Forget the TSA, this guy makes a bomb with stuff you can buy after you go through airport security:

It occurs to me that, over the years, I’ve probably owned about 25ish AR-15s, Of those, one was the old school carry handle type and two were scoped. And I put backup iron sights on them all, save those three. Now, for those backup sights, I figure the least expensive one I bought (Magpul, btw) was about $50. The most expensive (Yankee Hill, btw) came in at about $100. So, quick and simplified math (carry the one) means I’ve spent about $1,650 on back up sights over the years. That’s a whole AR build with a decent optic.

Number of times I’ve needed back up sights: 0.

So, if you’re not wanting to waste money, put back up sights only on your one or two go-to rifles. It’s cheaper.

One of the things my close friends will tell you is that my life often enough has a very surreal quality to it. Weird shit just happens to me. I can’t explain it. This is one such tale.

Last weekend, me and the family went for a walk in the neighborhood with the dog. A whole other surreal story aside, they went one way and me and the dog went another. Walking up the street and I hear one of the house’s fire alarms going off. Doing the right thing, I walk up to the house and ring the bell. No answer. Bang on the door. No answer. Look around and see several neighbors outside and none of them are acting remotely alarmed. I realize it’s probably nothing but I’d hate to be that guy who just walked by and a family of four burned to death. So, I dial 911. The dispatcher answers and we have this conversation:

Dispatcher: 911, what’s your emergency?

Me: Probably nothing. But one of the houses in my neighborhood’s fire alarm is going off.

Dispatcher: Fire or burglar?

Me: Sounds like my fire alarm. Going with fire.

Dispatcher: What’s your location?

Me: I’m at 2112 ABC street.

Dispatcher: Sir, we show you at XYZ street.

Me: Could be. I always get these two street names confused.

It then occurred to me that they can either track my location or, based on my mention of the address, deduced which street I meant. We continue

Dispatcher: Sir, we’re sending a unit your way. Do you mind staying put to show the officer where to go?

Me: Not at all. Will do.

Dispatcher: Thank you, sir.

At this point, me and the family have plans for a 5 o’clock movie and time is getting close. I call the Mrs. to tell her what just happened and that I would be a while. She asks me if I want her to come get the dog since him and staying in place is painful for all around. I say yes.

So, I wait.

And wait.

I start pacing the street.

And wait.

Suddenly, I see Junior whiz by the other street on her electric scooter. I assume she’s coming to get the dog but she just zipped by. I whistled loudly and she didn’t hear. I step up to the street she was going down to see her pulled over by one of The City (My The City)’s* finest. I watch. He pulls away and he’s the unit coming to the house that may or may not be on fire. I wave him down and point to the house. He pulls up, gets out of the car and we have this conversation.

Officer friendly: Are you the one who called 911?

Me: Yes, sir.

Officer friendly: And this is the house?

Me: Yes.

*he walks toward the house, gets his light out and knocks on the door. And starts looking in the windows.

Me: So, did you give my daughter a ticket?

Officer friendly: That was your daughter?

Me: Yes.

Officer friendly: We’ll talk about that later.

Me: Well, I probably called for no reason but I’d hate to have been wrong.

Officer friendly: Sir, did you look in the windows?

Me: No. I’m wearing a black hoodie and I figure me looking in windows would not be looked upon positively. As I said, it’s probably nothing

Officer friendly: Sir, there’s a body on the couch.

Me: The fuck?

Officer friendly: *gets police talky on his walky talky* I did hear him say he thought there was a body in the house.

Me: Be over here if you need me.

Officer friendly: *bangs on doors, rings bell, bangs on windows, and generally makes a lot of noise and his backup shows up*

Turns out, the alarm was going off for no discernible reason and the 90 year old women who lived there fell asleep on the couch and was also mostly deaf. She turned her hearing aid off and didn’t hear the alarm.

Officer friendly: *explains to me what happened and that all is OK* Then says: So, that was your daughter?

Me: Yes.

Officer friendly: Well, she needs to be 16 and have a license to have a scooter on the street.

Me: Really?

Officer friendly: Yes, sir. She’s not licensed and, more importantly, a driver in a car might not see her and hurt her.

Me: Well, OK. Fair enough.

Officer friendly: Thanks for calling in, sir. We appreciate that.

And he drives off.

So, I’m sitting here realizing I called the cops on my daughter and doubting the illegality of her scooter on the street. And she got her first warning from the police (a family tradition, btw). Go home and talk to Junior who tells me he made her walk the scooter home and to stay off the street.

