Why I Always Carry to Church

12/29/19 CBS Dallas:

Two people are dead and another person is critically injured after a shooting at a church in the Tarrant County city of White Settlement, officials said.

Authorities responded to the shooting Sunday morning just before 10 a.m. at the West Freeway Church of Christ on Las Vegas Trail.

A witness told CBS 11 News the gunman walked up to a server during communion with a shotgun and then opened fire. According to the witness, another church member shot the suspect.

12/29/19 WFAA:

A live stream of the worship service shows a person wearing a large coat stand up and then pull out what appears to be a rifle or a shotgun as communion was finishing. The shooter appears to fire twice before another person appears to shoot back.

Many people in the congregation ducked under church pews while others rushed toward the shooter, holding up handguns, the video shows.

A church leader starts telling people to quiet down and be seated.

"Everything is under control. Our security team did everything they needed to do," the person said.

Video of the event.  So many men drew on this guy!  Six?

Examining Illinois CCL Incidents

I mentioned a few days ago that the Chicago Tribune had a list of incidents that they could find involving CCLs (the Illinois license for concealed carry).  I went through the list: 64 in all.  Of those 46 were lawful defense (some not even self-defense, but defense of others); 2 were assault with deadly weapon, 2 charged as aggravated assaults; 2 murders, 6 reckless uses (one by a judge who shot a hole in a neighbor's wall); 1 aggravated battery; 1 attempted murder; 2 accidental shootings.  Many of these incidents took place in homes or business places of CCL; are CCLs required to carry concealed at home or your business in Illinois.  Not sure; need to know. 

The murders were premeditated and unlikely to have been prevented by lacking a CCL.

Curious and odd: one of the lawful defenses was by a convicted felon who obtained a CCL under an alias.  One lawful defense was in front of a police station; one incident a CCL shot what appeared to be a burglar, but actually a good Samaritan helping a woman who had locked herself out of her home; bad guys shot during home invasion claimed that they thought it was a relative's house;
"but then Lee took the gun away and beat him [the CCL] with it until it broke" (What gun can't be used for beating someone?)

Why Trump Should Easily Win Re-Election

And why the left hates him so much.  12/27/19 Fox News:

Wages for rank-and-file workers are rising at the fastest pace in more than a decade, a sign that one of the tightest labor markets in recent history is beginning to incentivize employers to increase pay.

Pay for the bottom 25 percent of wage earners, who account for 82 percent of the population, rose 4.5 percent in November from the year-ago period, according to data published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. That’s the highest since July 2008. Wages for top earners, meanwhile, rose just 2.9 percent last month.

Overall, wages have accelerated this year by an average of 3.6 percent, as unemployment dropped, once again, to a half-century low. For employers, low employment means fewer people are looking for a job, limiting the supply of available employees and increasing competition to get the best workers.

Mandatory Firearms Insurance

Bill in N.J.

 1.   (New section)  a.  No person shall possess a firearm unless the person has first obtained a policy of firearm liability insurance in an amount of not less than $50,000, specifically covering any damages resulting from any negligent or willful acts involving the use of that firearm while it is owned by that person.

Willful? Presumably including murder or robbery? Are there any insurers that will write that coverage?  It turns out that insurance companies exclude damages that are the result of criminal acts.  Even something as trivial as this crime enabled Progressive to get off the hook for liability:

When Luallen saw the van coming up beside Tillett's truck, he noticed a couple of girls. (Luallen Dep. at 18). Tillett's truck was in motion and traveling in the left-hand lane, and the van was in the right-hand lane. (Id. at 17). Luallen then decided to stand up in the backseat of the truck and "moon" the girls. (Id.)

When the cars reached the Third Street exit, and while both were moving, the girls saw Luallen "mooning" them through the back window of Tillett's truck. (K.S. Dep. at 17-21). The van then immediately veered off the exit ramp and flipped. (Id. 832*832 at 20-22). K.S. was thrown out an open window and was pinned underneath the vehicle. (Id. at 23-24).

Pretty clearly, gangbangers aren't going to be buying coverage, and even if they do, their insurer will not cover costs except for perhaps an accidental injury.  Insurers do cover losses caused as a result of theft of a gun from the owner, but again, it is hard to see why the insurer of a victim of a theft should be liable.

A Minor Machining Success Story

I think that I mentioned buying a very nice toolmaker's mill vise from Little Machine Shop.  It is a bit bigger than the 2" Sherline mill vise, and clamps very solidly, but the question was, "how to mount it to the table?"

