Wednesday - January 14, 2009

Watching Government At Work

Like the Skipper always said, keep your eye on these bastiges at all times. While exchanging emails with another handgun permit applicant, who has waited 6 weeks already for her application to be processed (she lives in a different county), I wondered if there were any rules in place about how long the task could take. Turns out there are! And the government has given itself 30 days:

NJS 2C:58-3(f):
Granting of permit or identification card; fee; term; renewal; revocation.  The application for the permit to purchase a handgun together with a fee of $2.00, or the application for the firearms purchaser identification card together with a fee of $5.00, shall be delivered or forwarded to the licensing authority who shall investigate the same and, unless good cause for the denial thereof appears, shall grant the permit or the identification card, or both, if application has been made therefor, within 30 days from the date of receipt of the application for residents of this State and within 45 days for nonresident applicants.  A permit to purchase a handgun shall be valid for a period of 90 days from the date of issuance and may be renewed by the issuing authority for good cause for an additional 90 days.  A firearms purchaser identification card shall be valid until such time as the holder becomes subject to any of the disabilities set forth in subsection c. of this section, whereupon the card shall be void and shall be returned within five days by the holder to the superintendent, who shall then advise the licensing authority. Failure of the holder to return the firearms purchaser identification card to the superintendent within the said five days shall be an offense under section 2C:39-10a. Any firearms purchaser identification card may be revoked by the Superior Court of the county wherein the card was issued, after hearing upon notice, upon a finding that the holder thereof no longer qualifies for the issuance of such permit.  The county prosecutor of any county, the chief police officer of any municipality or any citizen may apply to such court at any time for the revocation of such card.

There shall be no conditions or requirements added to the form or content of the application, or required by the licensing authority for the issuance of a permit or identification card, other than those that are specifically set forth in this chapter.

I actually found this statute online, via the NJ State Police website. It took a bit of work (the link takes you to hit 1. You want Hit 2 - lower left corner of the page), and I had to go forward several pages, but it was in there. Once I found the statute number, it was easy to locate in many other places.

So I’ll be keeping an eye on things. I might just amble over to the township hall and ask what their part is in the process, since the municipality code is on the application form. After that it goes to County I’d guess. And I go right past their offices at least once a week.

I’m not trying to make a fuss. I’m just watching government in action, waiting to be impressed with their efficient processing powers. I have to get my passport renewed this year too, and I really ought to go and get the car inspected as well. All of this is government working for me. And Obama Says we need more efficient government, right? Plus, I know that my state respects my rights and would never try to delay or deny my rights by dragging their heels or any other kind of obfuscation or interference. I’ll be a nice boy and even give them a bit of extra time, setting my calendar watch from when I delivered the fingerprint form back to them. Which was more than a week after the original application, and after I had found out that the reference letters had already gone out through the mail. So I guess it’s up to the State Bureau of Investigation and the mental health background check people.

Posted by Drew458     on 01/14/2009 at 12:12 PM   
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   Monday - January 12, 2009

Utah setting gun records

Utahns quick to draw concealed weapons permits
[quick to draw. Get it? Hur hur hur]
Gun owners are flooding the state with applications for concealed weapons permits, with almost 45,000 applications filed in 2008, easily a record number, quadrupling the figure from just four years ago.

With the surge, about one in every 25 Utahns over age 21 could be carrying a licensed concealed weapon, according to a Salt Lake Tribune analysis of numbers from the Bureau of Criminal Identification.

In December, alone, BCI received 6,000 permit requests—the highest number ever, capping a year with six record-breaking months.

In all, about 71,000 Utahns have a license to pack a concealed weapon. It is estimated that another 71,000 out-of-state residents have a Utah permit.

Maybe they are afraid of a Proposition 8 invasion. Maybe it’s an Obama thing. Maybe they think their state is falling into disrepute and they no longer feel safe. Maybe they just like guns.

Utah is a very popular state for out of state CCW applications too, because of it’s high degree of reciprocity with other states. Surprise, Mr. Liberal! While almost every state will issue CCW permits to their residents, many will recognize the permits of other states as valid in their state. And the state with the highest level of reciprocity is Utah. Even scarier, Utah (and many other states as well) will issue you a CCW even if you don’t live there! Which means, assuming New Jersey sees fit to issue me my handgun purchase/ownership permit, which is NOT a CCW, I could get a Utah permit and then legally have a gun in my pocket in Pennsylvania! Just like a real American!!


“Utahns”? WTF? Is that what they call themselves? Is that the best they can come up with? I’d go with Utonians, but that sounds like some branch of Scientology. How about Utahnis? At least that sort of sounds like the name of some Native American tribe. Yeah yeah, Utes, a real tribe, I know. But if they used that name, then what would you call their residents who are over age 18?

