Video.

Part 4.

Actually, I’m kind of over talking about guns. What do you guys want to talk about?

California spent $205K to transport a shrub. This was with money from the stimulus package. I’m stimulated over that.

NRA Con pics

Taurus TCP and a slick holster

Antique gun showcase

Buckmark

Kobra

Cam tells us that 73,740 people attended the NRA annual meeting, a new record. Meanwhile, at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership’s annual meeting . . .

I’ve never understood the hatred toward libertarians, who mostly just want to be left alone and leave everyone else alone. I mean, sure you could point out their idealized version isn’t the way it works and it never will be. Or criticize their stances because you’re a ‘we must do something even if it’s the wrong thing’ sort. That’s cool. But just blind hatred? Never understood it.

Orrin Hatch has decided that radical libertarians should be punched in their mouths. I think a libertarian would agree that punching someone in the mouth should be illegal. Not sure exactly what his issue with small government types is since he claims to be one.

Meanwhile, John Stossel left ABC because it seems media is hostile to libertarian ideas. Shocking, right? I mean an industry that centers around drumming up outrage over malfunctioning brakes and the contents of ground meat in an effort to rally people into doing something is hostile to people who aren’t too keen on that? This is my shocked face.

You know who else hated libertarians? Hitler.

Circa 1959

The New York Daily News finds some random convention goer and NRA member at the annual meeting. Then does this piece: Mayor Michael Bloomberg comes under attack at National Rifle Association conference.

Yup, they find a random person who is not a fan of Bloomypoo. Then try to tie his words to the NRA. That’s pretty weak. I mean, it’d be like reporting if, as an NRA member, I said the Yankees suck and then pinning that on the NRA.

Look, ma, no rails!

Home to some of the tightest gun laws around, people are still getting shot by imported guns in drive by shootings.

ATF agent asks local gun shop for its bound book.

A man claims to have accidentally shot himself when he dropped a dumbbell on a 22LR shell.

The New Yorker looks at gun laws, attempts to tie them to mass shootings.

Robb reviews one from 511

Zimmerman affidavit: Piece of crap . He’s a lawyer, he’d know.

The narrative continues to crumble: 911 call shows Zimmerman was not persuing Martin when confrontation occurred.

That’s new to me

One of the liberal blogs I read comes out in support of, you guessed it, sound suppressors. They are indeed the polite thing to do. Think of your neighbors.

Stealing iPads

Anti-gunners are kind of losing it. Can’t find a non-white face at the annual meeting, even though one of the speakers isn’t pasty.

Allegations that NRA is a white supremacists group.

Also, on the way in, the local radio had Colin Goddard on to dance in the blood of the VA Tech massacre turning 5. They were marching to demand that lawmakers enforce the laws on the books. Because, you know, lawmakers’ jobs are to enforce them. And he said they didn’t new laws just enforcement of prohibited person limitations and background checks. Well, Sparky, they already do that.

These people are idiots.

This is one line.

This is not. [<--- but that actually is]

So, you want to own a gun.

More gardening, more cleaning, more hanging with the kids. So, no blog for you. Also, I just looked at my reader and marked 700+ items read. So, if I missed anything important, let me know. I mean, I hear there was a gun show or something. Anything wizbang tactical come out worth caring about?

I missed posting about buy a gun day because I was busy not blogging. But Jay reminded me with his addition. I’ll have mine whenever I get around to taking a photo.

The five coolest things from the NRA annual meeting, day 1.

Pics from the TSRA high power championship

Police draw weapons and detain OSU student because he had an empty holster. He was wearing the empty holster to show support for gun rights.

I’m sorry, that was unrealistic. They actually can’t afford to rent a convention center.

Hearing that CrimsonTrace debuted models of their popular laser grips but they have green lasers. Nothing confirmed yet.

Update: Here you go. Only, their video doesn’t work.

Update: Vidjo:

I guess they’re getting ready for the War on Women:

As St. Louis prepares to welcome tens of thousands of gun enthusiasts, you might be surprised who the NRA says is their largest growing demographic.

It’s woman (sic).

Yeah, we’ve known that for years.

I had to laugh and share reader mikee comment on marketing over the years:

I lived through years of hype over many things, some old, some new. I have read:

Of the inherent perfection of 38 Special duty revolvers.

Of 357 Magnum revolvers’ superiority over 38SPL.

Of how grizzly bears only respect 44 Magnum, no that’s 454 Casull, no that’s a .460, or a .500, or a Howdaw black powder handcannon meant for lions shot from offside elephant.