The mounting slots were just a bit too high and too far forward for the Sherline toe clamps.  So, I made a set, starting with angle bracket.

I trimmed one leg to .52" height, which clamps parallel to the mill vise's mounting slot and still is square to the table, then I drilled .203" holes to run 10-32 screws to the T-nuts in the T-slots.  I was at first concerned that only having two attachment points would fail to adequately secure it, but it appears that two are enough, at least for the depth of cuts that I can take with this level of power.  I might make longer top clamps that can screw into T-nuts in both T-slots.  This is slightly harder to do because the most back part of the vise's mounting slot is ahead of the back T-slot.  I will probably use a 1" angle piece, and remove 1/2" on the top leg, to allow a 10-32 screw hole for the back T-slot.

A learning experience: you really do want to use a 4-flute end mill on steel.  I have mostly used 2-flute end mills until now, which work well in aluminum and acetal; not so fast in steel.  This 4-flute mill was also a roughing mill which I am sure helped.

And I will make those extended toe clamps.  I can feel a few thousandths of an inch of misalignment where the back of the vise matches the mill table.  This is after milling a number of .001" depth of cut on acetal at 10 inches/min.  This is not a very heavy demand.  Using four clamps will enable me to spread locking force across twice as much area.

That Slide Stop Spring for the Colt Government Model .380 That I Lost....

I opened up several empty pistol rugs (yes, I know having any in that state is sacrilege).  Suddenly, in the carpet there was something shiny.  There it was.  When it did its jailbreak, it ended up in the rug.  And I think in the rug in which I took the pistol to Precision Gunsmithing.  I added it to the two I ordered from Jack First Inc., purveyor of obsolete and hard to find gun parts.  Now I am guaranteed to never lose this spring from either of my Colt .380s!

It Sounds Like a Nasty Anti-French Joke

A bipod-mounted sniper revolver for French GIGN (siort of FBI HRT equivalent):

The Headline Tells the Whole Story

12/19/19 Fox News channel 10:

Wanted man was already in jail when agents raided his former home and shot woman inside

Why the government needs a monopoly on deadly force.

How Has the Illinois Shall-Issue Law Worked Out?

The Chicago Tribune has been recording incidents.  Some are what you would expect:

FEB. 26, 2018

100 block of Harbor Drive, Oswego

Assailant armed.

Some time on Feb. 26, Dave Thomas heard screams in his Oswego apartment building, grabbed his AR-15 rifle and ran down the hall. He confronted a man who was stabbing another man and scared him off. Thomas is a gun instructor with a CCL.

» Read original coverage.

JAN. 8, 2018, 5:45 P.M.

5500 block of West Thomas Street, Chicago

Fatal shooting.

Assailant armed.

About 5:45 p.m. on Jan. 8, a man walked up to three people in Austin and said, "This is a stick-up, give me everything," according to police. He started going through their pockets and taking a cellphone and money before one of the men, a CCL holder, drew his gun and fired, killing the robber.

DEC. 19, 2017, 5:30 P.M.

0-100 block of South Western Avenue, Chicago

About 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 19, 2017, officers were called to a West Side cellphone store where a naked man was acting "aggressively and threateningly." Before they could reach him, the store owner fired at the man, hitting him in the leg. The man fell, then got up, broke the store windows and grabbed a shard of glass before the officers used a Taser to subdue him. The owner, a CCL owner, told police the man had knocked computers off a display case. No charges were filed.

» Read original coverage.

DEC. 12, 2017, 2 A.M.

9100 block of South Blackstone Avenue, Chicago

Assailant armed.

About 2 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2017, a man pulled into a lot on the Far South Side. A person standing nearby pointed a gun at him and tried to rob the man, who held a CCL. The man drew his own gun, and shot and seriously wounded the robber, officials said.

» Read original coverage.

Some are not:

MARCH 24, 2018, 9:21 P.M.

3400 block of North Kedzie Avenue, Chicago

About 9:20 p.m on March 24, a man with a concealed carry license was showing his gun to a group of friends in Avondale when he accidentally shot one of them in the head, according to police. The victim was taken to a hospital in good condition.

» Read original coverage.

Poverty in America

A DW documentary about poverty in America, largely focused on California, of course.  Most of those interviewed in San Diego are amazingly positive.  That California is the sort of welfare state that Europeans pretend is humane is never mentioned.  I know a couple who moved from renting one room in San Diego to Boise last year.  Now they own a home.

Centrally Planned Economies

This is a few years old, but shows all the problems of a centrally planned economy.


