I have one thought. The criminals don't care. They often run from the police, adding an evading arrest charge. DA's plea bargain down. Judges give light sentences. Meh!

The Ruger 57

Eight years ago, I joked about Ruger introducing a .22 magnum auto-loading pistol. I even spoke to a Ruger employee at an NRA convention about the idea, who poo-pooed it.

In that piece, I wrote this:

So, why not a new .22 Magnum auto-loader, with a few 'improvements' on the KT PMR-30.- - -Maybe a magazine safety (yuk), and a striker fired system; and lets go whole hog and add a .22 Long Rifle conversion kit in the box. All for a MSRP of $499. This would be a real poor man's Five-seveN.

Well, Ruger went one better and produced their own Ruger 57, at a much

Ruger 57 from Ruger website

reduced MSRP (vs FN - $1435) of $799.

With this pistol in production, and with hopes that more ammo manufacturers will get on board and drive ammo prices down to a reasonable level, this just may be a big success.

Power with reduced recoil in a full-size yet lightweight package. Hmmm...

What do you think?

400 K views

Today I note more than four hundred thousand views of this blog. Thanks to all who participate.

Doing a little rough calculating, I figure that if these were all individual and not repeat visitors, if each of you had 1000 guns, that would still be shy of the numbers of guns out there in the US.

There are in excess of four hundred million in the US. Maybe a whole bunch more, since guns only have two enemies:




RUST

&

POLITICIANS

Thanksgiving 2019

Thanking God for all the blessings he has bestowed - -

Glockstore expanding to Nashville

Read about it here:

2nd or 3rd qtr 2020.

ERPO's are bad law

UPDATE: After learning that the H-C managing editor had been on vacation when I sent my ERPO letter; and prompting from Jenny to resubmit it. I did send it in again. They printed it HERE.

Freedom of the Press is free only if you own the press. Below is my recent letter to the editor of the Cookeville Herald-Citizen. It seems doubtful after this much time that they will publish it. So, here it is.

October 5, 2019
Editor, Herald-Citizen:

Advocates of Extreme Risk Protective Orders (ERPO’s or Red Flag Laws) are really more interested in depriving citizens of their lawfully owned guns than they are in public safety.

H.R. 3076, currently under consideration in Congress, is flawed from the beginning, by authorizing confiscation of private property following an ex parte hearing. This means that the respondent first learns of being targeted when heavily armed G-men show up at his door before daybreak to seize his guns.

Muddy River Tactical Holster

Like many other Pistol People, I have accumulated my share of holsters, and even made a few. The problem is that practically every holster has some negative factor. Like handgun choice, compromise is the order of the day.

Defensive handguns need to be as powerful as a bazooka and as light as a feather. So, if you choose a .50 Desert Eagle as a defensive pistol, it may serve double duty as a boat anchor, but it will tend to make you have a list to starboard.

But, I digress . . .

There are a number of factors to consider when looking for a holster. Some are:

• Inside the waistband (IWB)
• Outside the waistband (OWB)
• Clock position*
• Cant (tilt)
• Shoulder - vertical
• Shoulder - horizontal
• Shoulder - angled
• Belt thickness and stiffness

Front view

I gave up on IWB when I learned that you have to wear larger pants. Since I didn't carry the big gun every day (often opting for the pocket rocket), my waist tended to expand to fit the larger pants. Uh, not good!

Now, the chief advantage of IWB is concealability. But that advantage diminishes when a cover garment is long enough to cover the muzzle of an OWB holstered pistol. So, in recent years I have tried several different OWB holsters with varying degrees of success. One, of thick leather, has an attached magazine pouch. It has poor retention, though. Another, which I made, holds the pistol high and tight, but has poor retention.

Sweat shield is standard

Recently, I decided to try an OWB Kydex holster from Muddy River Tactical. I was pleasantly surprised to see the large number of pistols they make holsters for. They include two styles of belt loops with each order. A nice
choice, at no extra charge. Chicago screws also allow for cant adjustment.

I ordered the holster and it came quickly. My pistol fit perfectly, but there was a problem. The holster had almost zero retention. So I got on the phone and called Muddy River. Kevin, the owner answered. Wow! I started to tell Kevin the problem, and he asked my name, and order number. I gave them to him and he said, "I will send you a return label right now."

Dimple in trigger guard provides positive retention

He did.

I sent the holster back on his dime, they put a nice dimple in the trigger guard, and, Voila!, problem solved. I could have probably done that, but I thought Kevin would want to make it right.

Chicago screws and multiple holes
allow cant adjustment

He did.

Now,
the pistol slides in, snaps in place, and is held securely.

Based on reasonable price, speed, and excellent customer service, I highly recommend Muddy River Tactical.

 ----------------------------

*12 o'clock is front and center, 3 is on the right hip, etc.

Is Walmart filtering guns on their wifi?

Let me be clear, I am not boycotting nor calling for a boycott of Walmart. I realize that it can be very difficult in some locales to not use them.

But, the more I see, the more I am inclined to move my business elsewhere, when possible.

For instance, its not simply that they are going to discontinue selling certain ammo (which will be good for real gun stores), Walmart is also

. . .a charter member of the Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership, organized by Walmart and Everytown for Gun Safety (a Bloomberg gun ban group).

And if that is not enough, they are apparently doing some filtering on their wifi. Today, while in Walmart, I clicked on a link to take me to The Truth About Guns site.

Here's what I got:















Then I turned my wifi off, and the site popped right up:




Has anyone else had a similar experience?