I’ve been neglecting this holiday for the past few years, but: today is National Buy an AK Day.
Contrary to what some may believe, this holiday has nothing to do with any political events that take place on January 20th: rather, it is inspired by the classic Ice Cube song “It Was a Good Day” (“Today I didn’t even have to use my A.K./I got to say it was a good day“) and the hard work done by Donovan Strain who determined that the “good day” in the song was January 20, 1992.
“Can I buy something that’s not an AK?” You certainly can: I’m not the boss of what you can and can’t purchase. But Ice Cube didn’t say “I didn’t even have to use my AR” or “I didn’t have to use my FN 5.7”, so this isn’t National Buy a Gun Day. (That’s April 15th.)
Today I thought I’d indulge myself in a bit more random gun crankery.
(Speaking of random gun crankery: a side note to the Buntline conversation. I think I could actually get the funds together to purchase that, if I were irresponsible and really wanted it. But neither of those is true.)
Two short videos about Thell Reed, Hollywood quick draw trainer. This first one concentrates on “Django Unchained”. (Don’t go to the website listed in Wikipedia: it’s been taken over and is not safe for work.)
“Thell Reed: Hollywood’s Hired Gun”.
And here’s someone we hope you’ll really like: the legendary Arvo Ojala. This is an episode of “To Tell The Truth” featuring Mr. Ojala: it is the full episode, but Mr. Ojala’s segment is roughly the first eight minutes.
Bonus, but still on the short side: vintage video of a demonstration by Bill Jordan, Border Patrol agent, author, and no slouch when it came to quick draw himself. I know the YouTube notes aren’t in English, but the video itself is.
Finally, an extra-long bonus that hits three odd intersections: gun crankery, CanCon, and history. “Black Watch Snipers”.
I have another doctor’s appointment today (actually, two) so I’m serving up a variety platter based on some recent events.
It snowed here yesterday. Seriously, snowed. For several hours. In Texas.
It is supposed to be pretty cold today, too, so how about a refreshing cold weather drink recipe?
This recipe is different from the one given in How To Archer, specifically the addition of Creme de Cacao and Crème de menthe. (Also, eight ounces of peppermint schnapps to 12 ounces of hot chocolate sounds like a really good way to get messed up. So I’d recommend drinking these when you don’t have to go anywhere.) I should have picked up some schnapps, Creme de Cacao, and Crème de menthe when I was out…
We watched “Tombstone” Saturday night. Spoiler: I think we all rather liked it. However, me being who I am and the rest of us being who we are (the kind of people who have the Internet Movie Firearms Database open on their phones while we watch), of course I ended up discoursing on the Buntline Special during breaks.
This is a pretty good short video hitting some of the main points on the Buntline Special and Wyatt Earp.
Bonus: I don’t usually link to hickok45 since you should already be watching him. But I’m making an exception here because: “Cimarron Wyatt Earp Buntline Special” which is (as I understand it) an exact replica of the movie gun. And hickok45 also discourses some more on Buntline history.
It is kind of a good looking gun. And I want something in the Colt Single Action Army style. But:
I have the same problem hickock45 has with the 10″ barrel length: it just doesn’t seem handy.
I’m really not sure how well these guns are made (though hickock45 seems to think they’re okay).
What I really want in the SAA style is…an actual Colt Single Action Army in .45 Colt, not a substitute.
(I do have a New Frontier in .22 LR, but I’m thinking of trading that off. It seems surplus to needs, now that I have a Ruger Single-Six with both .22 LR and .22 Magnum cylinders.)
I’ve written before about “The Devil At Your Heels”, the Canadian documentary about Ken Carter and his five-year attempt to do a one-mile jump over the St. Lawrence River.
For those of you who might have been wondering and didn’t check Wikipedia: “Ken Carter – Stuntman To The End”. Or: the rest of the story after the jump attempt.
The other day, I was at Half-Price Books, and found a first edition first printing of One Ranger (affiliate link) signed by both authors for $10, which is a heck of a find. I’ve written before about this book, and I won’t repeat myself here.
But it did get me thinking about the Texas Rangers.
I still have not seen “The Highwaymen”. It isn’t out yet on DVD or blu-ray, I refuse to subscribe to NetFlix, and I haven’t gotten up enough motivation to hoist the black flag.
But I do love this scene, both for the obvious reason and because there’s a limited amount of Woody Harrelson.
No, that wasn’t today’s video.
“Doing Justice to Pancho Hamer” part 1:
Part 2:
“Captain Frank Hamer and his go to firearms.”
This guy says that Frank Hamer did not use the Remington Model 8 to dispatch Bonnie and Clyde (they were used in the ambush, just not by Ranger Hamer):
A photo of the posse’s weapons taken shortly after the shooting that shows one BAR. (I do not believe Boessenecker reproduced that photo in his book.)
A footnote in which Boessenecker attacks Guinn’s scolarship and sources, but does not offer any sources of his own.
Boessenecker claims that the Monitor in the Ranger’s museum did belong to Hamer but there is “no evidence” it was used in the ambush. But he also admits that Hamer’s rifle in the museum could not have been used in the ambush. (It is a Remington Model 81, a successor to the Model 8, that wasn’t manufactured until 1940.)