Posted by Drew458     on 01/12/2009 at 02:16 PM   
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   Sunday - January 11, 2009

My reply to Peiper

Hi again Peiper!

Liked your pilfered post from Vilmar…

You chose 1812… talk about a hanging curve ball…

Only time I’ve seen the War of 1812 on ice!

Posted by Christopher     on 01/11/2009 at 11:19 PM   
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   Tuesday - January 06, 2009

Mr. Bunnsy has a small adventure

So I got my fingerprinting done late this morning for my NJ firearms ID card. I had to go to the local mental institution psychiatric hospital to get it done. I didn’t even know we had one! So I went up to Glen Gardner (which is a town, not some brand of scotch, even though I once knew someone with that name) and took a drive up the mountain to the place. Through the deep dark woods. The woods that grow the 400 pound bears that they run over down in the town. And I kept going up, and up, and up. And the road got worse as the woods got heavier. Finally I found the sign for the hospital at the proverbial fork in the road, and bore to the right. I was expecting a bear on my left, but they’re all probably hibernating now. I managed to miss the sign where the road split into 4 even smaller roads, but at least I found the place. So I had a nice drive around all the old whitewashed stone buildings, going down all the dead end streets and blind alleys. Finally I decided I’d ask someone, so I found the Administration building and parked. A delivery guy I met in the parking lot pointed out that I was only off by one building, so I at last found the place.

I left myself plenty of time to get there, and needed most of it. You sign up for this task online, and the web page is quite authoritative. Appointments are little 5 minute windows. You pay in advance online. No refunds. No missing appointments. Definitely gives you the “Zhu vill not be late, or zhu vill be shot!” intimidating kind of feeling. So I parked, walked around the building until I found the little entrance nook on the side ("Zhu vill not use zer front door or zhu vill be shot!") and went it. And met two very pleasant and charming young women who did the task in a couple of minutes. They have an optical scanner attached to a PC. No ink. No mess. A full set of prints, both hands, glommed onto a file and emailed back to the police station with a single mouse click. Here’s your receipt, here’s your paperwork to drop off, thank you have a nice day. I mentioned that the website was a bit intimidating. “Oh that’s just to make sure people keep their appointments. If we didn’t do that folks would just show up whenever they wanted to.” She has a point. Keeping appointments and reservations seem to be one of those arcane acts of society that we’ve lost along the way.

Still no bears visible, just the usual deer, so I got back in my car, drove over to the police station and dropped off my paperwork, then drove home. Nothing else to do now except wait. My reference letters have already gone out, been filled out and mailed back. Let’s see how long it takes the state to process this process.

Now here’s a funny thing. This hospital is pretty old. It has that look of age that some fieldstone buildings get after a century or two. And I noticed that at least one of the buildings was in pretty awful condition, just about ready to fall down. So I come home and do a little ‘net research, and find out that this place was funded in 1902 by NJ State Governor Murphy, a Progressive Republican! (and Civil War veteran), along with fellow vet and eye doctor Charles Kipp and it opened as the NJ Sanitarium for Tuberculosis Diseases at Mt. Kipp in 1907. (scroll down to the G section). The funny part is that the place seems to be a geriatrics center, or at least a psychogeriatric hospital , and a center for drug alcoholism treatment ... and yet, at the same time, others seem to think this is another one of NJ’s famous abandoned hospitals and institutions. We have loads of them. Once upon a time, people flocked to New Jersey to recover from illnesses. Must have been that pure country air and water. I think the “here’s another spooky old mental hospital” guy was just sneaking around in the one falling apart little building. The rest of the place is immaculate.

Posted by Drew458     on 01/06/2009 at 02:54 PM   
Filed Under: • Daily Life • Guns and Gun Control •  
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   Friday - January 02, 2009

Interesting article for the gun fans among us…

New technique lifts fingerprints from cleaned guns - gizmag.com

Wiping the gun clean has long been considered best practice for villains but may soon become a quaint custom as researchers have developed a way to ‘visualise fingerprints’ even after the print itself has been removed by measuring the corrosion of the surface by deposits from the fingerprints. The technique can enhance – after firing– a fingerprint that has been deposited on a small calibre metal cartridge case before it is fired. The technique promises the ability to reopen many cases and solve cold cases around the world because the “underlying print never disappears” according to the scientists.

The Forensic Research Centre at the University of Leicester (UK) develops new ways of taking evidence from a crime scene http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_scene . Already world-leading in such areas as using X-Rays or electrically charging metal surfaces for fingerprint enhancement , they have now developed an entirely new way of detecting fingerprints – great fodder for Crime Scene Investigation fans … and one that could realistically result in thousands of cold cases being reopened around the world.

Forensic scientists at the University of Leicester, working with Northamptonshire Police, have announced a major breakthrough in crime detection which could lead to hundreds of cold cases being reopened.

