Archive for the ‘Guns’ Category

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What to do? What. To. Do?

Friday, November 17th, 2023

I could do three, maybe four, very short posts covering and updating about various news items.

Or I could do one post hitting all of those items, even though it wouldn’t be as organized as doing multiple posts. But it’d just be one post, and maybe slightly more substantial. So one post it is.

Obit watch: A.S. Byatt, noted British author (Possession).

George Brown, drummer for Kool & the Gang.

Non-flaming non-hyenas watch: Mike the Musicologist sent over a link (but I’m using the Post‘s instead) stating that the gun charges against NYC Councilwoman Inna Vernikov are going to be dropped. Turns out that her gun was unloaded and also missing the recoil spring assembly, so it couldn’t be fired.

“In order to sustain this charge, it must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the weapon in question was capable of firing bullets,” Brooklyn DA spokesman Oren Yaniv said in a statement. “Absent such proof, we have no choice but to dismiss these charges.”

This actually makes me feel less sympathetic to her. It seems like she was carrying the gun as a prop, not because she felt a need for protection. And that doesn’t strike me as being very smart.

Firings watch: Chris Partridge, linebackers coach at the University of Michigan. This does seem to be tied to the ongoing scandal.

There are somewhat more than hints in that article and this one that UMich has found out some things about what’s been going on that are causing tsuris.

Sources told ESPN that university leadership this week has shifted its tone from the stern rebuke of the league’s sanctions to a growing acceptance that the football program may be dealing with significant NCAA infractions that could include a failure to properly monitor the program on Harbaugh’s part.

Posted in Books, Firings, Guns, Law, Music, Politics, Sports | 1 Comment »

Trip report: Tulsa, OK.

Thursday, November 16th, 2023

So Mike the Musicologist and I went back to Tulsa for the Wanenmacher’s Tulsa Arms Show again last week. Left Wednesday, got back this past Monday night.

I don’t want to say it was a bad trip: it wasn’t, but it did seem kind of ill-fated from the start. No broken friendships, no car damage (though MtM did get a little love tap from behind on a San Antonio freeway – no harm done), no lost money, no hotel problems.

But I took the Tuesday off to pack, and instead of things going smoothly, it was a parade of petty annoyances, including a dryer that broke while I was doing laundry. (The laundromat on Hudson Bend near Lakeway is the grungiest one I’ve ever seen in my life.)

Then, once we got to Tulsa, I felt a little off my feed much of the trip. It seemed like I was having constant mild allergic reactions to something: watery nose, itchy skin, scratchy throat, etc. It was low level and didn’t keep me from enjoying myself, but it was enough to bother me.

(We’ve taken to getting a VRBO when we go, instead of a hotel room. That generally works out okay, though MtM often has criticism of the interior design of the homes we get.)

I didn’t buy any guns at the show. I did find a few I liked, including a S&W Model 53 with the 8 3/8″ barrel. But the seller wanted $2,300, which was more than I was willing to pay. I planned to go back before the show ended on Sunday and see if he’d take a lower offer, but when we got there at 2 PM (show closes at 4 PM on Sunday) he’d already packed up and left. I saw a few other attractive guns (a Mannlicher stocked CZ .22 Hornet, a couple of Miroku clones of the Winchester 52 Sporter) but I was so worn out by that point I couldn’t muster the energy to go back for any of them. Plus they would have been consolation prizes, plus these shouldn’t be hard to find on GunBroker.

It seemed like the show had changed a little since Joe Wanenmacher’s death. I felt like there was more non-gun related junk (candy, jerky, toys, etc.) than there was previously. I personally didn’t hear any vendors complaining, but MtM told me he did. At least the “no scentsy” policy is still in effect.

I did pick up some books at the show which I will be cataloging. Additionally, while we were running around in the days before the show, MtM and I found what seems to be the only used bookstore in Tulsa: Gardner’s Used Books. It is a big sprawling place. I wasn’t expecting much…

…and I walked out with a large box totaling $110 (after a 20% discount for spending over $100) of old gun books and gun magazines. Including some old Gun Digest volumes for the ongoing project (the two earliest being 1960 and 1962: the 1962 one has a particularly cool illustration of a .22 Jet on the cover. That’ll make a good prop when I find one.) and a bunch of American Handgunner annuals and other ephemera. I’m probably not going to catalog all of the box individually, but I may highlight a few specific things I find interesting.

