Pulse Nightclub Shooting Revelations

Back when the blog was daily we had a brief post following the Pulse Nightclub tragedy and never revisited the incident. The news reported it as an attack against the LGBTQ community by a wanna be terrorist and we accepted that to be true. Recently an article from Huffington Post entitled Everyone Got The Pulse Massacre Story Completely Wrong pointed out the flaws in the previous byline. Sure, the news posted the fact the shooter visited an entertainment complex and the police presence cause him to move on. We  never put two and two together as the author of the article did to come to the realization the shooting was random and the nightclub had not been targeted for any reason other than it had a large number of people in one location who could be victims. The shooters widow was recently acquitted and it was determined her confession was bogus and only made after half a day of continuous questioning. The FBI knew her confession wasn’t true because she didn’t go with her husband to case the club and they were never near the  club at the time stated. It was a horrible hand fate dealt those at the club that the shooter went to the club they were in, but as the article points out, they were not targeted for being LGBTQ.

If you haven’t see the Huffington Post article, be sure to read it from beginning to end, it is well worth your time.

Greensboro Man Defines The Majority

In this viral video Mark Robinson sets the Greensboro City Council straight on who they should represent and his thoughts on legal gun owners. I don’t know him, but I wish I did!

Gun Sense?

Sometimes a teachable moment comes along. We noticed a tweet on someone’s page from Shannon Watts who is the director of Mom’s Demand Action For Gun Sense In America. It showed a rifle, a black one, and said, “You can buy this at @SportsmansWH if you’re 18.” We went to Mrs. Watts twitter feed and sure enough the photo below was there with the tweet.

We should take a minute to understand what “THIS” is exactly. Sure it is a black rifle, but what it is really? Look closely and you will notice it is a BOLT ACTION. For those who may not be familiar with rifles, in order to load a cartridge you pull back the bolt and when the bolt is closed a cartridge is removed from the magazine and placed in the chamber. After firing the bolt can be cycled to eject the spent casing and load another cartridge. We really need to peel the onion one step further in this case. In addition to being a bolt action this is also a .22LR. Mrs. Watts would have known this if she had simply typed Ruger 8400 into a Google search and then viewed the results.

We’ve been told all our lives to not judge a book by its cover. Just because a firearm is black and appears tactical it is not an assault weapon. Perhaps Mrs. Watts should work on her “Gun Sense.”

 

Bump Fire Stocks – Do We Need Them?

It appears the murderer who terrorized concertgoers injuring over 500 and killing 59 utilized bump fire stocks to carry out his mayhem. I can recall taking a look at them as a novelty which might be fun for a trip or two to the range several years ago, but when you couple the cost of the stock with the cost of ammunition they just don’t make sense. You can approximate automatic fire with them, but at the cost of accuracy. Unfortunately the gunman in Las Vegas didn’t need to be very accurate as he had 22,000 targets in the crowd.

Let’s circle back to the topic of the post. Bump fire stocks were declared legal by the ATF and are only considered a firearm part, like any other stock. The reason is they are not a firearm and accept no ammunition. On this point I have to agree with the ATF. It’s what they do which is suspect. They allow a semi-automatic rifle to approximate the firing rate of a machine gun. While one half of my brain hates governmental intervention in our daily lives, the other thinks we as a society decided machine guns needs to be regulated. I think owning a machine gun would be interesting and fun, but I still think they need to be tightly regulated. Can you imagine the death toll in Chicago if every gang banger had a functioning machine gun? If we need to regulate machine guns then by the same token a device design to circumvent normal operation and approximate automatic fire should similarly be regulated.

I don’t believe for an instant the shooter in Las Vegas would have been stopped if he didn’t have bump fire stocks, but I do believe he would have fired less rounds during his assault and may have injured less people. How many less is unknown, but even if the numbers were cut in half it would be better. With the even still fresh in my mind, my position is we don’t need devices designed to create the rapid fire characteristics of regulated weapons unless the devices are regulated. Thoughts?

Tragedy In Las Vegas

This morning I awoke to learn of the tragedy which happened last night in Las Vegas when a single gunman was positioned in a high rise and shot down into a crowd of 40,000 attending a concert. The police have indicated one person caused this tragedy and he acted alone. Early reports indicate he had at least ten rifles and shot into the crowd for at least ten minutes killing at least 50 with more than 400 transported to the hospital.  I watched some videos and it the gunshots came rapid fire as if the firearm was fully automatic. Those weapons are highly regulated and legal owners are registered or criminals have illegally converted the firearm to be fully automatic. Crimes committed with machine guns are few and far between.

The events in Las Vegas are terrible and the facts are not yet known. I hope society will focus on the victims and their families because they need our support as those who were injured heal from their wounds and the families of those who were killed mourn the loss of their loved ones.

Sig Sauer Rifle Safety Recall

Sig Sauer issued a recall for SIG716 DMR®, SIG516® Carbon Fiber and SIGM400® Predator models which may have an improperly heat-treated hammer. If you own one of these use the Serial Number lookup on the recall website and follow the corrective steps provided there.

Sig Sauer P320 Drop Safety Alert

I don’t own a Sig Sauer P320, but for those of you who do, please check the Sig website for voluntary upgrade information. The issue is if the firearm is dropped with a round in the chamber it may discharge. The obvious solution until you can send in the firearm is to avoid dropping it with a round in the chamber.

If you are curious as to what is causing the issue, check out this video which may have determined the problem is the weight of the trigger.

Ruger Precision Rifle Safety Bulletin

Ruger just announced a Safety Bulletin for older Precision Rifles with an aluminum bolt shroud. Check the Ruger website to see if your rifle may be affected. If you need to replace the bolt shroud there is also a video on the site with the procedure.

Happy 4th of July!

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Philando Castile Dash Cam Video

Please Note: The linked video below is graphic.

By now you have heard the officer charged in the Philando Castile shooting, Jeronimo Yanez, was acquitted on the charges of second-degree manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm. Back in July of last year I had armchair quarterbacked the situation while believing Philando had told the officer he had a concealed firearm and permit. After reviewing the video below, there was no mention of a permit in the conversation only that he had a firearm and then the officer immediately grabs the grip of his gun and tells him not to reach for it. I believe the officer acted too fast and as a result Philando is dead. I also believe Philando had a duty to obey the officer’s command and when he went reaching he escalated the situation.

After hearing the news the officer was acquitted I immediately felt the jury got it wrong despite deliberating for four days. After watching the video I am not so sure. For certain any officer that fearful and quick to action should rethink their chosen profession. A trained professional should exercise caution and restraint until the situation call for the use of deadly force. In this case we have a driver with a broken tail light who has impairment from use of marijuana and his decision to not obey the officer’s commands in conjunction with an officer making a poor decision led to his demise. In my mind the officer is guilty of something, but I am no longer convinced it is manslaughter.

As a concealed carry permit holder I strongly feel anyone who announces they have a permit and firearm to the officer should never be shot. In the case of Philando Castile he never mentioned the permit, only the firearm, and then reached when he was instructed not to do so. It is a tragedy which could have been prevented if Philando had obeyed the officer and if the officer had exercised a bit more restraint instead of fear, especially considering there was a child in the vehicle.