Dr John Bond, Honorary Fellow at the University of Leicester and Scientific Support Manager at Northamptonshire Police said: “For the first time we can get prints from people who handled a cartridge before it was fired.”

“Wiping it down, washing it in hot soapy water makes no difference - and the heat of the shot helps the process we use.

“The procedure works by applying an electric charge to a metal - say a gun or bullet - which has been coated in a fine conducting powder, similar to that used in photocopiers.

“Even if the fingerprint has been washed off, it leaves a slight corrosion on the metal and this attracts the powder when the charge is applied, so showing up a residual fingerprint.

“The technique works on everything from bullet casings to machine guns. Even if heat vaporises normal clues, police will be able to prove who handled a particular gun.”

A bit more at the link. Stumbled across this as it was posted at FreeRepublic and wanted to share this interesting article with the BMEWS gun fans. 

Posted by Severa     on 01/02/2009 at 02:02 PM   
Filed Under: • Crime • Guns and Gun Control •  
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   Thursday - January 01, 2009

Great minds thinking alike

Heck, this even reads like I wrote it. This one gets the Seal of Approval.

Go read. You will enjoy! Bloody Vikings.

Ok, had I written it, there would have been 11 entries, not 10. Just so I could include the venerable and still awesome to this day .45-70. It being the only 130 plus years old military round designed to eliminate enemies and their organic 4x4s (ie horses) out to about half a mile, that has been and still is chambered for rifles, carbines, machine guns, revolvers, single shot hunting pistols, and derringers. DERRINGERS! And there is just about nothing walking on earth that a factory-wimp-loaded .45-70 can’t drill a 3/4” diameter hole through, from one end to the other. For the 6 remaining critters that are exceptions to the “just about nothing” list, the .45-70 can be hand loaded to amazingly pachydermalethal levels. Almost all the .45-70s being made today are stubby little no-weight lever action cowboy guns. Combine the amazing inertia of a cartridge that throws a bullet roughly twice the weight of most other bullets with a flyweight little rifle, and you have recoil generator that is really a testosterone level field test kit. It doesn’t take a manly man to pull the trigger once, but it takes a manly man to pull that trigger for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th time. Not that there would ever really be need to do that in a hunting situation. 

Posted by Drew458     on 01/01/2009 at 02:31 PM   
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Playing by the rules

I will be doing a bit more gun posting this year. Artsy gun porn when I find it, range reports when I can make them, updates on all the dumb laws and bills when I learn about them. It won’t be a daily thing, but I hope to drop at least one per week. We’ll see.

I’m going through the pistol permit application here in NJ right now, and it is both easier and harder than I figured. But once I get it, I have to figure out what to buy. I’ve decided to approach it as if I’ve never done this before, just for fun. I got the forms and filled them all out honestly. I already asked the state cop who did my paperwork all the naive questions. I found out he processes about 90 applications a year, which isn’t very many since his area covers about 9 small towns around here. He shares the duty with another officer, so my guess is less than 200 people a year go through this. I’m also guessing the population of all those little towns might total 10-15,000 people. But the permits don’t expire in NJ (though you do get only 90 days to buy something), so over the years the numbers add up.

When I finally did meet with him - it took almost a month to match our schedules - he said mine was his 3rd session that day. I put on my special I-live-under-a-rock face and asked the young fellow if he’s seen a surge in applications since early November? “Are you kidding? I’ve done more of these in the past 2 months than in the whole year before that. People think this new guy is going to outlaw all the guns. I don’t think it’s gonna happen ... well, not in his first term at least; he’s gonna be too busy with other stuff.” I said that I’d been thinking about it for some years, but that was my motivating factor as well.

So we’ll see how it goes. I’ve made my appointment for digital fingerprinting next week. After that it’s just a matter of waiting for the reports to come back from the FBI and the state background check folks. Then I have to figure out what to purchase. Right now I have to go pick up another little $2 money order, because I can get more than one pistol purchase card on this background check iteration. If I wait another week, or more, then I’ll have to pay another $18 for another background investigation. At least I can get a 90 day extension for free; buying 2 guns inside 90 days is a bit more cash than I can budget. Thinking the officer’s statement about the 2nd investigation through, I gather this means my fingerprints will be staying in the system. I’m not thrilled with that, even if they go in some other “non-criminal” file. Just so long as my face doesn’t appear in some CSI episode as they use their magic cop-puter to do a multi-point match on a set of fingerprints in 3 seconds against a database of 70 million records.