One of the other days we took to visit the U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith, Arkansas. (That’s only about two hours from Tulsa.) The museum just opened in July, and, while it was a nice place to visit and we had a lot of fun, it feels kind of big for the number of exhibits they have. I’m kind of hoping that they plan to bring in even more stuff, and next time when we drag a friend there, it’ll feel a bit more fleshed out.

We had good meals at:

  • Siegi’s Sausage Factory, our traditional haunt.
  • Biga, a nice Italian place. It felt a little odd to me. Not in the bad sense, but it felt very much like a family owned and run place that was at least a couple of generations old…with waitstaff that looked very young to me, like college kids…but acted like professionals. Highly recommended.
  • Prhyme, a downtown steakhouse. I admit, I was a little put off by the spelling of the name, but MtM talked me into it, and I was glad. I wasn’t feeling up to a big steak, so I ordered French Onion soup and what turned out to be a massive charcuterie board that Mike had to help me finish. It was all very very good. And speaking of professional waitstaff, ask for Hannah if you go.
  • The Big Biscuit, a chain, but a nice breakfast and lunch place. In spite of the name, they also have pancakes, french toast, and other normal breakfast fare. We could use one of these out in my part of town. Just sayin’.

We had dinner Saturday night with one of my Association friends at a Billy Sims BBQ. The ‘cue was good, but the experience was odd. We actually thought they were closed when we pulled up around 7:30. It wasn’t closed, but they had turned off half the lights in the restaurant so it looked that way from the outside. That left the other half in sort of a semi-dark state, which was mildly annoying but didn’t upset our digestion or our conversation too much.

We also had lunch at a diner type joint in the same center as the Billy Sims, but I can’t remember the name of it for the life of me. If MtM texts it over to me, I’ll update here. (Update 11/17: MtM informs me that it was Ron’s Hamburgers & Chili, which seems to be a regional chain.)

Next trip to Tulsa for Wanenmacher’s is tentatively scheduled for April of 2025. I’m hoping I can drag along recruit a couple more friends to join us on that trip. However, the 2024 S&WCA Symposium is there next June, so I will be going back for that (good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise).

Posted in Food, Guns, Museums, Travel | Comments Closed

Fun with gun books!

Thursday, November 16th, 2023

I think I promised old gun sights last time, so old gun sights is what you’re getting…

(more…)

Posted in Books, Guns, Hoplobibilophilia | Comments Closed

Preview of coming attractions. (Random gun crankery)

Saturday, November 4th, 2023

I’ve been neglecting gun books and guns for a minute now. It just seems like every time I sit down to try and work on one of my gun related projects, either I just can’t build up the motivation, or I end up getting involved in someone else’s bolshie bushwa.

The early part of next week I’m going on the road. I’m hoping that when I get back, the bushwa should have tapered off, plus the holidays will be approaching, plus my morale will have improved, and I can work on gun books and guns. In the meantime, some quick previews with captions that the educated reader could take as “hints”.

Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!

Three of an imperfect pair.

There is no God but John Moses Browning, and Cooper is his prophet.

I’m kind of hoping that I can get another gun book post up, and maybe even a post about one of these guns, before I leave next week. I’ve already kind of written about one of the pictured guns before, so my post about that one will probably be short (and refer back to older posts) but educational.

We will see how things go.

Posted in 1911, Guns, Smith and Wesson | Comments Closed

Obit watch: October 29, 2023.

Sunday, October 29th, 2023

It turned into a busier weekend than I thought it was going to be, and it also turned out that there was more going on this weekend than I expected. I wanted to get these up today, as I have an eye doctor’s appointment tomorrow and am not sure how things are going to go afterwards.

Richard Moll. THR. I’ve mentioned before how much I liked the original “Night Court” and what a great ensemble those folks were.