Yes, 64 million unoccupied homes, built just to pump up the GDP numbers.

Burning the American Flag is Protected Free Speech

But there is a flag whre burning it is not protected.  12/19/19 Des Moines Register:

An Ames man was sentenced Wednesday to about 16 years in prison after he set fire to a church's LGBTQ flag in June. 

Adolfo Martinez, 30, of Ames, was found guilty last month of third-degree arson in violation of individual rights — hate crime, third-degree harassment, and reckless use of fire as a habitual offender. ...

Story County Attorney Jessica Reynolds said the hate crime charges were added because Martinez is suspected of criminal mischief against someone's property because of "what it represents as far as sexual orientation."

Watched a Charlie Brown Christmas With the Grandkids Last Night

Okay, Charlie Brown, I'm dating myself.

We Knew They Were Ignorant

It appears many leftists are tweeting in the belief that the House passing an impeachment bill means Trump is no longer President.  What happened to teaching American government in high school?

Child Gun Deaths

The gun control groups like to include all deaths through age 19 as children.  Here are the 2016 breakdowns by category and age.  Click to enlarge.  Accidental deaths (all firearms types)

Homicides (all firearms)

Suicides (all firearms)

None of these are wonderful, but notice that mostly these include the gang member age range: 15-19

When CBS News Reports It...

12/18/19 CBS News:

A Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) judge published an unusual and harsh rebuke of the FBI over its handling of wiretap applications and demanded that the bureau respond to the court by next month with a plan to ensure that the information in its surveillance applications is true and reliable.

"The frequency with which representations made by FBI personnel turned out to be unsupported or contradicted by information in their possession, and with which they withheld information detrimental to their case, calls into question whether information contained in other FBI applications is reliable," Judge Rosemary Collyer wrote in an order published Tuesday.

I have long suspected the FBI is a more subtle form of the KGB.  This is major news, and even the presstitutes are covering it.

We're All Going to Drown!

It's man's doing!  From NASA:

Puerto Rico Goes Shall-Issue

and recognizes all other state carry permits.  If you know anything about Puerto Rico gun laws, this is a lightning bolt.

Read more: https://www.ammoland.com/2019/12/gun-law-in-puerto-rico-to-respect-the-second-amendment-as-of-1-january-2020/#ixzz68EJjwAiA 

Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Follow us: @Ammoland on Twitter | Ammoland on FacebookThe most sweeping change in Act No. 168 is to eliminate the restrictive and burdensome requirements of the old law in obtaining a permit to purchase, own, or carry firearms. The new law enacts a shall-issue system that requires a permit to be issued if the applicant meets the legal requirements. The legal requirements are essentially the same as in the United States for firearms ownership; except for a uniform minimum age of 21. This was likely influenced by recent legislation in California, Washington, and Florida.
Costs under the old system were upwards from $1,500, with no guarantee of obtaining a permit to own a gun at the end of the long process. Under the new law, costs are about $200, with a guarantee of a permit, if the applicant does not fall into one of the prohibited categories. The permit is valid for five years. The renewal fee is $100.
Under the new law, a permit to own includes the right to carry a firearm for defense in public, if the firearm is concealed. Obtaining a permit to carry, under the old system, was even more difficult and costly than obtaining a permit to own a firearm. The government has a limit of 45 days in which to investigate and issue a permit. After a year, the limit is reduced to 30 days.

I worked with a Puerto Rican law professor some months ago on a proposal of his to reform their gun laws.  I hope that I was part of this.

Too Stupid to Stay Out of Jail

12/14/19 NBC channel 2:

CNN - A bank employee in Charlotte, North Carolina, allegedly stole $88,000 from the bank's vault, according to a release from the United States Attorney's Office Western District of North Carolina.
And he wasn't bashful about advertising to his social media followers the life of luxury he was funding.

