Fred Thompson and guns
So, while I was away, Fred went to a gun show and blasted Rudy for Rudy’s very recent love affair with the right to arms. He called the gun show paradise. Of Rudy, Thompson said:
He relates everything to New York City. Well, New York City is not emblematic of the rest of the country, I don’t think. I think the sentiments of those people in the rest of the country are in support of the Second Amendment — which is where I’ve always been and I don’t think he’s ever been
Meanwhile, gun blogger Michael Bane has joined the leadership and steering committee for Sportsmen for Thompson.
R. Neal notes that Fred violates the gun safety rules by putting his booger hook on the bang switch. Ayup, he broke the rules. However, people often dry fire weapons when contemplating purchasing them. I have and I check the chamber and aim in in a safe direction before doing so. What say you?
November 26th, 2007 at 10:38 am
People dry fire guns. A lot.
I’m just glad to see someone running for President that will pick up a shotgun and not act like it is covered with germs.
It is humorous to watch the turmoil in Progressiveville. They really hate Fred at the Atomic level. They prefer someone kinder and gentler, like Hillary.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Who doesn’t check trigger pull, travel, creep, weight and let-off, and hammer/firing pin travel, speed and lagtime on a firearm?
November 26th, 2007 at 11:20 am
It is kind of hard to check trigger pull, travel, creep, weight and let off… when the firearm is tie wrapped.
The image of Fred with his finger on the trigger, to me, is a good training aid.
November 26th, 2007 at 11:28 am
wrt Fred!?, I visited friends & family this weekend.
One man is a very conservative business owner with no time for politics at this point and really doesn’t know who Fred?! is. But he knows this; “My liberal inlaws say the only Republican candidate that scares them is Fred. Therefore, I support Fred.” He then asked; “You know this stuff, is he any good?”
My reply; “Everyone in the traditional media hates him. He will not be manipulated and is not playing by their rules. Yeah, he’s good.”
Something about; ‘The enemy of my enemy….’
heh
November 26th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
I’ll give him a pass on this, as I always try the trigger on a gun I’m considering. Or just drooling over.
Had a friend pass up a deal at a Bass Pro Shop because they refused to take off the trigger lock and let him try it.
November 26th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Hm, every gun show I have ever attended always had the firearms’ actions zip-tied in some manner… Pulling the trigger in those cases results in not a whole lot – not even a chance to test the mechanism.
In this particualr case, though, Fred screwed up. Yeah, I know, dry-firing is an important part of purchasing a used firearm… But considering that every action of his was bound to be scrutinized (and apparently was), he was just asking for trouble in this instance.
That said, kudos to him for taking Rudy to task… should be an interesting primary.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
I dryfire guns at the store, but only after checking the chamber. If that zip tie kept him from checking the chamber to make sure it was empty, then, yeah, I’d say he screwed up.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
A little off topic, but I’m curious.
Have any of you guys ever been at a gun show where there was an AD?
(No need to lecture me on all the rules that make gun shows safe and how responsible everyone is. I presume that’s why there are rarely if ever ADs at a gun show, but I’m just curious.)
On topic, the scrutiny and criticism is more about how Thompson should be setting a good example for gun safety as opposed to instinctively putting his finger on the trigger instead of outside the trigger guard. This reveals that he’s a poser and a panderer instead of a true sportsman and gun enthusiast, and that the gun is just a prop and the gun show is just a stage. Y’all should be skeptical. Heh.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Giuliani would have done the same thing — and then made “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat” noises as he swept the crowd since he’s a NuYawk crimebuster. 🙂
November 26th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
“Have any of you guys ever been at a gun show where there was an AD?”
Never at a gun show but once at a gun shop that I know of (I missed the actual shooting by about 15 minutes). Joe Bob took a Browning High Power, removed magazine, then placed it against his calf while sitting and pulled the trigger. He then remembered that maybe he should have either checked the chamber or not aimed the thing at his leg. Clean through.