I’m sort of leaning towards a very small pistol right now. Something small and light and not too expensive. Perhaps that Bersa Thunder, or the little Ruger or Kel-tech .380s that are almost the same. If I buy a 2nd one, it will likely be a .22 for practice. Something for semi-serious target work. I have to do my research there; my knowledge of .22 pistols is about 25 years out of date. I gather a Colt Woodsman doesn’t cost $75 anymore ... hell, it ain’t even made anymore I think. So maybe a Ruger Mk I? Heck, they’re up to Mk III on that model. I’ve got to do some research! Good thing I’ve got 3-5 months to do that before the permit comes through [/sarcasm].

Posted by Drew458     on 01/01/2009 at 11:50 AM   
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   Saturday - December 20, 2008

BUYING AN AIR GUN IN DEFENLESS BRITAIN.

Over run with rabbits and squirrels out here, a rural environment pretty much, and so have been investigating the possibility of getting an air gun.
I am going to assume that buying something like this is still pretty straight forward back home in USA.  Yes? No?

So then, during by research into the subject, which included bugging Lyndon a bit, I have come up with this and am pretty sure my countrymen and women who have interests in firearms, would find this eye opening.

I’m not 100 percent sure that face to face pick up is ALL that wrong.  Are you?  I mean, do you want anyone who wants a gun even of this type, to be able to simply buy it through the mail?

On the other hand, it does look like a lot of hoop jumping and more costly too if you pay extra due to the pick up thing described below.

I know how some of you feel on the subject of gun control.  Doc Jeff gave me the perfect word for touchy subjects.
“Twitchy” So this is a “twitchy subject.” That word somehow seems to carry more weight then, touchy. And gun control is certainly that.
Especially to Americans.

Air weapons are mainly sold from firearms dealerships and outdoor sports shops.

Air rifles with muzzle energies of less than twelve foot pounds (16.3 joules) and air pistols with muzzle energies of less than six foot pounds (8.15 joules) can be bought by any person aged eighteen years or more.

However, if you want an air rifle with a muzzle energy greater than twelve foot pounds, you must first obtain a firearm certificate from your local police firearms licensing department. Air pistols with muzzle energies greater than six foot pounds or air pistols and air rifles which use the self contained gas cartridge system (these used to be manufactured by Brocock as BACS Cartridges and does NOT include the CO2 cartridges used in CO2 rifles and pistols) are prohibited weapons which may only be acquired with the authority of the Secretary of State.

If you are in any doubt, seek advice from your local police firearms licensing department.

New Airgun Law

NEW LEGISLATION RELATING TO THE SALE OF AIRGUNS

On the 2nd October 2007 the law as it pertains to airgun sales changed. Airguns can only now be purchased face to face in a licensed premises. This means that any form of “remote” purchase (telephone or on-line ordering) is now illegal.

HOW CAN I ORDER FROM AIRGUNS ONLINE?

If you would like to place an order for one of our rifles or pistols but live too far away to visit the shop, this is what to do:

1. Contact your local licensed gun retailer

2. Ask them to take delivery of a package; they will probably require a nominal handling charge

3. Contact us with your order requirements and the delivery details of the retailer concerned

4. As it is still legal for licensed dealers to deliver airguns to one another, we will be able to dispatch your order

Please note, we charge £10.00 to deliver an airgun.

Posted by peiper     on 12/20/2008 at 10:09 AM   
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   Saturday - December 13, 2008

here’s your prescription now turn in your guns

Doctors Eisen (dentist) and Gallant (optometrist) take a look at the next “reason” to disarm the public. For your own good of course.

In Nassau County, New York, a revised handgun application went into effect in January 2007. A new question asks: “Have you used or still use narcotics, tranquilizers or anti depressant [sic] medication? If YES, record doctor’s name, address and phone number, (attach).” If the applicant answers in the affirmative, a list of those medications is also required.

The new question may have been added as a means of increasing public safety, but Nassau County licensees have maintained a nearly spotless record in this area. A more likely explanation is that this could be the next practical step in denying exercise of the Second Amendment.
The recent Heller Supreme Court decision gave gun-owners a tripartite victory: firearm possession is an individual right, a complete ban on firearms is unconstitutional, and the right to self-defense with firearms is affirmed. The Supreme Court nevertheless left plenty of wiggle room for the firearm-prohibitionists, by allowing for “reasonable regulation.”

“Reasonable” is a very big word, and it opens the way to the eradication of our rights. If firearms can no longer be banned, then expanding the list of prohibited persons is the next tactic for firearm-hostile politicians to explore. That subjective factor of “reasonable” regulation could cast an extremely wide net.

There is no scientific evidence to suggest that a history of legal drug use is a valid disqualifier of firearm ownership. According to the best criminological evidence, the most accurate predictor of violent behavior is a past history of violence.

The Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) acts as the county’s handgun licensing authority; licenses issued in Nassau County are valid for 5 years, after which time they must be renewed. If licensing authorities are allowed to determine that some drugs should be firearm “disqualifiers,” and others not, we will soon discover that there is no line between which drugs are dangerous, and which are not.