Of magnum revolvers minimized in size to wear on your ankle for either weight training or as a New York reload of a different caliber from your service pistol, mostly useful for deafening and blinding an opponent at close range, and perhaps setting them on fire. Also useful for 200 yard gong shooting for gun magazine writers.

Of Wonder Nine pistols holding a gazillion, +1, rounds.

Of 10mm POWER rivaling that of a Saturn V rocket!

Of 40mm CONTROLLABLE! POWER! with (almost) as many bullets as a Wonder Nine! But better, despite having less power, than the 10mm they were bred from.

Of concealable, ultra-concealable and barely even there yet still puissant .22LR micro single action revolvers by North American Arms and Beretta Bobcat pistols that you could hide in the cuff of your shirt sleeve or behind your ear lobes. For that last ditch use because nobody in their right mind would use one on purpose if a shovel or hammer were available instead.

Of unobtainable .32ACP Seecamps, and Beretta Tomcats that cost as much as a Wonder Nine but were BETTER because you could hide them in your pocket with your wallet and keys and spare change and pens and that interesting pebble you found on the walk, yet still access in an emergency!

Of plastic pistols from some foreign country that could not be detected (the gun, not the country) by X-rays, or even Superman’s vision, in airport security!

Of 357SIG & 45GAP Niche Marketing for proprietary rounds never seen on the shelves of Walmart!

Of shrinking autopistols using inexpensive polymer frames that you could shoot up to a dozen times before the springs failed. But you could carry them even betterer than a 38SPL snubby cuz they were 1/8 inch thinner.

Of .32ACP minipistols evolving through selective breeding or engineering prowess or marketing genius into POCKET POWER .380 autos, then Pocket NINES!!!11! and even .40s that you hold with a two finger grip.

Of pistols coming in blue or steel or black plastic, then suddenly in any anodized aluminum color under the rainbow, with PINK grips if I wanted them, or YELLOW grips for the revolver in the emergency kit.

Of countries previously known only for internecine strife suddenly becoming successful exporters of supposedly reliable, well designed, quality controlled handguns that were neat because 20 years ago you could only get one by killing a commie in Southeast Asia and taking it off his belt.

Of Wonder Nines going from Gazillion +1 capacity to 10+1 by law, then back after a decade, as if by magic!

Of modern pistol round carbines becoming available, allowing one to shoot more money, err, rounds, even more accurately downrange than with your pistol, while using the same magazines. Because having a rifle and a pistol is too complex for some folk.

Of John Moses Browing’s highest achievement, other than his mere existence PBUH, the .45ACP 1911, going from a badly made relic of history from Colt to a cheap Norinco Chinese import that (in either form) with only $1000 of work (in 1980’s dollars) by a competent, hence nonexistent, gunsmith, could be depended on to usually shoot all 7+1 of its rounds without stopping for a break.

Of 45ACP being the only round, other than all the rest, to use in personal defense. Because Jeff said so!

Of bullets going from “round copper shiny end points to front” (except for HK’s) to “flying ashtrays” to “exploding” to “cop killer” to “really really really fast, so fast your old gun might explode, no really!”

Of the realization that with an extended cylinder, a 45 Colt revolver could also shoot .410 shotshells, poorly. Yet sell like pancakes to the starved masses.

So now when a new product comes along, I realize it may be marketing, it may be technological innovation, it may be unsold parts that drove the maker to put the new gun on the shelf at the store.

I’d like to say it is all good, but it isn’t.

Heh.

Similar to that last post, Linoge is getting bored with the firearms industry. With the NRA convention kicking off (and me, unfortunately, unable to attend), I expect the usual litany of slightly different XDs, slightly different ARs, something with Zombie written on it, and some ridiculous new set up for a .410 handgun.

Well, I hope I’m wrong.

But I will say that, despite my comments on the S&W M&P Shield, it actually is a little different to announce in this day and age.

So, according to every gun writer and gun blogger and anyone who writes about guns and who was also sent one, the Smith and Wesson M&P Shield is the GREATEST GUN EVER IN THE HISTORY OF EVER. At least, that’s how it seems. I like the idea of a slim 9mm and, in fact, wanted them or Glock to make one for years. But, in that time, I managed to acquire and gain a fondness for the M&P 9C. It’s not substantially longer and, according the specs, is actually not as tall. It’s easy and light to carry. And, of course, the extra five rounds and the 18 round fullsize magazine I carry as a spare make it appealing.

Anyway, while I’m certain it’s a fine weapon, I don’t think the 21st century’s polymer 3913 will be a game changer since there’s already a ton of single stack nines out there. And here’s a look at the numbers comparing popular slim nines.

That or I’m just mad nobody sent me one.