Don't Tread On Me

Credit Is Due

The Spoons Experience deserves credit and kudos for bringing something to light.

He is right. At least about singleing out Taurus. So, the only thing I can think to do is to keep buying as many "regular" firearms as possible. I'll express my opinion to the various firearms manufacturers.

The problem stems from the fact that companies or their board of directors are driven by stockholders who only care about short term profits and not the truth or anybody's rights.

I am under no stupid illusions that anybody goes to a college and earns an MBA, only to become the CEO of CFO or any part of upper management so they could stand up and say, "By God, we are here to make products to satisfy a market of people who cherish the Second Amendment."

If the CEO of McDonald's thought that there was widespread, rapidly growing hinduism in the United States, he'd be looking to create a vegan menu so fast it would make your head spin, and he wouldn't care a rat's ass that the minority of us like the taste of beef.

Does that make it right? Ah. Let's just say that's why I couldn't be a CEO of most companies. But there is a huge difference between commercial enterprizes responding to market conditions and Government tyranny trampling the rights of individuals. And I am still upset that S&W or Taurus or any other company is so damned stupid to pander to people who would never dream of touching their product, let alone buying it, as opposed to catering to millions of us who are their only real source of income.

Boy, talk about stupid.

No More Taurus

While visiting the Imperial Firearms Advisor's Blog, I ran across this post.

I agree with Kim. Taurus will get no more of my business. And I am going to send them an email explaining why.

Are You Irresponsible?

You probably don't think you are. And if you don't like firearms, you are probably irrational in your belief that you are very responsible. In fact, you are probably smug in your belief that your isolating yourself and your family from any firearms is the most responsible thing you could do.

If so, you need to go read this post.

If you are one of the strong, intelligent types who understands true human nature and the need for the 2nd Amendment, you need to go read that post in order to help you reason with "pacifists."

Pistols I Like: Part 1

I have very little patience with people who say they are afraid of guns. I'm not afraid of any gun. Not even 16 inch guns on battleships. By the way, to the UIs (Uninitiated/Ignorant) out there, 16 inches refers to the diameter of the projectile, not the length of the barrel. I am afraid of stupid or evil people who might use a firearm to injure or kill other people.

In the Blogosphere, we refer to anti-gun liberals (pardon the redundancy) as GFWs (Gun Fearing Wussies).

They fail to recognize that all firearms are inanimate objects. When I leave a gun in a particular place, I never come back to find it trying to sneak away to commit a crime. There is much more on this subject in other posts, but this post just deals with enjoying the science and aesthetics of firearms I have real experience with.

The first pistol I owned as an adult was a Colt detective special .38 snubnose (2" barrel). I eventually sold it after I started carrying a Taurus 99AF 9mm. I now wish I had not sold the Colt .38, because there have been lots of times when it would have been so nice in an ankle holster. Oh, well, live and learn.

UPDATE inserted 6 DEC 03 -- Do not buy a Taurus firearm! They have gone into cooperation with the enemy! The GFWs have talked them into creating new weapons that use "smart" technology. I will neve buy another Taurus product again.
For several years I carried the Taurus. I liked it's heft and accuracy. Luckily I bought it before the damned ban on magazine capacities over 10 rounds. So I have more than a few mags that hold 17 rounds. The only slight drawback is that I am not a large guy and so I don't have big hands. I learned a lot about gunsmithing and I switched the magazine release to the "left-hand" position. Being right handed, I use my middle finger to release the catch. Since I practice alot, I was worried about wearing out my nice custom leather paddle holster, so I beveled all the square edges on the slide and front part of the receiver and re-blued the finish.

I wanted more accuracy. And partly because of that, and partly because I made a big mistake in gunsmithing, I ordered a custom barrel from Bar-Sto and smithed it into my Taurus. The improvement was immediately apparent. I went from shooting 6 rounds in under 3 inches (no bench rest) at 15 yards, to under two inches. Hoooraaaah!

I kept reading other opinions about various pistols and while the 1911 model .45 is without a doubt one of the most venerated and popular pistols in America, I wanted something lighter and very dependable. I bought a Glock 17 9mm. at a gun show. At that same gun show, I witnessed an active duty police officer who also happened to be a certified Glock Armorer give demonstrations on the near indistructibility and ease of repair on the Glock. This guy could not just field strip the weapon, but completely disassemble the entire gun into all it's parts in just 90 seconds. For you gun enthusiasts, I mean the firing pin, spring, extractor, ex spring, passive firing pin safety, trigger assembly, breech block, slide release lever.

That's the beauty of this piece. It requires far fewer parts to work. Less to go wrong. I bought the gun. It had tritium night sights. Really nice. Tritium is a byproduct of nuclear production. It is a gaseous element that emits a green glow and has a life of about 20 years. Captured in tiny crystals, it makes perfect night sights for a pistol and wrist-watch hand and digit markers. If you are in pitch black conditions, it is almost too bright.

The barrel of a Glock is made by such an advanced process, that the inside lands (UIs: grooves) look like polished glass. The accuracy is outstanding. I shoot as well with the Glock as I do with the improved Taurus. And it's so much lighter. With the magazine and slide removed, the Glock 17 weighs 5.5 ounces. The slide alone weighs 1 lb. 1.1 ounces. A full ten round magazine weighs 7.4 ounces. That's a total of 1 lb. 14 ounces. Compare that to the loaded Taurus at 3 lbs. The Glock is slimmer and more comfortable to carry around.

Much has been published about the knock down power of larger calibers. Especially the .45. The best writings on the subject are very scientific and correct. While some make a big deal out of velocity, the evidence strongly suggests that mass is the ultimate factor in stopping power. On the other hand, if the best I can do is hit you in the thigh with a .45, I could be in trouble. But, if I can consistently put a 9mm hollow point in a spot the size of your forehead at 40+ feet, you are the one in trouble.