Use of anti-depressants has been linked to youngsters who have gone on high-profile, but rare, mass-shooting sprees. If these drugs can cause people to suddenly “snap,” it might seem reasonable to restrict legal possession of firearms to those taking such drugs as an effective strategy to prevent violent rampages. One point on which most researchers agree is that these incidents generally occur in a susceptible group of individuals under 25 years of age.

But because locks are easily disabled, in order to prevent any access to firearms by this class of individuals, or any other susceptible group, our society would need to tightly restrict the possession and storage of all weapons—exactly the goal of the firearm-prohibitionists.

If we allow fear mongering to replace good science and sound medical care, we can make the case that most drugs Americans commonly take could be used as firearm disqualifiers. That is because virtually all drugs—prescription and over-the-counter—have been associated with psychological and neurological adverse effects.

Nassau County NY is western and central Long Island, east of Queens. It costs $200 to apply for a pistol permit there, and another $99 to get fingerprinted, so there is already a bias against the poor inherent in the process. And the waiting time is 6 months, don’t call us, thank you. The permit is good for only 5 years, at which point it costs you $200 to renew it. And the list of questions asked on the form is onerous (and I’m saying that, living here in NJ!!) Not just “where do you work?” but “list every job you’ve had for the past 5 years.” 4 references, not 1 or 2. List next of kin. Who will get your guns when you die or become disabled? Were you given a dishonorable discharge from the military? Have you had a traffic ticket in the past 5 years? Have you ever been arrested? (not convicted, just arrested) Have you ever been fired from a job? Has any family member ever been in a mental institution? I bet this is the nastiest and most intrusive gun permit form in the country. Horry Clap. Even your character references get put through the wringer, threatened with a perjury charge, and then they have to have their form notarized. Oh, and do you own any guns too? But getting this permit isn’t enough! When 6 months have gone by and you have your permit, you then need to get a Purchase Document from the cops! One per gun thanks. Wonder how much they cost? And how often you’re allowed to get one? Or how long the cops take to process them?


At first read, and it’s a short article worth reading, I thought that perhaps Drs Eisen and Gallant were clutching at straws, and maybe trying to do some scare tactics of their own. But now that I’ve read through the Nassau County forms, I accept their premise fully. If there are any questions on this interrogation form about prescription drug use, they are there for one reason: to deny you the permit. This is out of control. And now they want to use what perfectly legal prescription drugs you take - or have ever taken!! - as a reason to deny you your constitutional rights. This isn’t moonbattery. It’s far beyond that. This is the sound of the hobnailed boots kicking in your door at 3am. This is government gone wild.

Heller was no where near a strong enough decision. The Nassau County form has been in use for 2 years now; Heller was only a couple of months ago. This form already is what the NY county feels is “reasonable regulation”, because it is possible that some people can put down the right questions, have the right folks speak up for them in the proper manner, have a past purer than the freshly fallen snow AND afford to pony up what is likely the highest gun application fee in the country. But God himself can’t help them if they take or have ever taken a certain kind of medicine. And you don’t have access to the list of proscribed prescribed drugs. So what’s on the list is what we want to be on the list. For the wrong kind of person. Mandatory urine and blood samples will be next. Pretty soon nobody will be able to buy a gun in Nassau County, but that’s Ok, because it’s all just “reasonable regulation”. Have to protect the public you know. [That’s what the cops are for, right? Well sure, until you actually demand that they do so. Then they’ll trot out the court cases that say they aren’t, after all. ]

Horry Clap. And I thought it was tough here in NJ.



Oh, and you did notice the citation at the top of this post? This article was first printed in this month’s Blue Press, the combination magazine and catalog put out by Dillon Precision. They make superb reloading presses. They also make the miniguns for our military. And for readers of Vilmar’s and Rodger’s blogs, they have the new calendars ready. The ones that feature the “gun babe” you were all drooling over the other day, Cathy Rankin. You can get both large format Dillon Calendars for only $16.95, and Cathy is on the cover of one of them.

UPDATE: So much for Equal Treatment Under The Law. Rockland County NY is about the same distance west of NYC as Nassau County is to the east of NYC. But in Rockland, a pistol permit costs $10. Plus fingerprinting fees. But the permit is good forever. And you only need 2 references, not 4. I guess they don’t have people from Brady running their show like Nassau does. In between these two counties is Westchester County, which is directly north of NYC. There a pistol permit costs the same $10, but you have to recertify ever 5 years. And they will give you free gun locks if you ask for them. No mention of fingerprinting or fingerprinting costs at the Westchester web page.