November 26th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
It’s unclear to me whether Fred checked to see whether the shotgun was loaded before he put his finger on the trigger and knowing the media had he done so they would’nt have mentioned it anyway. However, he was pointing it in a safe direction. And I’m sure all of us gun owners have dry fired a firearm that we’re interested in so why should Fred get bashed for doing so?
Fred still has, and always will have, my support and respect.
November 26th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
On topic, the scrutiny and criticism is more about how Thompson should be setting a good example for gun safety as opposed to instinctively putting his finger on the trigger instead of outside the trigger guard. This reveals that he’s a poser and a panderer instead of a true sportsman and gun enthusiast, and that the gun is just a prop and the gun show is just a stage. Y’all should be skeptical. Heh.
Yeah, it would have been a perfect example of gun safety if he had stood well back from the gun and said “Eeew, icky”.
November 26th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
While it’s no doubt a Rule Three violation, it doesn’t shock me.
Bucks-up scattergunners do them all the time. For heaven’s sake, they have special reinforced shoes on which to rest the muzzle of their fowling pieces between rounds of flying golf.
All I can do is lecture; they ain’t my toes, after all.
November 26th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
As for the booger hook; we’d need to see a lot more than a single still photo to know anything about Fred’s gun handling habits. Indeed, who would buy any gun without first testing the trigger? Now, the fact that he has the gun pointed downward indoors is not a good sign. I always point them up and away from people.
In general, I’m unimpressed with politicians and their silly gun-in-hand photo ops. Most of them do it– even the anti-gun douche bags. Let’s see the inside of his gun safe, and lets see him out in the field. Then we’ll know if he has any real history or experience with firearms, or if he’s just playing to the cameras.
November 26th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
It’s a single shot break down. They are single action only. When the image is enlarged, it appears the hammer has not been pulled back. It looks very similar to a .410 Winchester Model 37 I own. The hammer is very narrow and sits behind the release.
If the hammer has not been pulled back, it will not discharge. I’m amazed the gun crowd would go into PSH over such a thing. Doesn’t anyone else own a shotgun that was smithed before 1990? When it is not cocked, it is only effective as a club.
November 26th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Well, I have a gun that I didn’t test the trigger pull on. It is a S&W .357magnum, with a worse trigger than any of my Mosin Nagants, even before I worked the triggers on them. In my defense, the gun was a gift and I never saw it prior to being presented with it on my birthday.
Just imagine that you are trying to drag a refrigerator without rollers across a cobblestone street. You have just fired my revolver if you also imagine the refrigerator is very very heavy.
November 26th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
You can teach someone proper safety technique…..but you can’t teach them what the Second Amendment means when they are really faking it- like Rudy, Mitt, and a lot of the other candidates.
I’ll go with Fred.
November 26th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Robert Says:
November 26th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
You can teach someone proper safety technique…..but you can’t teach them what the Second Amendment means when they are really faking it- like Rudy, Mitt, and a lot of the other candidates.
I’ll go with Fred.
I’m of the opinion that Fred’s the only one who’s not faking it.
“Those who beat their swords into plowshares usually end up plowing for those who didn’t”
November 26th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
We could always vote for Barack Obama. I’m certain his finger has never touched a trigger.
November 27th, 2007 at 12:51 am
I’ll just plagiarize my comment on R. Neal’s post.
SWEET JEEBUS
Wow, these arguments go on for days.
Here’s what we KNOW. Senator Fred Thompson, gun rights advocate and presidential candidate, is looking down the sights of some sort of rifle/shotgun. PERIOD. Full stop.
We DON’T KNOW if he’s pointing it in a safe direction, whether he’s checked it for load, if it’s an illegal sawed-off model with depleted uranium ammo, or if he’s got it trained on a 9-month-old baby.
Let’s try to stay focused, people.
tweaker
November 27th, 2007 at 1:00 am
I do that (after checking the chamber of course) as I have fairly large hands and the natural lay of the finger in relation to the trigger is very important to me.
Just respect Rule Three and don’t squeeze until in a confirned safe situation
November 27th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Clint, it’s a stack-barrel fowling piece. (O/U shotgun, for the jargon-challenged.)