History doesn’t work on the basis of “which writer we like better”. But given Boessenecker’s (in my opinion) weak sourcing, his tendency to take pot shots at other writers, and the moralizing he inserted into his book…unless somebody shows me a better reliable source, I’m taking Guinn’s side in this dispute.
(It looks to me, watching clips on YouTube, that “The Highwaymen” takes the Boessenecker side.)
For those unfamiliar with the Monitor (which is probably a lot of folks) it was basically a cut-down version of the BAR. Here’s a video from Brownells showing both.
And one last video for the road, from TFB TV: “John Moses Browning’s Amazing Remington Model 8 Semi-Auto Rifle”.
(Remember, JMB’s birthday is coming up January 23rd. I’ll probably do a thematically appropriate post that day: in the meantime, I encourage you to pick up something designed by JMB if you don’t already have one of his guns. A .45 would be nice if you fall into that category, but an Auto-5/Remington Model 11, a Hi-Power, or a Winchester Model 1894 would be fine choices as well.)
Short: a 15 minute documentary about Ruark from the Robert Ruark Society.
Long: “Safari Hunting”, a 1954 documentary about an African safari, featuring Robert Ruark (and Harry Selby) and narrated by Ruark.
It’s kind of cool, for someone as Ruark obsessed as I am, to see and hear the man himself, instead of just reading him. It’s also kind of cool to see what a safari was like in the 1950s.
And speaking of that, one of my Christmas presents from my beloved and indulgent sister and her family was a swell book: White Hunters: The Golden Age of African Safaris by Brian Herne (affiliate link). I’m about 3/4ths of the way through it, and I feel comfortable in recommending this book.
Seriously, do you ever feel like the days are just an oncoming freight train, constantly bearing down on us?
(I am obligated, of course, to point out that, as all people of goodwill know, the Christmas season actually runs through January 6th, and anyone who nags you about leaving your lights and decorations up is a Philistine and not a serious person.)
This is an odd one that didn’t pop up at random: someone on The Drive linked to it in the comments section. I have to apologize that it isn’t in English and doesn’t have subtitles, but I think there’s enough interesting imagery in this to overcome that.
According to the commenter, “Wehrhafte Schweiz / La Suisse vigilante / La Svizzera vigilante” is a 1960s Swiss military propaganda film, originally shot in Cinerama. I think this is a surprisingly good transfer: you might want to watch it on the ‘Tube in full screen mode. You might also want to fast forward past the opening, which is kind of trippy, but (again) does not have English subtitles.
English translation of the YouTube description from Google Translate:
The official doctrine is communicated after a lengthy prologue, which allows different positions on national defense to be heard. A large-scale, combined combat exercise demonstrates the interaction of various branches of weapon.
‘
Bonus: Since that was kind of short (especially if you skip over the tripping beginning), here’s something I didn’t know about previously: Wilson Combat has a YouTube channel.
What makes this interesting is that, starting in October, they started a new series: “Critical Mas(s)” with Massad Ayoob.
I’ve been thinking about my friends in the Austin Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association, how much I miss them, and how much I miss the CPA classes (which have been suspended due to the Chinese rabies). So I thought I’d highlight this first one, since it is relevant both to current events and to stuff we discuss in CPA: “Police Use of Deadly Force: Reasonable or Necessary?”
50 years ago today, on December 21, 1970, the president of the United States, Richard Nixon, met with one of the greatest singers of all time, Elvis Presley, at the White House.
The story goes that Elvis requested the meeting with Nixon, as he wanted the president to appoint him a “federal agent at large” in what was then known as the “Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs”. (BNDD merged into the DEA in 1973.) Elvis believed he could be a force for good and fight drug use among the young people.
Smithsonian magazine has a slightly different version of the story (written by the great Peter Carlson):
That personal gift Elvis mentions in his letter? It was a Colt .45. I have seen it asserted both that the Secret Service confiscated it before Elvis got in to see Nixon, and that Elvis got it past the guards and personally presented it to Nixon.
You can download copies of the photos from the George Washington University National Security Archive (their site has been a major help in writing this). NARA has a site devoted to the meeting, but it is annoying as all get out. You can order a print here, as well as some other related merchandise.
“Bud” Krogh apparently wrote a book about the meeting (called, fittingly, The Day Elvis Met Nixon (affiliate link)) which I believe is out of print but readily available from Amazon.
“How to Order an M1 Garand from the Civilian Marksmanship Program”, by way of Black Flag Armory. Take advantage of this now: you never know what might happen in the future.
I know I’ve said in the past that I don’t want to post a lot of “Forgotten Weapons” stuff, because I figure if folks are interested, they already subscribe. I’m making an exception here because:
a) This is a pretty recent entry.
II) Smith and Wesson.
3) Australia, Australia, we love you, amen.
Specifically, a Smith and Wesson pistol-carbine made for the South Australian Police.
Bonus #1: I actually thought about posting this yesterday, but couldn’t find it in my recommendations. It popped up again today, and this is some real history: “Hannibal’s Elephant Army – The New Evidence”.
Bonus #2: For some reason, I’ve been getting a lot of car repair videos in my feed. Especially ones from “Precision Transmission”. I thought I’d post this one because I shared it with some other folks privately and it seems like they enjoyed it.
“Nitrous doesn’t play well with others! Especially when you have pretty much stock unit.”