Posted by Drew458     on 12/13/2008 at 10:44 PM   
Filed Under: • Government • Guns and Gun Control • Jack Booted Thugs •  
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   Tuesday - December 09, 2008

Gun Porn

Now that Kim has retired, it’s up to the rest of us to put the firearms information out there. I will leave it to the other blogs to cover the scary black rifles and the more mundane firearms. My interest in guns tends towards the unusual and unique. I also appreciate beauty but I don’t like excess. So I won’t focus on the plastic or plain vanilla guns, and I probably won’t show too many of the guns that are so fancy you wouldn’t dare shoot them. Highly figured wood, an excellent finish, and a moderate amount of engraving are about as far as I go. Orphaned cartridges and gun designs also float my boat.

Here is one you might like. It’s about at the top of my “fancy but shootable” scale. It’s a restored and improved 1876 Winchester chambered in .45-75. The .45-75 is a real oddball round. It was probably the first bottleneck “high powered rifle” cartridge designed in America. It was developed as attempt to get the big Army contract. The Army was using the single shot Springfield “Trapdoor” rifle at the time, chambered in the blackpowder .45-70-405. This was plenty enough gun to shoot indians and the horses they rode in on, but the single shot rifle left a lot to be desired when the going got hot; a repeater was needed. Problem was, the only repeating rifles in those days were lever action guns that fired relatively puny cartridges, and none of them had an action long enough to handle the “big” (2.55") .45-70 round. So Winchester made the .45-75; a shorter fatter cartridge that looked like a bigger version of their earlier .38-40. It produced nearly the same ballistics as the .45-70 - a 350 grain bullet at 1350 feet per second - but would fit in the rifles they knew how to make. The Army wasn’t impressed. Their testing showed that the bottleneck cartridge idea doesn’t really work with blackpowder; it just raises pressures with no real increase in velocity. So Winchester put the rifle out for sale on the civilian market, where it was quickly found to be more than enough gun to shoot buffalo with, or anything smaller. Which means anything with feet, as buffalo are rather huge beasties. 132 years later, the .45-70 is still a very popular cartridge. The .45-75 died out in less than a decade. You can still buy ammo for it, but it’s really expensive.

So on to the rifle. This one was restored and improved by Turnbull Restorations. Doug Turnbull is a master gunsmith. Obviously.

The receiver is engraved with a period #10 style engraving pattern with a full body bull moose on the left side plate of the receiver.  The remainder of the receiver is engraved with beautiful detailed scroll work.  The receiver, hammer, lever and butt plate are finished with original Bone Charcoal Color Case Hardening.

The stocks are 3X fancy American Black Walnut with beautiful figure and are checkered with a period correct Winchester factory “H-pattern” checkering.

All this can be yours, for a mere $16,500.

GET ME OUT OF HERE ...

Posted by Drew458     on 12/09/2008 at 01:49 PM   
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   Wednesday - December 03, 2008

More Brilliance from DC

“Today’s vote puts the District at the forefront of using regulation to reduce gun violence, rather than the simpler, prior approach of hoping that an outright ban will be effective.”

You see the logic in that statement, right? “Because banning all guns outright didn’t do dingleberry to reduce crime, we feel that excessive regulation that keeps the law-abiding public unarmed for as long as possible will simply have to work.” Holy jumping turd maggots. Infinite Stoopid, minus 1.

The D.C. Council voted unanimously yesterday to give preliminary approval to legislation that would require gun owners to renew their registrations every three years and to notify police annually whether they still own guns.

The Fire Arms Registration Amendment, which would also ban assault weapons, was described as building on legislation passed by the council in September to adhere to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the city’s 32-year handgun ban.
...
Yesterday’s gun legislation is the next step in the District’s gun control efforts. Its earlier attempts before the September legislation prompted a gun-rights activist to sue and the U.S. House of Representatives to pass legislation that would have all but stripped the city of its regulating authority. The lawsuit is pending; the congressional measure died in the Senate.
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Since September, D.C. residents have been allowed to register magazine-loaded semiautomatic handguns as well as revolvers. The legislation banned magazines that are capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

Yesterday’s legislation would also require firearms owners to take a safety course and undergo a background check every six years.

After the vote, council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said in a statement, “Today’s vote puts the District at the forefront of using regulation to reduce gun violence, rather than the simpler, prior approach of hoping that an outright ban will be effective.”
...
After last night’s meeting and in response to gun-rights advocates, Mendelson said in an interview, ”We have been mindful of the limitations set forth in the Supreme Court case, and the bill falls within that.” He said the bill also will be “refined” before the final vote.

There ya go. The good little tyrants who run DC have decided that the way to cooperate with the Heller decision is to enact every possible limitation right up to the very edge of what the SCOTUS declared. Which is pretty much exactly what I expected when the weak kneed Heller decision came out. The DC government (almost 100% Democrat I think) simply will not allow the citizens of that city (who happen to be mostly black people) to legally have guns. All guns registered, no “as designed” capacity magazines, permits only last 3 years, you have to tell Big Brother every year if you still own a gun, safety classes, and of course none of those Evil Black Rifles are allowed. Plus we have to check your ass out every 2 permits, because you’re probably a criminal just waiting to happen. Oh, did we mention there would be fees involved for all of this?