Twitter as Tool of Self-Disembowelment

Los Angeles passed an ordinance requiring contractors to disclose any ties to the NRA.  Contractor John Doe filed suit, alleging that this required disclosure would impair his ability to get contracts and force speech--a First Amendment violation.  The decision granting preliminary injunction against Los Angeles is here and includes this self-disembowelment:

In this context, O’Farrell’s off-the-record statements further confirm an overwhelming intent to suppress the message of the NRA.6 Through his verified Twitter account, O’Farrell wrote: “The @NRA “assault weapons everywhere” agenda can and will be challenged in the City of Los Angeles. It’s time for action. @WAGV @MomsDemand @Bradybuzz @eqca @shannonrwatts” Mitch O’Farrell (@MitchOFarrell), Twitter (Mar. 28, 2018, 2:20 PM), https://twitter.com/MitchOFarrell/status/979105947632123904. “My #NRA disclosure motion passed unanimously in Budget & Finance committee today. TY Chair @PaulKrekorian for your partnership. Next up; full City Council to draft the Ordinance. @WAGV @Bradybuzz @Everytown @MomsDemand @sandyhook.” Mitch O’Farrell (@MitchOFarrell), Twitter (Oct. 1, 2018, 6:27 PM), https://twitter.com/MitchOFarrell/status/1046934711761850368. “And by the way, @amazonprimenow @AppleTV @Google -isn’t it time to end your relationship with @NRATV & stop aiding and abetting their violent, extremist rhetoric?” Mitch O’Farrell (@MitchOFarrell), Twitter (Oct. 24, 2018, 11:19 AM), https://twitter.com/MitchOFarrell/status/1055161837224783872. “I told @FedEx executives earlier this year, ‘there is no high road in doing business with the @NRA.” Mitch O’Farrell (@MitchOFarrell), Twitter (Oct. 31, 2018, 11:35 AM), https://twitter.com/MitchOFarrell/status/1057702716045058048. 

See also Dkt. 1-3 at 2–32. O’Farrell’s statements reinforce an already robust record of anti-NRA animus. The face of the Ordinance, the legislative history of its passage, and the statements of its primary legislative advocate all demonstrate an intent to suppress the political speech of the NRA. 

Background Check Failure

"Comprehensive background check policy and firearm background checks in three US states" in Injury Prevention:

Results Background check rates increased in Delaware, by 22%–34% depending on the type of firearm, following enactment of its CBC law. No overall changes were observed in Washington and Colorado. Our results were robust to changes in the comparison group and statistical methods.

Wintemue, long-time gun ban advocate, is one of the authors.

AutoDesk Fusion 360: Do Not Install It

I installed it hoping that I could use it for CAD/CAM but decided that it was easier to write my own gCode instead of learning how to use it.  There are gobs of AutoDesk authored YouTube videos, but they are all for older versions and are not useful. I tried to uninstall it but it will not: python errors.  There are instructions from AutoDesk about how to remove it with a special cleaner; it does not work.  Nor do the manual uninstall directions.

The DOJ Inspector General Report

12/10/19 Rolling Stone (of all places) describes all the crap the FBI claimed and the news media uncritically published as crap.

Spearfishing Done Very Well

It claimed to be from Fidelity where my IRA keeps me very well off.  It listed a recent transaction of sales of small quantities of mutual funds.  Once the panic subside, but after hitting the View This Order button, I realized that many of those mutual funds are not in my portfolio.  Fortunately, I could not remember my password.  By this point I had noticed the domain was fidelitymanagement.com.  Fidelity has 401k.com for their domain.  Nothing lost, but read carefully panic-inducing emails and make sure the domain you are going to is actually for your institution.

St. Louis Mass Murder Averted in the Last Two Years

Does anyone remember the details?  Some ribs restaurant.

Assault Umbrella

12/8/19 San Francisco Chronicle:

A Santa Rosa police officer responding to reports of a suspicious man with a gun Saturday afternoon fired three rounds at the individual before discovering that the long, black object police believed to be a rifle was actually an umbrella.

What size magazine?

More Trump Damage

12/4/19 Wall Street Journal:

HICKORY, N.C—Here’s the good news: There are now more reasons to make furniture in the U.S. than at any point since the financial crisis. Crate & Barrel and Williams-Sonoma Inc. are expanding manufacturing in the U.S., and the factories of longtime furniture makers are humming.
Here’s the bad news: There aren’t enough skilled workers available to support the renaissance.
Manufacturers across the country are struggling to fill open slots in a tight U.S. labor market. Furniture companies, which for decades have been hit by competition from China, face special challenges after years of shrinking. A generation of prospective sewers and upholsterers have steered clear of the industry, leaving it heavily reliant on an aging workforce.

Shortage of workers can and must be fixed by paying better.

More Evidence of Trump's Corruption!

12/6/19 Business Insider reports that Trump uses larger salt and pepper shakers than his guests.  Another "high crime and misdemeanor" I guess.

because you never have enough early automatic weapons from the Founding Era

I found this while treadmilling. 
Flintlock volley gun: 240 rounds in two minutes.  The Navy bought and used them in the War of 1812.  Apparently, the one from the USS Constitution is in the U.S. Navy Museum.