Moll had a shaved head — he did that to play the warrior Hurok in the sci-fi film Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (1983) — when he auditioned for the role of Shannon on Night Court, created by Reinhold Weege.
“They said ‘Richard, the shaved head looks good. Will you shave your head for the part?” he recalled in a 2010 interview. “I said, ‘Are you kidding? I’ll shave my legs for the part. I’ll shave my armpits, I don’t care.’”

IMDB.

Joan Evans, actress who was shot by Farley Granger.

While director Nicholas Ray was doing reshoots on the film, Evans was “accidentally shot very, very seriously” in the arm by Granger when a gun he was carrying discharged in the hills outside Columbia, California, she told Hirsch. She needed emergency surgery and was hospitalized.

This is in the obit, but I did want to note that she was the love interest for Charles Drake’s character in “No Name On the Bullet“, about which I have written before and probably will again.

IMDB.

Matthew Perry. THR. IMDB. Everyone is on this like flies on a severed cow’s head at a Damien Hirst installation, and I don’t have anything to add.

Posted in Guns, Movies, Obits, TV | Comments Closed

You’re going down in flames, you tax-fattened hyena! (#111 in a series. Also, random gun crankery.)

Saturday, October 21st, 2023

There is no joy in this one.

Larry Vickers pled guilty to federal firearm charges yesterday.

“But,” you say, “Larry Vickers isn’t a political figure.” Right you are, Bob.

Mr. Vickers was charged with four other men: Sean Sullivan, James Tafoya, Matthew Hall, and James Sawyer. Mr. Hall was the chief of police in Coats, North Carolina, and Mr. Sawter was the chief of police of Ray, North Dakota. This is where the flaming hyenas come in.

Sullivan was the owner and operator of Trident, LLC, located in Gambrills, Maryland, and was also an Intelligence Analyst with the Department of Homeland Security Investigations.

He was a Fed?! I know, I know, quel fromage! But really?

Sullivan and Trident were Federal Firearms Licensees (“FFLs”) and Special Occupational Taxpayers (“SOTs”), which allowed them, in certain circumstances, to possess, import, manufacture, and deal in fully automatic firearms (machineguns) and other regulated firearms. Tafoya and Vickers owned and operated firearms related businesses in New Mexico and North Carolina and were also FFLs and SOTs.

Allegedly, all of these guys came up with a really clever scheme.

The indictment alleges that, beginning in at least June 2018 through at least March 2021, the defendants conspired to acquire machineguns and/or other restricted firearms, such as short-barreled rifles, by falsely representing that the firearms would be used for demonstration to law enforcement agencies, including the Coats Police Department and the Ray Police Department. The indictment further alleges that Hall, Sawyer, and other conspirators signed law letters with no expectation that the weapons would ever be demonstrated to their respective law enforcement agencies.
The defendants allegedly intended to impermissibly import into the United States and resell the machineguns and other firearms for profit or to keep for their own use and enjoyment. Sullivan allegedly submitted the false law letters to the ATF seeking to import the machineguns and other restricted weapons. Once the firearms were received, Sullivan allegedly kept some of the machineguns and other restricted weapons and transferred some of the weapons to Vickers, Tafoya, and other conspirators.

Now, everyone else hasn’t gone to trial, and should be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

In addition to the indictment, Larry Vickers pleaded guilty yesterday to participating in the conspiracy to import and obtain machineguns and other restricted firearms and admitted that he received some of the imported machineguns and other weapons. As detailed in his plea agreement, Vickers kept some of the machineguns and other restricted weapons in his personal collection and transferred other machineguns and restricted weapons to other FFLs and third parties. Vickers also pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions against a foreign firearms manufacturer between July 2014 and March 2021, in the Southern District of Florida.

So just not illegal import of restricted firearms, but also sanction violations. “Between July 2014 and March 2021” makes me wonder who the sanctions violations were against.

I haven’t seen any coverage of this anywhere, including the usual gun blogs. The only reason I know about it is that Mike the Musicologist sent me a link to the Justice Department press release. I feel kind of bad for Mr. Vickers, who also was dealing with cancer a while back. But this doesn’t sound like BATFE “paperwork” violations. This sounds like a pretty serious conspiracy to illegally import restricted weapons under cover of the law enforcement exemption.