Maybe Obama will save them, and give them some real freedom. WTF, it’s not like they earned it. Don’t hold your breath.

Posted by Drew458     on 12/03/2008 at 10:58 PM   
Filed Under: • Guns and Gun Control •  
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   Monday - December 01, 2008

It’s a Miracle!! ACLU sides with gun owners!!!

The Delaware State Police have been conducting secret background checks of some gun owners since 2001, a process known as “superchecks” that may violate federal law.  The checks have resulted in confiscation of weapons, some for legitimate reasons, but have subjected many citizens to a search of mental health records that in most cases police would be unable to access.

In Delaware, when someone attempts to purchase a pistol or rifle, he or she must first sign a consent form authorizing a criminal and mental health check by the state Firearms Transaction Approval Program.  These background checks are initiated when a gun dealer calls the firearms unit seeking approval to sell a weapon.

Employees of FTAP conduct about 10,000 background checks a year using computers that link to criminal and court databases and a mental health database maintained by the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services.

Through a request made under the state Freedom of Information Act, The News Journal obtained the results of nearly 4,000 background checks conducted by FTAP from 1998 to 2008 in which gun purchases were denied by state police. The state must destroy records of approved gun purchases within 60 days under a law designed to prevent agencies from compiling lists of gun owners.

he FTAP program was created by lawmakers, and funded by taxpayers, to aid licensed gun dealers, but The News Journal found that more than 10 percent of background checks denied by FTAP were requested by state troopers, not by gun dealers attempting to authorize a legal sale.

None of their superchecks involved gun sales and none of the people checked by state police had signed a written consent form. But all the superchecks, state police said, were gun-related.  Because FTAP checks of legal gun ownership are destroyed, it’s impossible to tell from the data how many superchecks state police routinely conduct. A DHSS spokesman said his agency does not keep a record of the number of times FTAP employees have accessed the state’s mental health database.

“Basically, it’s up to the trooper’s discretion,” said State Police Capt. Galen M. Purcell, director of the State Bureau of Identification. “If they pull someone over and if there are firearms in the car, or they want to make sure they’re not prohibited, they may call the FTAP.”

Purcell described the superchecks as “one-stop shopping.”

“They hit all appropriate databases; criminal history, Department of Motor Vehicles, and it’s also linked to DHSS,” he said.

Drewry Fennell, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware, said that in the context of federal law, someone’s mental health history is surrounded by “robust protections.”

“There’s a clear directive that they’re not supposed to be used for general law enforcement purposes,” Fennell said. “There are a couple of exceptions in the regulations, but there is no exception to support a general law enforcement query.”

Ron Honberg is national director of policy and legal affairs for the National Association of Mental Illness, the country’s largest advocacy organization for people with mental illness.

Superchecks, Honberg said, are “excessive and unnecessary.”

“It sounds like a potential abuse of authority,” he said. “It creates a jeopardy that this type of information could be used for all sorts of purposes.”

State politicians have moved into Emergency CYA mode:

When the firearms unit was created, the debate in the House was “strictly about purchases, not enforcement,” said House Minority Leader Richard C. Cathcart, R-Middletown. “It seems to me this violates—at a minimum—the intent of the legislation.”

Cathcart, who received an “A+” rating from the NRA before his recent re-election, said the supercheck process needs a quick statutorial fix.

“Obviously, there is a right to bear arms, but the way this is being applied, basically they’re saying it’s a privilege, and they have a right to take away that privilege from people,” Cathcart said. “I have a huge problem with this.”

House Majority Leader Peter C. Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, a retired state police captain who received an “F” grade from the NRA, doesn’t understand why troopers need to check gun owners through the firearms unit.

“That’s wrong,” he said. “I don’t understand that process because a trooper or a police officer has access to a computer with the same capability as the firearms unit.”

The article goes on, mentioning the case of the 81 year old granny denied the right to buy a gun because she was old, and female. It also shows how some of the reasons for denial were rather sketchy. You can read the whole thing here.