Great Ironic Headlines

California — capital of gun control — sees three mass shootings in four days

Like A Really Bad Joke

12/3/19 Forbes:

Leo Lech’s home was destroyed. The windows and doors were all blown out, glass strewn inside and outside. But it wasn’t an act of God, it was an act of the local police department.

Mind you, no one in the household had committed a crime. Instead, a suspect on the run fled there randomly. He’d been chased by police for miles after stealing a shirt and two belts from a local Walmart.

With the suspect armed and ignoring police communications, the SWAT team of the Greenwood Village Police Department in Colorado started systematically taking out windows and doors using explosives and an armored vehicle. They fired tear gas canisters into the home. At one point they used a robot to throw a cell phone to the suspect. After 15 hours, they entered the house to find the shoplifter holed up in the bathroom with a stash of drugs.

 The occupants of the home were Leo Lech’s son, the son’s girlfriend, and her 9-year old son, who now found themselves homeless. In apprehending a suspect wanted for a few dollars’ worth of goods, the police did damage costing Lech $400,000. While insurance covered some of the home repairs, it didn’t cover the full amount of the value of the home or personal possessions, and today, nearly five years later, Lech is still paying the loans he had to take out to repair the massive damage done by the local police department. And just recently, a federal appeals court ruled that he couldn’t be compensated for his loss under the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause: “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

The city's press release gives a rather different picture that makes Lech sound like someone trying to take advantage of a bad situation for financial gain.  The Institute for Justice is a libertarian organization that tends to portray "bad government" in situations that might look a bit different if viewed from a less ideological perspective.

Why Soros Backs Marijuana Decriminalization?

Conclusions and Relevance  Low-strength evidence suggests that smoking marijuana is associated with developing TGCT; its association with other cancers and the consequences of higher levels of use are unclear. Long-term studies in marijuana-only smokers would improve understanding of marijuana’s association with lung, oral, and other cancers.

TGCT: testicular germ cell tumor.

Be Ready to Laugh

You probably know that yesterday's terrorist knife attack in London was interrupted by a guy wielding a 5 foot long narwhal tusk.  Here are the inevitable narwhal tusk attachments for the AR-15.

Commonsense marine mammal tusk control is all we ask.

Why Gun Bans Do Not Work

“Inmate scam”, Santa Rosa (Cal.) Press-Democrat, January 20, 1993, A5.

Incredible!  That gun control laws fail to keep handguns out of New York City is not surprising.  But all those guards, metal detectors, strip searches, and who knows what else, can’t even keep guns out of New York City’s jails!  Does anyone seriously think that our national borders stand a ghost of a chance of keeping guns out?

Cleaning Out My Closet

This appears to be a Cyclop 1 Night Vision scope, like this one on eBay.  It comes in a leather or leather-like bag.

This is the scope itself, and what is apparently a camera adapter that goes where the eyepiece is located.  I have ever never used the adapter.  The scope has a little refresh button on the side that you use if you have been viewing for ten or more seconds.  It is of course a green image.  I have no idea how much light gain you get, but it makes even completely black interior rooms visible.  There is a black cover on the front to protect the receptors when powered up.  There is an almost invisibly small hole that allows testing without endangering the receptors.

It includes an infrared illuminator that makes low visibility objects visible.  The instruction manual is in Russian, but the only markings are in English on the illuminator.

History: shortly after the Wall came down, a friend in Munich acquired this for me.  He thought it was looted Red Army equipment.  I am sure it was a commercial product (English warning).  It uses AA batteries and a 12V battery.  It works but I have no use for it.  The one on eBay is listed at $195, and is the last one available.  Make me an offer.

Need a Wireless Mouse

I have an Inphic.  You charge it through a USB cable, then insert a transmitter in your USB port.  Works great, but my intended use was for travel.  Of course, if you leave in your travel bag for months on end, it will not be charged when you need it.  For desktop use, it seems like a good choice.  I can ship this to you in a Priority Mail box.

MOPAR® VEHICLE PROTECTION EXTENDED

Chrysler is trying to sell me the above-mentioned extended warranty, that goes out to 160,000 miles.  (Our 5 year, 60,000 mile warranty on the Jeep is about to expire.)  It has a $100 deductible and costs $142.97/month. 