While I object to the idea that what these people did should be against the law, the fact remains that it is, and they apparently (“all suspects” etc) tried to camouflage it as “only ones”. You know, “we’re the only ones competent enough to have full-auto weapons. We’re the only ones competent enough to carry a Glock.”

That, I do resent.

Posted in Cops, Guns, Law, Politics | 3 Comments »

Random gun crankery.

Wednesday, October 18th, 2023

There have been some gun related news stories over the past few weeks that I want to make note of.

1. Vista Outdoor is selling off their ammunition business to Czechoslovak Group a.s. for $1.91 billion. The Vista Outdoor ammo business includes Speer, Remington’s ammo side, CCI, and Federal.

I can’t find as much information as I would like about Czechoslovak Group. It looks like they currently own Fiocchi, and they are not the same company that owns Colt CZ Group. Czechoslovak Group seems to be big in the defense industry, with the sporting ammo component being relatively small. Perhaps they are looking to expand?

To effect the transaction, Vista Outdoor will separate its Outdoor Products business from its Sporting Products business, and CSG will merge one of its subsidiaries with Vista Outdoor (holding only the Sporting Products business), with current public stockholders of Vista Outdoor receiving shares of Outdoor Products (recently rebranded as Revelyst) and approximately $750 million in cash in the aggregate. This will be treated as a taxable sale of a stockholder’s Vista Outdoor shares for the Outdoor Products shares and cash consideration they receive in the merger, allowing stockholders to recover tax basis and recognize built-in gain and loss in their Vista Outdoor shares.

…

Revelyst will leverage meticulous craftsmanship and cross-collaboration across its portfolio of category-defining brands. Brands include Fox, Bell, Giro, CamelBak, Camp Chef, Bushnell, Simms Fishing, Foresight Sports, Bushnell Golf and more. Eric Nyman will continue as CEO of Outdoor Products and become the CEO of Revelyst upon transaction close.

So it looks like what’s going to be left of Vista Outdoors Revelyst is going to be fishing, camping, golf, cycling helmets, Camelbacks, and golf. Disclosure: the “gun hedge fund” (which is neither a hedge nor a fund) owns some shares in Vista Outdoor, and may make some money off of this. Vista Outdoor has been one of the best performing stocks in the group, though it’s down considerably right now. ($24.81 a share as I write this.)

You shouldn’t take financial advice from me, but I really don’t see “Revelyst” being a growing business, or one I’d be interested in continuing to invest in.

2. I’m having trouble finding what I think of as really reliable sources for this, but: “According to multiple news sources, the Lake City ammo plant has cancelled all of its commercial contracts.”

This is swell news, he said with some sarcasm, as Lake City produces an estimated 30% of the 5.56 ammo on the civilian market. So if you thought things were rough before…suck air, grab clusters, and stock up on 5.56 if you find it at a good price.

My first thought was that this was stealth gun control by the Sleepy Joe administration: if they can’t restrict the guns, why not restrict the ammo? (“Reloading? What’s that?”) A more rational thought (and what seems to be the conventional wisdom) is that the government is stockpiling ammo, both to refresh the Ukraine and against a possible land war in the Middle East.

Disclaimer: the “gun hedge fund” (see above) also owns stock in Olin Corporation. Olin runs the Lake City plant under contract, and our Olin stock has been the best performer overall in the fund. As a matter of fact, our Olin stock is the only stock in the “fund” that’s currently in the black. ($48.12 a share as I write this.)

3. The Recoil website reported this about two weeks ago: BATFE has banned importation of “non-lethal” training ammo unless it is for use by military or law enforcement customers.

Maybe.

So far, it seems like the only report of this is on Instagram. The post is actually a letter a company called Ultimate Training Munitions sent to Sage Dynamics, but this is backed up by a statement on UTM’s website.

The other big maker of “non-lethal” training ammo is Simunition, which apparently imports from Canada. As far as I know, they have not made any public statement on this yet, even though they have been asked by Recoil, and I assume other outlets.