I’d like to be able to blame this Police State kind of behavior on a general reaction to terrorism, but that isn’t really the case. This program, an perhaps this behavior, has been in place since the early 90s, nearly a decade before the Patriot Act or anything like that. No, this is just Jack Booted Thuggery, another example of unchecked power leading to unchecked abuses. And by coincidence in a Democrat controlled state. And if you think it’s any better now that the police have become some kind of paramilitary organization across the country, SWAT teams and machine guns all over the place, with instant access to all sorts of data right from their patrol cars or Blackberrys, then guess again. This is just the smallest peek behind the curtain. “reasonable suspicion” and “suspected intent” now translate into “because I could” and there ain’t a damn thing you can do about it. Prove you aren’t a loony to be allowed to exercise your 2A rights, then have any and every cop in the country looking at your mental health records whenever they feel like it. HIPPA be damned ... and you can’t prove they aren’t accessing your regular health records either. Or your income tax records. Or any government records of any kind. Or you credit card bills. What the hell, talk to Joe the Plumber about that government snooping. In the false hope of security we’ve created a digital monster; you don’t even have the illusion of privacy any more. Stories like this just point to the very edges of the reality as far as I’m concerned. If your data was protected and honored, you’d see thousands of government employees getting fired for snooping, all the time. And that is not happening.

Posted by Drew458     on 12/01/2008 at 09:53 PM   
Filed Under: • Guns and Gun Control • Jack Booted Thugs •  
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   Sunday - November 30, 2008

Lady, you are Soooo fired

Pittsburgh City Council gave its first approval today to legislation requiring that anyone report a lost or stolen firearm report that within 24 hours or potentially face a $500 fine.

The 6-1 vote, with two abstentions, sets up a final vote likely next week, which would send the legislation to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl for his signature or veto, and then potentially to the courts, where similar measures have been challenged.

“Who really cares about it being unconstitutional?” said Councilwoman Tonya Payne, a supporter. “This is what’s right to do, and if this means that we have to go out and have a court battle, then that’s fine ... We have plenty of dead bodies coming up in our streets every single day, and that is unacceptable.”

The lone no vote was by Councilman Ricky Burgess, who argued that it would be a “false cure” that would be “particularly cruel” to his violence-plagued northeastern Pittsburgh district.

“This legislation will not strike a blow to straw purchasers,” he said. “This ordinance will not be enforced, no loopholes will be closed and no lives will be saved, because no municipality can legally regulate firearms of any kind, at any time, for any reason.”

Council’s vote is a win for groups engaged in a statewide push to get local rules for reporting lost and stolen guns. The state House rejected a statewide bill in April.

Philadelphia has sought to enforce similar legislation, but the effort has been tied up in litigation. Legally, the question is whether the state ban on local laws on “the transfer, ownership, transportation or possession” of guns extends to the reporting of lost or stolen firearms.

The Commonwealth Court threw out Philadelphia’s measure, and other gun control rules there. The matter is heading for the state Supreme Court.

Wow. Just wow. And the Big 0 (oops, I meant “Big O") isn’t even in office yet. Left wing loonies running amok. Constitution? We doan need no steenkin Constitution!!

If PA has identified certain people who they feel are straw purchasers then they need to do a bit of stake out and catch them in the act, then prosecute the hell out of them. That’s following the law.
Since nearly the exact same legislation has already been struck down in Philly, the Pittsburgh idiots know damn well this one is going to fail as well. I wish the court could fine them 10 million or so for wasting their time. Out of the Council’s pockets too, not the taxpayer’s.

And kudos to Burgess, the one guy there with even a lick of sense.

Ok BMEWSers ... find Pennsyltucky a legal solution. Or a mostly legal solution: 

By the most amazing good fortune, some guy with no criminal record at all finds a bag of money. He celebrates his good fortune by going out and spending half the cash to buy a pistol and a box of ammo. He stores them on his back porch, where the screen door has a 2 cent latch. Somehow, the next morning, they’ve been stolen. And it happens again and again and again, sometimes 3 times a week!

You KNOW he’s doing the straw purchase thing. Laws for “one gun a month” have been shot down. Laws for “must report it stolen” have been shot down. Outside of poppin a cap upside his head, how are you going to stop what he’s doing?

h/t to Neil Boortz

Posted by Drew458     on 11/30/2008 at 10:57 AM   
Filed Under: • Guns and Gun Control •  
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SANDI TOKSVIG IS ANOTHER FAT CLUMSY CLOWN and SPOONS MADE ROSIE FAT.

I should have posted this a couple of days ago.  Could have fit right in with Drew’s Rosie post.
At the moment I’m angry with another fat cow on this side of the Atlantic (Sandi Toksvig) who fancies herself a wit.  Yeah,yeah, the old Americans are dumb thing.
She mentions a few loony tunes but makes it look as though the USA is made up of only that fringe.

To be expected of course as she’s a somewhat liberal Bush bashing Obama loving fat twit.  Gee I’m in a good mood.
Well, I was till I read her weekly column.  Seems like I always just have to see what folks are up to with regard to us and then regret the curiosity.
Must be a gift I have.

Ok so here a real laugh. 

Posted by peiper     on 11/30/2008 at 10:46 AM   
Filed Under: • Blog Stuff • Guns and Gun Control • Humor •  
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