I like extended warranties because repairing any substantial failure on newer cars is often huge.  But we recently sought a solution to an intermittent problem where all the dashboard warning lights (nio parking lights, no turn signal lights, no brake lights) come on but none are really a problem.  The 2017 Jeep Renegades had a recall on this problem but not the 2016s.  It clears itself by going into park.  It has happened twice.  Of course, they can't reproduce it, so they can't fix it.

Extended warranties from third parties are generally worthless.  This is the first long-term extended warranty I have seen offered by a manufacturer.  Coming from Chrysler, I am a bit skeptical.  Anyone have experience with this program?  $1700+ per year plus deductible means a very expensive covered repair (or multiple minor repairs) to justify this extended warranty.  For ordinary people, having a fixed monthly cost is probably a good strategy, but if you have enough in savings to cover a $1000 repair every year (or even $1500) without problem or serious pain, it may not make sense.

Weird Stuff in My Closet

We are probably moving to Eagle in the spring, so I am starting to thin out stuff that I do not need. A Russian night vision scope, various power bricks for obsolete PCs, docks for obsolete PCs, a 100W car adapter specifically for laptops (what was I thinking?), IBM PC/XT Technical Reference, Microsoft C 5.0 compiler, Microsoft Macro Assembler.  (I presume these will run in the command shell of Windows 10.)  I will put up pictures and descriptions to give my readers first shot before trying eBay.

Some is useful: a spare docking station for the HP notebook that controls my mill and the power cord.  Nice to have a spare especially for something hard to replace.  I also found a USB-powered set of speakers with the tiny audio output jack.  I can now play music on that antique while milling.  They aren't great speakers, but in the garage next to a mill, high fidelity is not that important.

Go See This Now!

Harriet.  Story of Harriet Tubman, progun, evangelical Christian, runaway slave, freedom fighter.  Awesome film!  Why Obama discussed putting her on the $20 bill eludes me.

A Plug for One of the Great Albums

Jeff Wayne's Version of War of the Worlds.  Imagine H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds adapted to a late 1970s rock musical, with Richard Burton narrating and Justin Hayward singing.  The dialog is largely taken directly from the novel.  It was not a big success when it came out, except for "Forever Autumn":

It's Called a Warning for a Reason

10/29/19 Idaho Statesman:

William Richard Scheuch was arraigned on the charge in Boise on Tuesday. According to court records, in September 2015 a federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent met with Scheuch and issued him a warning notice for dealing firearms without a license. The agent also gave Scheuch a federal firearms application. Scheuch did not submit the application.

Following that warning, Scheuch allegedly sold firearms on at least four occasions between May 2016 and May 2017, including one sale in a Boise parking lot on Aug. 26, 2016. During that incident, Scheuch allegedly sold two semi-automatic rifles for $4,800 to an undercover agent.

ATF does not always play fair, but if you get a warning not to do something that is clearly a federal crime, why would not even try to get an FFL?  A felony conviction is a lifetime firearms disqualifier.  I doubt this guy is indifferent to guns.

Surprisingly Thoughtful Piece on Gun Control in Idaho

An 11/22/19 BuzzFeed (!!!) picture of Idaho gun rights activists that shows them as reasonable and effective lobbyists for gun rights.  One interesting fact in it that may interest those of you terrified of California refugees:

A recent study conducted by Boise State University found that 56% of California transplants moving into the Treasure Valley — held up as the bastion of liberalism in the state — are Republican. Instead of turning Idaho blue, or even purple, they’re confirming its conservative identity. “Idaho could change,” the study’s author, Jeffrey Lyons, told the Idaho Statesman. “But if Idaho changes, you probably shouldn’t be blaming the Californians. It’s probably something else.”

Certainly describes nearly all that I have met.  The only antigunners that I meet are natives.

Headlines

Preparing for an NPR Gun Control Town Meeting Jan. 21 here in Boise:

Great News Story

“Inmate scam”, Santa Rosa (Cal.) Press-Democrat, January 20, 1993. A5.  If you can find and get me a scan of it, I would be very grateful.

NEW YORK -- It's a new twist on the old insurance scam: inmates shooting themselves, or each other, with an eye toward the almighty dollar -- the taxpayer's dollar, that is.
 According to the city's Department of Investigation, it works like this: An inmate or an accomplice fires a gun through a pillow or towel, causing a minor leg wound.  As fast as you can say "lawsuit," he's demanding up to $8.5 million in damages for inadequate protection by jail         officials.
 The Department of Investigation believes that about 10 inmates in the last three years have had themselves shot so they could sue or demand lower bail or cushier digs.[i] 

---

[i] “Inmate scam”, Santa Rosa (Cal.) Press-Democrat, January 20, 1993, A5.