It is unclear what authority BATFE has to ban import of “non-lethal” training ammo. Perhaps the “sporting purposes” clause. Then again, when has BATFE ever gotten hung up on pesky questions of “legal authority”?

Posted in Guns | 3 Comments »

Perhaps you’re NOT going down in flames. Also, while you may be tax-fattened, hyena might be a stretch.

Friday, October 13th, 2023

Mike the Musicologist sent this over to me, asking if it counted as flames. I told him I thought it was worth noting, but didn’t think it was a flaming hyena. To which MtM responded “It’s your publication. You make the call.”

Inna Vernikov is a councilwoman from Brooklyn. She’s a Republican from a “conservative” district. She’s also Jewish. And she has a concealed carry permit.

Councilwoman Vernikov went to a “pro-Palestinian rally” at Brooklyn College yesterday.

Councilwoman Vernikov was carrying a “Smith & Wesson 9-millimeter pistol”.

She was “observing a pro-Palestine protest” when she was seen with the butt end of a firearm “protruding from the front portion of her pants”…

She couldn’t afford a decent IWB holster?

Cutting to the chase, the councilwoman has been charged with “criminal possession of a firearm”.

You see, even though she had a concealed carry permit, it seems like:

1. Being seen with the butt of the gun protruding from her pants isn’t “concealed carry”.

2. Quoth the tabloid of record, “Although Vernikov has a concealed carry permit, it is illegal in New York state to have a firearm at sensitive locations such as protests or school grounds.”

So why no flaming hyena? I question her judgement in not using a good, discreet holster. I halfway want to question her judgement in going to the rally armed in the first place (“Avoid stupid people in stupid places doing stupid things”) but she may have felt obligated to as a politican, and may have felt she needed to be armed for her protection.

And: I Am Not A Lawyer, But: I think the ban on having firearms at “sensitive locations” is very likely to get overturned if it ever goes to the appellate level. And as I’ve said before, it’s hard for me to sling imprecations at someone who’s committing a crime that I don’t believe should be a crime.

Posted in Guns, IANAL, Law, Politics | Comments Closed

Collectables.

Tuesday, October 10th, 2023

My regular readers know that one of the obsessions of this blog is the Inverted Jenny.

Inverted Jenny #49 is going up for sale again.

Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, which will sell No. 49 on Nov. 8, had it graded by two organizations of stamp experts. Each gave it a 95 on a scale of 100, a rating that Scott Trepel, the president of Siegel, said was the highest grade an Inverted Jenny “has ever received or will receive.” Robert Rose, the chairman of the Philatelic Foundation, one of the groups that graded it, said, “It’s really one of a kind.”

Here are some good images of it.

In other news, I had an interesting discussion at my local gun shop last night. I went in on Monday because I got hosed out of going on Saturday (NOT THAT I’M BITTER OR ANYTHING.)

The used gun buyer was there. He’d been out sick for a couple of weeks, so this is the first time in a while that I’d seen him, and we spent some time catching up.

My regular readers also know that one of the obsessions of this blog is the pre-1964 Model 70 Winchester. They’ve had one on the shelf for a few weeks: based on the serial number, it’s a 1949 gun complete with a Lyman Alaskan 4x scope. I jokingly referred to it as “the Jack O’Connor starter kit”.1

The gun buyer told me, “Oh, yeah. That gun belonged to some famous Hollywood guy. Give me a minute and I’ll tell you who.” So he went back through his emails and eventually found it. That Model 70 previously belonged to…

Sid Caeser.

Yes, Sid “Your Show of Shows” Caeser. Sid “dangled Mel Brooks out of an 18th story window” Caeser. Sid “punched a horse” Caeser. That one.

The past was another country, and lots of celebrities owned guns back then, so this shouldn’t be so surprising to me. I think it might be the odd combination of someone who you don’t think of as a gun guy owning guns, and that gun showing up in an Austin gun shop.

People often say, “You’re not paying for the gun, you’re paying for the story behind it.” So how do I know this story is true?

There’s backup for it. I checked the serial number, and it’s right.