The next day, my wife is upset about the whole thing and calls her friend in the local police department. Turns out, that license thing only applies to gas operated vehicles. Told Junior to go ride her scooter all she wanted.

What weird day.

* Never used that in the possessive, so I’m going with that.

20 or so people in GA town catch a robbery suspect. Now, the warning shot is questionable but it seems like the police have no problem with it:

Maj. Donald Helms said it’s just a story of good guys with guns, and people in a small town exercising their right to bear arms.

“You might not want to come down there and mess with the Rhine folks,” Helms said.

Not only is he tiresome and wrong. But he’s probably faking it.

Nothing to see here but the side that fits the narrative.

Former Guns and Ammo writer blames advertisers. And the internet.

ATF prints 3D gun and it blows up on them.

Wishing drone strikes on “cowardly idiot” but otherwise lawful gun owners. I’m amused that this mental giant calls gun owners cowardly while wishing for someone else to go and do a drone strike on his behalf.

10 AR mags and an ammo box for just north of $100.

Operator as fuck for the operatingest operators operating operationally in operations.

Cool photos Oleg took for publication.

Anschütz MSR RX22

Remember when delay was just crazy tea-bagger talk? Regardless, President Law-Breaker (hey, what’s one more?) has exceeded his authority on this one. He has required new action by insurers and is delaying it, hoping for it new legislation and not enforcing provisions of the current legislation. This is, basically, Obama unilaterally passing a law.

And the president has no authority to do that.

So, the police point guns at people in the name of safety. Or something.

Pistol permits skyrocket

Opposition to their gun control helps win office.

And, if you’re ever in the spotlight, things you said will be there for people to read.

The media channels anti-gunners and shames Gov. Brown for vetoing a ban on the most popular sporting arms in America.

Not likely but, well, that man is either criminal or can’t control his department.

Lew Horton Model 629 S&W Hunter Competitor. He thinks.

Suppressed Mossberg, though I’d really like to see video of it being fired:

There’s a new gun shop in The City (My The City) called New Bern Arms. That’s where I picked up the Colt 6920. The gun came with a life time warranty from their distributor, which is a bonus. And they gave me a free sample of TacticOil. I’ll give it a shot even though I typically just use motor oil.

The shop had plenty of inventory and a lot of higher end rifles, like an ACR and others. Good stuff.

I recommend New Bern Arms and you locals should check them out.

I actually bought an AR-15 instead of building one:

It’s a Colt 6920, decked out with Magpul furniture. I was going to build a lighter weight AR and this was pretty much the configuration I would have gone with building my own, save for a pencil barrel.

I’ve also decided that I’m kind of over red dot and holographic optics. So I’m going to try the Burris MTAC 1-4 Illuminated Reticle Scope out. It gets good reviews all over the internets. But be warned that the MTAC is actually 30mm and not one inch. So, don’t order the wrong QD mount like I did. And get the right one instead. You’d think Amazon would recommend a mount that fits but you’d be wrong.

In comments, someone asked why LuckyGunner didn’t sell to Chicago. Well, they were nice enough to respond as to why.

Turns out, it’s because it’s Chicago.

Wishing their political opponents dead.

A man tries to sell seeds at a gun show:

Despite the presence of at least five booths of firearms and accessories, many exhibitors are equally dismissive, even derisive, toward guns, gun shows, and the culture surrounding them. John Egger tried to sell seed kits at a gun show once and won’t be returning. Gun show attendees are “a different breed of people. They don’t want to learn.”

Don’t want to learn or are at a gun show to, say, buy guns?

Every so often, I get someone emailing me and asking that I remove a comment or a story with their name because, well, you can read it here. Good to know that a commenter suing a newspaper to have his comments removed lost the case and has to likely pay attorneys’ fees.

Cool site that also notes: With just one exception, every public mass shooting in the USA since 1950 has taken place where citizens are banned from carrying guns.

From Springfield. I’ve had similar satisfactory experiences with S&W and Para.

Some woman is crapping her pants and calling on the local grocer to ban carry in the store:

Lisa Fullington and at least one of her neighbors in Greensboro say they are boycotting Harris Teeter until the grocery store chain decides to ban concealed carry weapons in its stores.

Fullington says two weeks ago she walked into the Harris Teeter store on West Friendly Avenue and saw a man walking around with a gun strapped to his hip. She felt threatened and asked to talk to a manager.

Well, I wouldn’t call that “concealed carry”, Mr. Reporter Person.

Veterans for gun control. Or something.

The SAF is challenging a law that says legal aliens cannot get carry permits.