They can't even keep guns away from jail inmates!

Went Shooting Today

I replaced the plastic recoil guide on the Mustang with a stainless steel one and the Mustang seemed to be shooting a bit more accurately, as might be expected.  (More consistent recentering.)  This is only a 2 3/4" barrel so you have to be realistic in your expectations, but at typical gunfight distances it is good enough, even in my hands.  It is gratifying to see skills return after not doing enough shooting the last few years.  The 6 round Colt magazine (5 was the original Colt offering) was refusing to hold open on empty.  I do not remember this problem in the past.  I mixed mostly from laziness, a variety of TMJs, FMJs, and JHPs in each magazine, with no failures of any sort, other than that failure to hold open.

The Firestar 9mm was refusing to either reliably extract or eject*, especially on the first round.  I was going to go test it again after cleaning, but managed to get the slide stop in before the barrel link.  (The more pistols you own, the more details of disassembly and reassembly there are to remember.  Fortunately, the Mustang, Browning, and 1911 are nearly identical.)  It is now pretty hopelessly stuck.  I searched and found at least one other person who managed the same stupid.  A gunsmith finally coaxed it out for him.  I will go visit QPR Precision Gunsmithing in Nampa this week.

This may be the solution.

If you accidentally insert the takedown lever and it snaps in place, before the lines on the slide and frame line up - it locks the barrel in the forward position and it locks the takedown lever so it can't be removed.
The fix for this is:Push the slide all the way foreward.Grasp the guide rod, in between to coils of the spring, with a narrow pair of needle nose pliers.'Pull the guide rod towards the front of the gun until it protrudes from the slide.Now, grasp the rod where it's protruding from the slide and pull it out the front.While doing that, move the slide toward the rear.
The slide will now go far enough back that the two lines can line up & the slide stop can be popped out.
Assemble as normal & take care to get the slide stop through the kidney shaped hole on the barrel where it's supposed to go.

I hope this can save some people a trip to the gunsmith.

The actual solution.  I pushed slide as far forward as it would go, pressed down on the back of the barrel through the ejection port.  There was now enough space to slide a piece of Delrin behind the barrel through ejection port.  This locked it far enough forward to press the slide stop out from the right.  Then I could remove slide to the front, remove recoil spring, guide, and barrel and reassemble.  I will go shooting again soon to see if the jam is ammo type specific (JHPs vs FMJs, although I doubt that).  Just in case I ordered a spare extractor spring from Sarco. collector of all oddball parts you could ever want.

*I could see the spent round in the chamber, partly out, but not enough to allow #2 to feed into the chamber.  The Firestar is not a free fall magazine, and especially not in this state.  Not a circumstance I have ever had from this pistol before, and therefore not a carry gun until I get this fixed.  This may be a weak extractor spring.  These are still available from Sarco for $2.25.  If I could get my Discover card out without waking my wife I would have already ordered it.

A number of YouTube videos suggest that the Firestar is sensitive to case dimensions.  I will try again with high quality ammo.

Need An Idaho Enhanced Concealed Weapon License?

Sure you do.  It adds a few states of reciprocity.  A friend is teaching it.

Tuesday November 26th, 2019Saturday December 14th, 2019
NRAPersonal Protection Handgun CourseIdaho ENHANCED Concealed Weapon License12 hour course 8am - 8pmNRA Personal Protection in the Home Course exceeds Idaho 18-3302K ENHANCED Concealed Weapon License requirement, certificate recognized by all states as firearms training (Though NOT for certain states' CCW , see list below)

$150 Course Fee includes NRA handbook, fliers & NRA Course Completion & Idaho State Police Training Certificates. Classes are small (7 at most). PAID advance registration is required to reserve your seat. Class is open to Instructor-approved citizens who have no felonies or other legal gun-ownership disabilities. Liability Release form signature required.