I wasn’t considering purchasing it. The gun fund is a little tight, we’re planning to go to a gun show in November, and I’m lucky enough to already have temporary custody of one pre-64 Model 70 in .270 Winchester. But the associational element, combined with the price, is making me think.

The same shop also has a few more of Sid’s guns: there’s an older Husqvarna bolt gun in .308, a Sako (which they may have sold: the gun buyer couldn’t find it on the rack) and I think they also got a couple of Sid’s Browning shotguns.

1. As you know, Bob, especially if you’ve been around me long enough, Jack O’Connor was a big fan of the pre-64 Winchester Model 70, especially in .270 Winchester. And the very thinly disguised version of Jack O’Connor in Stephen Hunter’s Pale Horse Coming uses a pre-64 Model 70 in .270 Winchester with a Lyman Alaskan 4x scope to great effect.

Posted in Guns, O'Connor, Stamps, TV | 1 Comment »

I do love a good classical reference.

Wednesday, September 13th, 2023

Shot:

Chaser:

Look, I know this is a story of mostly local interest. I know this is from a second-rate tabloid newspaper, which has been covering it to excess.

But, wow, these people sound…bats–t crazy. I find it hard to pick out just one element to highlight how bats–t crazy they sound, though the horse’s head in the bed is certainly a favorite of mine. Then there’s the mysterious house fire.

Following the fire, recalled Tatyana’s friend, “The police were called to the house. Officers asked for Tatyana’s ID and there were four loaded guns in her purse. Police arrested her for gun possession.”

Two is one, and one is none. But what is four? I guess four equals two plus two, so four is two. And does she have back problems from carrying four loaded guns in her purse?

(I’m reminded of the old joke with the punchline, “Not a damn thing in the world, Officer.” If you haven’t heard that one, leave me a comment.)

Amazingly, that is not even the most shocking incident involving the couple and firearms. “Mark got arrested once,” said the friend, “because he was standing naked at the top of the driveway with an elephant gun. He had come after her with a knife and she had to run out of the house in her underwear.”

I have to wonder if the “elephant gun” was a real elephant gun, or if we need an “elephant gun” entry for the Journalist’s Guide to Firearms Identification, alongside the AK-47.

Also, is it just me, or are horse people as a general rule just…bats–t crazy? Not that I hang around the horsy set a lot, but I’ve seen more than a few horse cases on the TV court shows…

Posted in Guns, Horses, Law | 2 Comments »

Random gun crankery, with a public service announcement.

Thursday, September 7th, 2023

The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) has opened up round 4 of 1911 pistol purchases. (Previously.)

Even better: with some limitations, you can purchase a second 1911, even if you’ve bought one from the CMP previously. That’s a new twist. There was formerly a lifetime limit of one 1911 per customer.

This might be your last chance to own a chunk of history. I, personally, won’t be buying one this time as I’m not eligible. (I technically got my 1911 this year, which disqualifies me.) But I’d really like to see some of my friends purchase 1911s from CMP, and if you need help navigating the process, I’ll be happy to try to help out.

Orders are being accepted through September 30th, so you’ve got some time.

Hattip: McThag.

Posted in 1911, Guns, History | Comments Closed

Bagatelle (#94)

Wednesday, September 6th, 2023

Shot:

Chaser:

A retired doctor was arrested Tuesday after police allegedly discovered guns, drugs and prostitutes on his 70-foot yacht in Nantucket — following reports a distressed woman had possibly overdosed and “did not feel safe” onboard.
Scott Anthony Burke, 69, was slapped with drug trafficking and weapons charges after cops raided his luxury vessel — Jess Conn – and uncovered the trove of guns, cocaine and ketamine, court records obtained by The Boston Globe allege.

First, it was “no personal watercraft on Lake Austin during the holiday”.

Then, they put up big electronic signs telling us not to “drag chains” or “toss lit cigarettes” because of “wildfire risk”.

And now, it appears you can’t even have hookers, blow, and guns on your yacht. What am I supposed to do with my weekends now? And what’s the point of even having a yacht these days?

Joyless fun-suckers, sucking the fun out of everything.

Posted in Bagatelle, Boats, Guns, Law, Sarcasm | 1 Comment »

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