Course consists of approximately 5 Hours Classroom, 2 Hours on the Shooting Range, 2+ Hours Legal Instruction, 2 hours written test and wrap-up. Includes Basic Handgun Safety, Familiarization, Hands-on Firearms Handling, Shooting Skills & Instruction. Personal security & avoiding violent confrontations will be covered in depth. Safety & Awareness are critical.Several hours will be spent on the firing range bringing student skills up to standards. Idaho State Law and Federal Law regarding firearms, concealed weapons, self-defense and after-event issues will be taught by a licensed Idaho attorney (formerly served as a public defender, a prosecutor and as an Idaho State deputy attorney general, and often competes in IDPA and IPSC shooting events)BRING: warm jacket & hat (it gets cold and windy at the desert shooting range) and a button up shirt or turtleneck so no hot brass goes down your shirt to ‘brand’ you and make the event unsafe, eye and ear protection and handgun & at least 2 boxes of 50 rounds of factory ammunition ( Idaho law requires 98 rounds ), lunch snacks drinks notepad highlighter pencil post-its (Don't have a handgun or eye/ear protection? let me know I have a few loaners & can help you select the right one)T. ALLEN HOOVERNRA Certified Instructor                 NRA Training Counselor          (208) 631 3003                               PO Box 6232 Boise ID 83707  TALLENHOOVER@AOL.com          www.TALLENHOOVER.comTHE IDAHO ENHANCED CONCEALED WEAPONS LICENSE IS VALID IN: IDAHO ( & Idaho public colleges) ALASKA ARIZONA COLORADO  DELAWARE NEVADA NEW MEXICO PENNSYLVANIA
 DELAWARE NEVADA NEW MEXICO PENNSYLVANIA SOUTH CAROLINA VIRGINIA LOUISIANA MINNESOTA WASHINGTON WISCONSINas well as states that accept the Basic License: ALABAMA ARKANSAS FLORIDA GEORGIA INDIANA IOWA KANSAS KENTUCKY MAINE MICHIGAN MISSISSIPPI MISSOURI MONTANA NEBRASKAMICHIGAN MISSISSIPPI MISSOURI MONTANA NEBRASKA NEW HAMPSHIRE NORTH CAROLINA NORTH DAKOTA OHIO OKLAHOMA SOUTH DAKOTA TENNESSEE TEXAS UTAH WEST VIRGINIA WYOMING. VERMONT (no lisc reqd) Oregon non-reisdent licenses easy to obtain with Idaho ECCW.Total 41 states allow CCW w/ID ECCW. note: List per Idaho State Police 9/2018 - states laws change constantly, this list may not reflect current status. Yellowstone National Park accepts CCWs that are valid in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming (see website) Federal Park Service webpage indicates that which CCW holders may carry in Yellowstone park (but not into buildings of any kind)
may carry in Yellowstone park (but not into buildings of any kind) Shooting, even is self defense is prohibited, so don't unless you are being eaten, and then prepare for legal repercussions.
repercussions.
NRA Basic-Level Courses: Home Firearms Safety, Basic Pistol, Basic Rifle, Range Safety Officer, Personal Protection Outside the Home Become an NRA Certified Instructor:
INSTRUCTOR-Level courses, CALL for information:
NRA BIT Basic Instructor Training course $100 (the first class required) Offered weekday evenings by arrangement.
NRA Basic Pistol Shooting Course Instructor course $350
NRA Personal Protection (in the home) Instructor course $350 (BIT&Pistol are prerequisites) NRA Personal Protection Outside the Home Instructor course $350 (BIT&Pistol & PPith are prerequisites) NRA RSO Range Safety Officer $125 NRA CRSO CHIEF Range Safety Officer $150 (BIT & RSO are prerequisites) NRA Basic Rifle Shooting Course Instructor course $350NRA Personal Protection Outside the Home Instructor course $350 (BIT&Pistol & PPith are prerequisites)
NRA RSO Range Safety Officer $125
NRA CRSO CHIEF Range Safety Officer $150 (BIT & RSO are prerequisites)
NRA Basic Rifle Shooting Course Instructor course $350 Group & Individual classes available upon request. Liability Release form signature required. A written test will be administered (it is possible to fail this course).Instructor reserves the right to dismiss anyone, anytime, without refund. All rights reserved. No Warranties are Expressed or Implied. Copyright 2019 Hoover Police SupplyThe next NRA Personal Protection Class will be November 26th, a Tuesday.I have 4 seats available at this time.
You may register at this link to the NRA Training Website (Be sure to use full legal name and birthdate and address when filling out the registration form)
https://www.nrainstructors.org/CourseDetails.aspx?Courseid=557731&seats=5&State=n&zip=83709&radius=25.1&id=14&bsa=&youth=&women=

The December Class will be December 14th, a Saturday.I have 4 seats available at this time.
You may register at this link to the NRA Training Website (Be sure to use full legal name and birthdate and address when filling out the registration form)
https://www.nrainstructors.org/CourseDetails.aspx?Courseid=557685&seats=5&State=n&zip=83709&radius=25.1&id=14&bsa=&youth=&women=